by
Seamus Morris

Ouch! It’s been a bruising few weeks for the GAA, the hits have been hard and the belts have been low. At times it has seemed that the Association has barely got back to its feet when another swipe has been put its way. Championship 2004 has been a tough one.

Danny Lynch and his PR gurus will have earned their corn this season. Not for them the plain sailing of a banal, quiet summer. Nah, it’s been far from that. Where to begin? Well, the present situation would be a good point.

Limerick has had its fair share of bad press down the years, a lot of it, in De Scribe’s opinion, unfair. So it seemed highly unfortunate that the city had to once again be at the centre of a violent confrontation, only this time the protagonists were not local. Laois and Cork minors seemed to lose sight of what they had come to the Gaelic Grounds for when they “clashed” in a recent All Ireland Quarter Final. Following what was, by all accounts, a fantastic and sporting game, a “schemozzle” (to use that much loved GAA phrase) ensued. Those who witnessed it in the flesh spoke of boots flying, arms flailing and blood pouring. Great stuff….

You are Sean Kelly, sitting down to your Monday morning breakfast, ready for another week of leading the most powerful sporting organisation on this island. You grasp across the table for your copy of the Irish Examiner, seeking to inform yourself of the world’s events. Big mistake. On the front page, in splendid colour, is an “action shot” of the minor match. But wait, they’re not playing football, it looks more like a concoction of judo, taikwando and a bit of oul boxing. Shite….

That same weekend there was the replay of the Kilkenny and Clare Quarter Final. By now, we are all familiar with the incident involving Quinn and Shefflin, and many will not be moved from their position of guilt/innocence on the part of Quinn. Suffice to say that the media dug into the story, ripping it apart in attempting to show that the Association had some form of discipline deficit, “and shure Jaysus aren’t those mucksavages with sticks deadly, wild men altogether”. Those of us from Clare winced as we listened to our fellow county men take swipes at each other on the nation’s airways. The Civil War could never have been this bad….

There was no shortage of those willing to take pot shots at the GAA. In the race to head the queue we had Ian O’Doherty, followed by Declan Lunch and joined by Diarmuid Doyle. George Byrne must surely have been sharpening his pencil in anticipation also….

De Scribe wishes not to forensically examine what these individuals wrote, save to say that they had a field day. Old tales of referees in boots were recounted with glee, the caricature of the thick and uncivilised Culchie was dusted off and utilised to the maximum. Declan Lynch attempted to explain why soccer was the “real” football. Oh how we laughed….

It has not been a good year for the Association. Mistakes have been made along the way. This is ironic as on the pitch we have been treated to one of the most exciting seasons in years. Yet if the GAA is to continue to improve, then mistakes must be recognised and eradicated.

Fixing an Ulster Final for Croke Park before the finalists were known. Lucky for HQ that Cavan didn’t upset the applecart.
Scheduling of the championship in a farcically unbalanced way (sympathy is offered to Limerick footballers and Waterford, and possibly Wexford, hurlers).
Amazingly announcing extra time at the conclusion of the first Clare/Kilkenny contest. Delaying thousands of fans from seeing the start of the All Ireland Club hurling final on St Patrick’s Day.
Kerry hurlers and Tipperary footballers having the temerity to abandon their championship campaigns in ignominious fashion.
The Tommy Murphy Cup (a first class lesson in how not to run a competition). Apologising, after the horse has bolted, for overcharging fans for the Clare/Kilkenny replay.
We could go on.

This is not bashing the GAA, rather it is an honest assessment of the way the season has gone, so far, off the pitch. On it we have been blessed with a mesmerising festival, especially in hurling. Rather it has been outside the playing area where the mistakes have been made, opportunities missed. Imagine the fantastic goodwill that would have been generated by a reduction in prices for the hurling Quarter Final replay in Thurles; how much common sense would it have taken to delay the start of the All Ireland Club Final? Why couldn’t they have switched the semis in hurling around to have given Kilkenny an extra weeks rest? (Not that they ended up needing it).

It is the little things that make the big difference. Sean Kelly has been a good President so far, proving to be a very amenable public face for the Association. However, his decision last weekend to apologise for the admission fee for the hurling replay was an own goal. His words were galling to those who had to fork out such prices for the second time in six days; surely if HQ know now that the price was extortionate, they must have known then? Goodwill is a commodity that is priceless.

A few minor adjustments, lessons learned, and the GAA will have its house in order. Then it will be in a position to ward off any vitriolic abuse, any ignorant analysis. It’s been a tough few weeks, but the storm will be survived. For in the long term the GAA is still the biggest sporting organisation on this island, still the best organised, and still the most popular. It is up to all its members and supporters to keep it that way.