And this by-proxy softening the sportS of GAA
Correct. Iâd imagine most of the âhealth and safetyâ measures brought in by the GAA in recent years are pandering to this crowd, who have no long term investment in the GAA to the detriment of genuine grassroots followers.
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Thatâs a massive unsubstantiated assumption.
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What health and safety measures?
Gumshields - insurance driven but makes sense.
Helmets - makes sense.
Vetting and child protection officers - modern society demands it.
health and safety is a much bigger dampener outside organised sports so that ball games for example are not allowed in school playgrounds or many public parks.
Rugby is perceived by a growing number of parents as dangerous. The Headway Laya healthcare research I linked shows that. Rugby will need to change its rules dramatically to deal with that perception. same survey shows most actual parental experiences of child concussions come from football but rugby is regarded as a much more dangerous sport because of the high profile catastrophic injuries at junior and adult level.
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Saw it up close for years coaching in a club that was repositioning itself for the middle classes.
how does a club reposition itself?
A rebrand, kid.
Only lets kids with Irish names join and bans kids with a vowel as a last letter in their first name join.
So more Cians.
Less Antoâs.
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There has always been large underage systems at Cuala and Crokes. They have been providing free coaches to the local national schools as well for as long as I can remember. Thereâs been children of turfmunchers living in the capital putting them into those clubs for decades, as I said, itâs nothing really new.
Cuala getting better at hurling is down to better coaches there and Dublin putting lots of money in. Dublin are still mediocre at it though, 10 years on from when I started hearing that Dublin were a coming force.
I donât see any appreciable increase in the GGA in the area versus other sports. Cuala and Crokes might be increasing with under 12s, but so are the other sports. DĂșn Laoighaire Rathdownâs population has grown at a greater rate than the rest of the country, so it makes sense. That the GGA donât have the land and infrastructure to handle that in the area is down to their authorities not planning well enough.
Great anecdotes but again I will deal in facts.
Cuala membership has grown by five times since late 90s.
And rugby
According to Fergus Slattery in the anti rugby rag the Irish Times
"Generally speaking, across Ireland and Britain, rugby numbers are down 50 per cent in urban areas. Granted, a huge boon for Irish rugby is the increase in participation in rural areas.
I get invited on occasion to club dinners and lunches. The average age can be up around 65. I made a quip at one recently that there will be nobody attending these functions in 15 to 20 years time. On returning to my seat the host of the event, an old friend, looked at me angrily and stated: âHow dare you suggest such a thing! There will be nobody at this lunch in three years time!â "
Great anecdote there from Slats.
that never happened
It will be a sad day for hurling if a team full of Sneachtas and Uachar-Reoites win the Club All-Ireland. The thoughts of a D4 accent speaking Gaeilge while accepting an All Ireland hurling trophy makes me nauseous. A motion to disband the game at the next congress should be proposed if it comes to pass.
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Mandatory helmets for adults makes no sense. The only case of a fatal head injury in hurling in my lifetime happened to a chap who got a bang on the head while wearing a helmet.
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99 per cent of eye injuries in hurling were found to occur in players not wearing helmets according to 2010 research by Cork University Hospital.
Reduction in head injuries from 28 per cent in 1984 to 7 per cent in 2010.
Protective gloves being mandatory would prevent hand fractures.
Not sure if serious.
To prevent eye injuries alone itâs worth it.
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We had it last March . A bunch of latte sipping , panini eating guys from caherdavin won last year . A few Limerick 4 accents there .
The horse has bolted .
47 & 23 respectively.
Interesting article here for the Francophile rugby fans
Didnât know where to put this but Enda Mcnulty being grilled by Sean O Rourke now.
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