GAA’s proper leadership has been a shining light

LEADERSHIP is not about speeches from Braveheart or staring down foes. Leadership is mostly about attending to unheralded duties, setting an example through consistently good decision-making. That is especially the case in a time of crisis. Over the past 12 months, it hasn’t been difficult to identify good leadership — and abject examples of it, too.

Sport has mostly been well served by its leaders during the pandemic.

Those heading up organisations in this country have generally understood the dreadful challenges facing households and families, and they recognised that in a time of death and fear, when thousands were losing jobs and difficulties piled up at many doors, agitation from sporting bodies would have sounded offensively discordant notes.

Know your place is a phrase that has grown repugnant, but it did have some currency in this regard. And when sports did get a chance to return, they illuminated a country that had felt half-lit for months.

As the largest and most influential sporting organisation in the country, the GAA’s conduct was particularly conspicuous. The good it did was heralded at length, and the power of its games was illustrated by the eagerness of two taoisigh to facilitate inter-county Championships in hurling and football.

Because of its place in many communities, its misdeeds had an outsized impact, too. The dumb, selfish behaviour in a significant number of clubs after county finals contributed to outbreaks and caused great anger.

At a central level, the GAA showed decisive leadership in terminating club activity before all finals had been completed. But some leaders in the association made a very poor call of their own, angrily summoning a senior public health official to Croke Park when they were unhappy with a measure that put games behind closed doors last August. It was a rare miscalculation and it hasn’t been repeated.

Instead, the GAA has reverted back to a position of responsibility, providing what stability and certainty it can in a crisis that saw it suffer losses of over €34million last year. The publication of the Director General’s report this week was a reminder of the impressive if understated figure that Tom Ryan

(above) has become. His report and the rounds of media interviews he conducted to accompany it came at an interesting time, following a brief flurry of indignation in places after a Government intervention the week before.

The announcement that all GAA activity would remain halted until April at the earliest came after the organisation was told it was no longer exempted as an elite organisation. The reaction in places was understandable, if overwrought at times. This appeared from the outset a gauche political manoeuvre, which was less about underestimating the importance of Gaelic games, and more about a panicked Government trying to keep as many activities suppressed as possible.

This in itself is understandable, but the administration, or surely someone within its plethora of advisers, might have anticipated the reaction to any suggestion that the GAA is not elite.

There are many within Gaeldom waiting to take offence and they found their opportunity. The truth, of course, is the story didn’t amount to much at all, and the noises from politicians since indicates that Gaelic games will be accommodated under future exemptions, and inter-county training could be resuming after Easter.

Ryan was sanguine on the matter in recent days, and his attitude does appear to be informed by a commitment to doing what is right not just for the organisation he leads, but the country at large. In his report, he praises the general commitment to responsible behaviour displayed by GAA members. This is relevant given the recent, lamentable failures of the Down and Cork football set-ups to understand the value of doing the right thing.

Ryan did not mention any particular case, but he accepted there was not uniform adherence with rules. ‘But,’ he wrote, ‘I hope in reflecting upon the year we’ve all had we might recognise that there are things more important than stealing a march on the authorities or on prospective opponents. Things like our collective reputation, the health of our community and – when Covid is long gone – respect for ourselves and the association.’

That is an attitude that could be usefully absorbed by every sporting organisation. Those who administer and support a variety of sports are desperate for their return, but those days remain some way off. Until then, perspective and patience matter.