5%, but at what cost?

Whilst I can claim to be nothing more then a bit green behind the ears, I never hesitate to offer an opinion when the opportunities arise! In these recessionary times, we see more and more companies locked in negotiations and disputes with Unions. Many of the relationships are betrayed of the basic necessity for a successful bond between the two parties; mutual trust and respect. For me, I can see the value in a mature Union to organise the masses and provide a window to negotiate with Management. It can bring a structure and order to proceedings which is absolutely necessary.

However, there are also Unions which are governed by revolutionaries, the type of people who would start a fight with themselves and who would lightly follow the agenda of those they represent and heavily follow the agenda of a smaller covert group. They take the fight to the establishment and are never happy to find a common ground, always eager for more. These are great influencers lost to the mainstream political world.

So, where do the GPA fall in all of this? Are they the big bad monsters described in the latter part of the previous paragraph? Maybe. Maybe not. Their relationship with the GAA does not contain even a hint of mutual trust or respect, instead it's characterised by a poisonous and deep rooted sense of suspicion which won't be easily reversed. The GPA want 5% of the G.A.A.'s income. Just in case you are not clear, that would be the income of a volunteer, non profit organisation which cascades money through its deep lying roots to help erect some of the finest sports facilities in the country, in some of the smallest towns. And to who does that 5% go to? Into the pockets of the elite player which would essentially be the first step into the ill-fated world of pay for play.

If this demand is met, what next? With the economy shrinking and more intercounty players out of work, additional support would be needed. 7% please Mr. Cooney. And on it would go until we had whittled down the Championships to 6 elite professional teams in each code before collapse and a fastpass into the High Court with the unfortunate Tom Coughlan of Cork City heading the queue.

I'm convinced that is the road the Gaelic Players Union will bring us down should they get their way. When a prominent hurler was asked earlier in the year whether pay for play was on the agenda, he replied, ‘not for the moment’. Not until we get our 5% and our foot in the door he meant? Proceed with caution.

The G.A.A. came out a few weeks ago with an excellent and responsible blueprint for the future of the G.A.A. and GPA's relationship. It would see official recognition, administrative support and financial support for many programmes which would benefit our finest players. This week, it seems one of the founding fathers of the GPA, DJ Carey, supported such an involvement.

This one is going to run and run though and will see the recession pass into a distant memory. Well, that’s assuming no-one ventures down to Cork and hits the nuclear button and withdraws their services. If they do, then the G.A.A. should be hot on their tale because there is a brave man down those parts who put on the gas mask and fought the fight.

If Gerald Mac could find thirty men to play for him, so could Pat Gilroy or Davy Fitz or whoever else holds the reigns when doomsday comes around. Sure, it would rob us of the most talented and most elite hurlers and footballers in the land. However, remember this. You have been to thrilling U-12 games, Senior Championship matches and games from all sorts of ages and grades. You have left with a tingle down your spine, thrilled by the bravery you witnessed, the commitment that saw men play to a standstill and the flashes of skill that leave you in awe. That’s the tingle which was absent when you left Thurles after Episode 1 of Limerick and Waterford this year.
So keep some perspective and hold your ground.

You see good games and bad games at all levels. What makes you sick in your stomach or cry in sorrow or joy, is watching your club or county play. Who wears the jersey is not so important, it’s what burns inside the man whose back it adorns that matters most. That's not to say the current GPA Members don't display these traits. It's just to remind ourselves that they are not a scarce resource on our Island, but more of a natural resource. Gold is great, but Silver can have a nice shine to it too.