I’m a big fan of kimmage, but he’s obviously a bit thin on material, or, more likely, his editor made him write this.
It is a shame to see a great writer reduced from “Engage” to reporting on a small town spat straight out of eighties Oireland, between entitled snowflake parents who’ll climb onto the moral high ground on the backs of twelve year old kids, and the village hierarchy who forty years ago would have had them all denounced from the pulpit and sent to a laundry.
10 Likes
Neither side come out of this looking well.
Snowflake parents of snowflake kids who can’t let trivial matters slide and won’t acknowledge events that may have their kids develop some character.
And then brazen club officials who will disobey relevant protocols, negate their responsibility to kids and muddy the waters in order to stop a bad bit of bad PR or hold their hands up and address the issue.
Fair play to Kimmage for highlighting what’s going on in Athenry juvenile GAA. The club ultimately dug their own hole on this one. Cloonan prances around with an air of invincibility about him.
2 Likes
Funny seeing the gahliban on here outraged and blaming Kimmage
Some things never change
Well that’s a fair mountain out of a mole hill. Does the article really just finish with that last conversation piece? It’s a shit article, poorly written, about an internal club matter.
The club were stupid. When you have breaches like that, you hold your hands up and apologise, not bury your head in the sand and rally the troops.
The secretary was completely wrong, not only to be on his own with the chaps, but more so because what he was saying to them was going to be an issue and should have been said with others around. As mentioned here already, it sounds like they were given jerseys to play the under 14 that day, but he told them they wouldn’t be playing under 14 again. A second coach with him would have nipped this in the bud straight away.
Yer man with his fucks sounds like the typical old school D’unbelievables coach. The fire in the belly comments compound that. Time and a place for that shit, and it’s not with under 12s.
Why the parents went straight to Croke park tho too. At least go to the county welfare officer first. I think that also shows their stance and why this became a 2 page spread in a national paper.
4 Likes
Couldn’t agree more. Any man prancing around a GAA club needs to be taken down a peg or two.
Was it yourself that flagged it to Kimmage?
1 Like
Nothing worse than someone else digging your own hole though
1 Like
A lot of lads need to remember this, hate the game not the player.
When a scandal is let fester to the point of reaching Kimmages lap then the accused deserve all that’s coming.
I notwfrom my own contacts on twitter that those involved at the grassroots in the GAA are publicly supportive of Kimmage here, a couple of personal friends who I’d have huge respect for
He’s not wrong, the club were stupid as were the coaches. However this is an acclaimed journalist involved in bringing down one of the biggest stars in world sports having a huge 2 page spread about a fairly trivial matter in a rural western gga club. It would barely make a comment in a local hack newspaper, how it got to be national focus is beyond me.
4 Likes
Sweep Sweep
1 Like
Particularly amused that snowflake parent is spitting blood because a guy in Croke Park doesn’t answer his call straight away.
1 Like
Don’t forget, 10 year olds can be right cunts too. Maybe they deserved it.
9 Likes
I’m wondering the same thing. There has to be a contact within the Indo or some angle like that to push an absolute non story.
Bitching like this goes on in absolutely every Gaa club up and down the country without exception. It’s documented here that a club I’m with ousted a coach last year, him along with his wife and a few of their friends are waiting in the wings for me or someone on the committee to make one minuscule slip up and no doubt they’ll pounce on me personally or some other committee member and do their best to make a mountain out of some molehill, club or players won’t matter. His and his wife’s ego took a bashing and revenge for that is paramount.
That’s the Gaa for you.
Yeah it’s news worthy but not a story for the most famous sports journalist in the country
But it doesn’t work. And many many Child officers have done no training. It’s box ticking. Are there good lads who take it seriously? Of course.
But there are hundreds of Athenrys.
The Tom Hummpheries case will happen again. That’s the sad truth. People like that will do it no matter what. They may be put off GAA for a while but that will cycle too.
What’s happening is coaches are being put off volunteering. that is overwhelmingly what I hear. There isn’t a week goes by that someone does not say “way too much hassle to coach”
And it is all reducing the role a good chairman can have. Still there critical political person in the hehe middle but completely slowed up by red tape.
You cannot keep making rules and creating roles to solve problems. You are only treating symptoms.
As mentioned above, it’s the cover up nature of Ireland that creates these messes. That’s what has to change. A culture of transparency.
Not fucking rules and child officers.
We are all child officers. We all intuitively know how to deal with kids. Some choose not to and let their egos or psychological issues take over. But that’s where strong leadership comes in.
2 Likes
Have to agree with you there Kev. Last week we had a committee meeting for 1 hour & 45 mins.
Not one single mention of a player of coaching strategies, the time went on co board levies & fines and administration stuff. You’d wonder at times why you’re putting yourself in for the hassle.
Re the child welfare stuff, the majority of it protects the coach as much as the players. Abide by these rules and your safe.
Not really disagreeing with that. But no need to be pulling a good volunteer into a role to do it.
Personal responsibility is being withdrawn. Make it part of membership.
Link to your website with child protection policy. Up to them to read it. If anyone doesn’t use their head around kids have a 3 stage warning system.
I have legal ramifications with my business. Working with one club in particular this year and the child protection guy (who I actually like and admire) will not let me video anything. We are doing some brilliant stuff, it’s marketing for me (they do not get that either though). But all he has to do is send a text to the parents, and won’t do it out of fear. Had no problems elsewhere and in the private classes the kids absolutely love the fact they end up on instagram, makes them feel important. But yer man is an absolute nervous wreck about it. I dropped it completely as I did not want to put any more pressure on him. That’s not what volunteering for a club should be.
It’s all gone too far. A video of a kid is no different to someone pulling up at an u14 game and watching the match.
Bad people will be bad people. That will not change no matter what. The world has never been safer for kids. It’s time to get a grip.
And stupid people will be stupid. We can all be stupid. Cloonan was stupid. What makes him an asshole is not holding his hands up.
Only recently my missus friend pulled me on saying her child was a “beautiful looking child, you will have some trouble with her down the line” laughing. She was horrified. “You can’t say that about an 8 year old”
Like that is fucked. The girl looks like Pocahontas (cartoon version😂) and has young lads calling to the door already.
Shit has got out of hand when you cannot have casual (complimentary) banter conversations like that.
What people do not realize but is starting to manifest itself now, is that we are making kids weak as water. They cannot make a decision to save their lives and they have no robustness about them at all.
I have the “mother line” at the group classes. No mother is allowed pass it. If a kid gets hurt or needs to go over they can. But not the other way around. Works brilliantly. They rarely want to go over, as much out of embarrassment as anything. But that’s good too.
Someone has to say stop
3 Likes
I was home in Ireland not too long ago and one of the things that struck me most is how much time now goes into activities at GAA clubs compared to just 20 years ago. When I played there were 4 underage teams in hurling, 12, 14, 16 & 18 often ran by just 2 coaches. There was the same in football but because it was the more popular game each team would have their own coach. There was also maybe 3 underage camogie teams and no ladies football. Now there are teams for u10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18, football and hurling, boys and girls and each of them must have 2 coaches. You are talking about 30 or more coaches from a very small pick. For small rural clubs it’s a huge effort to keep it all going and I’d have nothing but total respect for those who give it a go. It’s inevitable that not every coach will be the ideal example and being a volunteer doesn’t absolve one from their responsibilities but if this is the most shocking incident across the country then things must be going very well. To be fair both Croke Park and the county board seem to have handled this quite well as they should considering they are paid professionals.
4 Likes
Come off it Kev, the reason you have the “mother line” is to protect yourself. All those mothers are probably throwing themselves at you.
16 Likes