Letter to Gerald

Dear Gerald,

First of all, I write to you assuming a couple of things to be gospel. They are that all of your communication to date, has been accurate in terms of the sequence of events which have unfolded during the current crisis and also in terms of the events of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. It is on the basis of this information that I put myself firmly in your corner and it is also on this basis, that all your other supporters choose to support your position.

I think it is clear there are three parties in this mess; the Cork County Board, Gerald MacCarthy and the 2008 Hurling Panel. I think your predicament is the most difficult. Whilst you have been backed by the Board, they still stand under the title ‘The Cork County Board’ which is numerous in its members . The 2008 Hurling Panel stand together as thirty. You however, stand isolated, having your credentials as a person and hurling manager called into question in the most public arena. Still, you have remained open to finding a solution, but others are unwilling to engage in dialogue.

Last Saturday, a large crowd walked through the streets in Cork City in support of the Hurling Panel. It was a smart move on the Hurling Panel’s behalf. Stage a march at the peak time of the busiest day of the week. It naturally swelled the crowd with every Tom, Dick and Harry participating in the publicity stunt. Also, to do it the day before the NHL opener was always going to allow the comparison between the swelled crowd on the Grand Parade and the paltry crowd in the Pairc. How many of the marchers were in the Pairc when the 2008 Panel scrapped past Dublin in last year’s qualifier? How many of them would have been in the Pairc last Sunday, in miserable weather conditions, if it were the 2008 Panel on show? Are these people G.A.A. people? Do they understand what makes our organisation tick? Or do the delegates of the clubs, who devote so much voluntarily to the G.A.A., reflect the feeling of the Cork G.A.A. public? I hope it is the latter.

I’m disappointed to see how a portion of the Cork Hurling public have abandoned the principles on which the G.A.A. was built, to nail their flag to the post of a group of people who are threatening to bring the G.A.A. down a road which will cause unrepairable damage. John Gardner’s comment on Primetime was a defining moment for me. When he was said professionalism was not on the agenda ‘at the moment’, any support I may have had for them disappeared.

Every time you speak, you do so in a very eloquent manner and one can’t but be impressed. I was moved when I heard you speak about your own pride in leading our young team out last Sunday. The game against Tipperary presents you and your team a huge challenge. The timing of the meeting between the ’08 Panel and the club representatives is clearly to try and leverage a potentially bad result to gain the support of the clubs.

However, I hope the clubs show they are aligned with their delegates and demonstrate their support for you. The 2008 Panel should disband, go their seperate ways and be free to choose the hurling path which each of its members wish to follow. The footballers should also withdraw their strike threat (which post-NFL timing was not so well aligned with the disband/don’t disband decision this Sunday) and focus on their own task.

Whatever happens, I thank you for standing up for what you and many of us believe in. I hope your actions will have the necessary effect to help protect our County and Association from spiralling to the point of no return. You were a legend to my father’s generation and now your legend grows and crosses impacts another generation.

Thank you for what your are doing for our County.

Good Luck

Dave Barrett