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Split season has invigorated clubs⌠if Donal Og Cusack is against it, we must be doing something right
independent.ie | October 16, 2022 02:30 AM
This extraordinary, multi-decorated county hurler (he has won four straight All-Stars) is loving life. Like all our county players, he has at long last been given a proper break from the enforced tedium of the old system. He now has absolutely vital time to enjoy those crucial parts of life that had come to be neglected in the inter-county gameâs race to the bottom.
His club Bruff are playing Newcastle West in the Limerick intermediate championship semi-final this weekend. Asked whether the new system is good for the inter-county game, SeĂĄn said, âAs a player I can only speak highly of it.â It is nothing short of an emancipation.
Another unforeseen benefit of the new system is that as we saw with the vibrant inaugural Tailteann Cup, because the county season was finished so early, players from the counties outside of Division 1 hadnât taken off to the US. They were all still at home and available to play. So, we had a wonderful, exuberant second-tier championship. After the final whistle in that Tailteann final, I bumped into some senior GAA officials on level 5.
Uplifted by what we had all just seen and felt, the discussion was all about creating more tiers. Why should Antrim and Carlow and Leitrim not have the same opportunities to win a Tier 3 or Tier 4 All-Ireland? Why shouldnât we have a weekend festival of All-Ireland finals, perhaps with Tier 2 and 4 on the Saturday in Croke Park, followed by the Tier 1 and 3 finals on the Sunday? Now, these tiers will work, because the players will still be at home, unlike the old system where they were long gone.
The new split season even allows players to travel to America on a five-week sanction to play there, before returning in time for their own club championships. Both Rian OâNeill (Philadelphia) and Paul Mannion (Boston) played in America this year and were home in time to take a full part in their clubsâ runs to the county finals in Armagh and Dublin. These are all very big wins for our boys and for our community.
All over the country, we see the new lease of life being given to the club. Proper time to prepare. Proper time for their star players to reintegrate with the group and achieve that togetherness that is the essence of team sport.
Under the old system, county players might as well have been hired by their clubs for championship, as though they were travelling to the US for five weeks. As for the clubs, they waited forever to start their championship then often ran it off like a blitz, sometimes over the space of three weeks. Then, it was straight back to the county for pre-season training. Who did this benefit? If DĂłnal Ăg Cusack is opposed to it, the GAA must be doing something right.
Our clubs have been invigorated. They are no longer an afterthought, a thing of secondary importance, about whom we make grand speeches and describe them as âthe lifeblood of the associationâ while treating them as anything but. The GPA has hijacked this language and perverted it. Routinely now, we hear their leaders talking of county players as âthe lifeblood of our associationâ, âgreat menâ, âthe ones who inspire the children to play the gamesâ, âthe ones who generate the revenueâ, âput bums on seatsâ, âleaders in their communitiesâ and all the rest.
The GPA are essentially a lobby and PR group, their main purpose being to ensure that money continues to flow into their coffers. The more county players are kept away from their clubs, the more they become detached from them. In this way, the GPA can control them and continue to buy their loyalty. When DĂłnal Ăg rails against the new shorter county season, in my view he is railing against the loosening of that control. The longer the county season, the more games, more money, more sponsorship, and, most importantly, more financial possibilities for the GPA.
The GPA has always struggled to find a real purpose. In searching for one, they have borrowed heavily from the wellness industry, patronising everyone and peddling a grandiose vision of themselves. Just last week, at their annual conference, which comes across like a Google wellness day, Tom Parsons said: âCounty players are role models in their community, driving social change.â Driving social change? I have no idea what he means by that, but it sounds high-minded and noble, and in a world where superficial sentiment trumps reality, it will have to do.
He said: âOur members play a unique and irreplaceable role in Irish society, heritage and culture.â More meaningless mumbo jumbo that could apply to most lawful groupings. Young Fine Gael or Conradh na Gaeilge would say the same.
Then, the veiled threats to the GAA. âOur commitment to Gaelic games at the highest level must be acknowledged, respected and not forgottenâ ie, the GPA wants more funding. Then, âit is imperative there is a world-class welfare programme in place for inter-county players.â Presumably their version of a world-class welfare programme means more life coaches.
Real welfare is shortening the season for inter-county players, reducing the number of training sessions (something the GPA has fought against), allowing our boys to flourish in the vital areas of their lives: work, study, relationships, leisure, socialising, getting involved in other things that turn their light on. In short, giving them time to live. No wonder so many of our players nowadays are, in Brian McGilliganâs immortal words, âstill at school doing nothing when they are nearly 30.â
The GPA conference was reminiscent of the North Korean parliament, full of exaggerated self-praise about how amazing the GPA is, what a crucial role they fulfil in Irish society, how they uplift the nation and all the rest. They are detached from reality, like the Pendulum Summit. Put it this way, they wouldnât think of talking about the GAA or themselves in this way in the clubhouse or the pub. If they did, people would think they had lost their minds and move to the other side of the bar.
There are no dissenting voices. Last week, as usual, all of the motions at the conference (six in total) were passed unanimously. How can anyone object to such sugary expressions of self praise?
Motion 5: âThat our members are saintly, charitable, devoted to social justice, love little kittens and deserve to be properly financially remunerated for their awesome contribution to Irish lifeâ. Do we have anyone to speak against the motion? No? Last chance. No? Okay. Do we have a seconder? Yes? Can members press the green button to vote Yes and the red button to vote No. Sorry, there isnât actually a red button (ripple of laughter goes around the conference room). And the result: 150 votes to zero. The motion is carried unanimously.
They come across like life coaches, and like life coaches, they are very sensitive to criticism. Some years ago, they hired the renowned impressionist Conor âSketchesâ Moore to perform at one of their fundraising dinners. On the week of the event, the organisers rang Conor and told him that he was not allowed to do his impression of me. Incredulous, he told them that I was going to be a big part of his routine. They said it was a deal-breaker. The comedian told them to stuff it. When he rang me that night to tell me I thought he was pulling my leg.
They are children wanting to be treated like adults. Since the GAA bought them off, like the teams on the The Apprenticethey have no real decision-making powers, and only exist because the GAA allowed a vacuum to develop. They therefore play at being grown-ups. They have their AGMs, just like adults with real jobs. They have pop-ups and PowerPoints and glossy posters, just like adults with real jobs. The most embarrassing thing about them though, is the amount of time they spend patting each other on the backs, which is truly nauseating.
Meanwhile, the rest of us get on with volunteering.
Joe is right on the GPA.
Their only worried about one thing 
He absolutely nails it there
Someone needs to stick a pin in the training.
Itâs madness and actually ruining the enjoyment of watching and playing.
The GPA want a longer pre season.
Are they fucking mental.
The inter county season is getting longer. Limerick going back in December. Presume other counties are going back before them.
They always went back in December. Theyâre finished in July now instead of Septemeber
I was told this morning that theyâre not going fully back till January. Probably will have their own bit to do before full collective trainings.
A few holidays to get through first.
So 6 months instead of 9. More time with the club and time off unless you go in to all ireland club.
Whens the last time Kyle Hayes had 3 months off for example.
It just makes so much sense
And they had many breaks when it was September.
Now the inter county set up is far more professional and intense due to having no club breaks.
Kyle could really do with a long holiday.
18, 19, 20 and 21. He wonât have 3 months off in 2022.
Limerick are back in December and thatâs after one of the most intense inter county seasons of all time.
Kyle like many other Limerick players will be with the county for 8/9 months.
Theyâll be with the clubs on average of 6-9 weeks.
Itâs an absolute joke.
I donât want to argue with you about, you have firm opinions on it, i donât
Im not involved in any capacity and it doesnât bother me when i watch games
It bothers me massively watching the gaa die.
We are rolling towards professionalism and at club level semi professionalism at club level.
That only means only thing many clubs will fold.
The inter county season needs to be ripped up. Itâs taking up the best months of the year and the product is largely awful.
I think thats a bit dramatic but i love your passion
Professionalism just destroys sport and what itâs actually about.
I never quite understood why club rugby fans hated professional rugby and why in America so many just follow college football.
Iâm beginning to see it now.
Youâll be following the UL Wolves in the years to come.