2022 All Ireland football final - The Yerras V The Fancy Dans. Name your kitchen

[maurice_brown]

No they are sister parishes.

[Bisto]

There’s also a strong possibility Walsh just wants to play a year or two at the highest level
of club football with a big club with the best facilities While he’s living in Dublin before going home for good …

[peddlerscross]

He probably saw the Ladies win the All Ireland Club and said to himself, ‘I’d like a piece of that’.

Robbie Brennan has history bringing outsiders into Dublin Clubs too. @Fat_Pox can take up the story from here…

[Gman]

and while that may be true, thats a reason these sort of things shouldnt happen. Parnells had it with their set up and recruitment and it was bollix. Crokes have had a few imports over the years, and being flashy and having the money and set up to entice outsiders in shouldnt be a way forward.

Brehenys piece isnt too bad there, and his question of if the player wants to play in Dublin, see does he have the same interest if he isnt joining the biggest and richest club. Where the irony is somewhat lost in the Breheny piece is where he himself admits to leaving the club when he moved to Dublin.

[TheUlteriorMotive]

He also chose to not raise prior to an All Ireland semi final or final as it would have been a distraction.

It’s funny to hear lads who won’t travel to watch a match suggest Walsh should travel all year round for the GAA.

I’d say like most things there’s a multitude of reasons for the transfer and he’s not come to the decision easily. He’s 29 years old so he’s given his best years to his local / legacy club.

[myboyblue]

I wonder what the average Crokes person makes of this? Probably nothing whatsoever, which in and of itself says a lot for the atttiude of the club

[endakenny]

@Iggy

Shane Walsh saga shows why GAA need to take tougher stance on Dublin clubs’ import deals

Martin Breheny

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Breheny Beat

Shane Walsh: ‘The pride of Kilkerrin and Clonberne for people of all ages and an absolute god for the younger generation.’ Photo: Sportsfile

August 02 2022 08:13 PM

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First, a declaration of interest in the case of Shane Walsh and his proposed switch from Kilkerrin-Clonberne to Kilmacud Crokes.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne is my home club, where I played for many years (it’s no surprise they remained junior for so long!) and also served as secretary prior to moving to Dublin in 1979.

It’s a much more vibrant and successful club on and off the pitch nowadays, thanks to the enterprise of so many people who have done extraordinary work.

The ladies team are All-Ireland champions while the men’s team are priming for a shot at the Galway intermediate championship. With Shane Walsh aboard, they would have a chance of being successful.

That’s not the only reason they were devastated when they heard last Saturday that a move to Kilmacud is on the cards for their star man. Walsh is actually more than that in Kilkerrin-Clonberne. He’s the pride of the joint-parishes for people of all ages and an absolute god for the younger generation.

Kids as young as five or six are trying to run like him, kick like him, hoping that one day they will play like him. It’s a GAA story from the ages – especially in a small club – the local hero, who not only makes the county team but brings once-in-a-generation quality.

Losing him would be utterly deflating for the club. Losing him to a Dublin super-club, just as the Galway championship is about to start, makes it all the worse. It’s the ultimate sickener.

This is where emotion meets reality and comes away disappointed. Emotion demands that Walsh remains with his home club. It takes nothing into account only the pride of having him in their red jersey and a belief that his super talents belong to them. It’s all very understandable.

Reality, although tough to take, is different. If Walsh, who is based in Dublin, wants to play for a club in the capital, he is entitled to do so. GAA players are not under contract, except perhaps in a loyalty sense.

Nobody has the right to question their motives for changing clubs. They are free agents, in so far as the GAA rules on eligibility allow.

Now, that’s where the crux arises, one that the GAA is not addressing. In the country, a player must play for his home club unless he can prove that he has moved to the catchment area of another club.

It’s different in Dublin, where there is no parish rule. For obvious reasons, there can’t be, as it would be impossible to apply distinct boundaries in an area with a population of 1.3 million.

A top player moving from the country to Dublin has a pick of clubs and, inevitably, the bigger ones are more attractive targets. They’re clever at making themselves appealing, whether with the carrot of likely success or inducements.

Not that there’s any suggestion of anything like this happening Walsh’s case, or that he is benefiting in any way from the proposed move, as he is already based in Dublin where he is continuing his studies.

But yes, it happens, sometimes in the form of free accommodation, sometimes with a wallet of notes. Naturally, you won’t find details of these transactions in the accounts.

Croke Park know that but, as the rules stand, are unable to do anything about what is a clear violation of the amateur rules. There can be no case without evidence and it’s never forthcoming. That’s the official position on why it’s never investigated.

Frankly, such a weak response is not good enough. In the absence of any way of tracking down illegal inducements, some imaginative thinking is needed.

Here’s an example. Instead of allowing a player from the country to join any club he wishes in Dublin, why not have a list of options which do not include the main powers? There are many clubs in Dublin who lack the commercial clout to ‘incentivise’ potential recruits. They would benefit from gaining fresh talent while the players involved got a new club.

That’s assuming, of course, that they were as committed to switching as if they were joining a wealthy club. One suspects that might not always be the case, especially for the big names who find the path to super-clubs dotted with goodies.

And who can blame players if their talents yield financial rewards, directly or indirectly? Loyalty is fine, but there’s a real world too where bills have to be paid and if others are prepared to settle some, it’s naïve to expect players to turn them down.

Read More

• Conor McKeon: Galway star Shane Walsh is not the first to move clubs … and won’t be the last either
• The off-season fix: 10 areas that the GAA needs to address before inter-county action returns next year

It’s back then to Croke Park and their responsibilities. Allowing star imports to join large Dublin clubs, which already draw from massive catchment areas, is wrong on a number of fronts.

It makes the strong even stronger which, in turn, makes them ever more attractive to new arrivals. And so the cycle continues.

The GAA are very strict on club eligibility throughout the country. Rightly so, because otherwise there would be anarchy.

So why such loose regulations in Dublin, relating to players moving from the country? Don’t blame the players, who are entitled to best serve their own interests, or the super-clubs, who have similar motivation.

Instead, blame a faulty transfer system which, for some strange reason, Croke Park continues to accept. In another context, GAA president Larry McCarthy wrote in the All-Ireland final programme of bringing ‘certainty and stability to the club structure’.

Try telling Kilkerrin-Clonberne that’s working for them right now.

This must be the best piece Martin Breheny has ever produced.

[Fat_Pox]

@endakenny

This must be the best piece Martin Breheny has ever produced.

That’s a very low bar now.

[endakenny]

I am 100% sure that Walsh’s mileage could be paid by the club.

I am 100% sure Walsh would not be expected to come home for midweek sessions.

I am also convinced his home club could help financially if he asked nicely whether it be the club or local businesses with marketing opportunities etc.

[Cheasty]

@endakenny

This must be the best piece Martin Breheny has ever produced.

Any chance you could do up a top ten list of his articles? Martin would love that.

[endakenny]

It is, prob the first time he has hit the nail.

[endakenny]

It would have to be Top 32.

[maurice_brown]

3rd one there is a serious stretch. How you’d be convinced of that?

[Perez2017]

@gilgamboa

There cant be many bigger club teams around. Lot of them have filling out to do yet. The father of the five is a massive man

Would Ryan have a chance with Cork? Very good the other night i thought.

[endakenny]

It’s Shane Walsh we are on about.

I’m sure he could make thousands opening up Supermacs around North Galway.

[maurice_brown]

There isn’t much room for anymore

[glasagusban]

All the dingbats looking at their shoes uncomfortably after finding themselves on the same side as Breheny.

[gilgamboa]

@Perez2017

Would Ryan have a chance with Cork? Very good the other night i thought.

I’d have thought so. He has a lot of the attributes you would want in a full back but needs more time there to get experience defending… Maybe lacking a bit of pace further out field. Darren Browne another fella should get a go again IMO

[carryharry]

League of Nations

[fenwaypark]

The lad who plays corner forward is worth a go. Offers something different to what we normally go with. Looked a handful anytime I seen him play.