Initially I didn't read too much into Colm's comments, I thought he was just stuck for something to write about now that the championships are over. But I think the responses from the GPA have been very poor and in some cases childish, they have done some good work but they are becoming increasingly irrelevant and a fire needs to be lit under them.

As for the 'Meath fcker' comment, I wouldn't personally take any offence to that, I mean generally when you start throwing school yard insults instead of legitimately fighting your then you're in trouble.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 28/10/2014 11:26:08    1667671

blacknamber
The elitest players defending the organisation for the elite - their reaction has re enforced the point O'Rourke was making. Time for club players to start a representative body that would fairly erode the clout of GPA.

Exactly. I couldn't believe the way they responded, it was like something you would see on a parody sketch - the elite guys coming out on the defensive. How many backwater club players done the same? Or did they not get the 'lazy journalism' memo? The orchestrated nature of the response left a particularly bad taste in the mouth, they tried to bully him with numbers as far as I can see, without actually addressing what he asked. They seemed to think they were above question because all these names were involved - so what if they are? The first guy to call them on it was Philip Jordan and credit to him for doing it. To me, it drove home what the GPA has become - a few top guys using their position to look after themselves and their immediate peers. Nothing wrong with that, but dressing it up as the frontline for all gaa players in the country is quite another thing. Players should ask themselves, what has the GPA tried to do for players in my club?

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 28/10/2014 11:49:23    1667682

See Paddy Heaney in todays Irish News gives even more insight to the GPA and how they deal with dissenters

Tim_Burr (Down) - Posts: 460 - 28/10/2014 11:52:48    1667685

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/10-questions-of-public-interest-that-the-gpa-needs-to-answer-30696536.html

Tim_Burr (Down) - Posts: 460 - 28/10/2014 11:58:37    1667692

Sorry that should say 'fighting your corner'.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 28/10/2014 12:00:21    1667693

I think the GPA is the sort of player organisation the GAA want - not what players need. At the same time be careful and wary of who is setting the agenda here, Independant newspapers have an insatible desire to create a "crisis" were none exists. Maybe the GPA will respond if they don't they will be damaged beyond repair.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4897 - 28/10/2014 14:14:20    1667757

They should rename themselves as the EPA - Elitie Players Association.

The GAA should support a CPA - Clubs Players Association.

Funds could then be distributed on a per capita membership ratio between the two Associations. What ya think of that now Dessie boy???

dingle2 (Kerry) - Posts: 278 - 28/10/2014 14:21:50    1667761

Ok so who here ever though the GPA ever represented the club player? they never claimed to or are capable of doing so. I though the reply from DF was quite reasonable and answered the questions COR had asked. Its easy to play but you don't do anything for the club player but at the same time talk about player burnout - hold on though player burnout is not an issue of the majority of club players, its more the elite players is it not? seriously lads even within your clubs players playing junior and senior would have at times different concerns and at the end of the day if they are playing they are members of their club so whats stopping them from turning up at the AGM and doing something about their issues - players in any club must make up the biggest voting block but ask them to think about solutions, well thats somewhat different. COR has a right to question what they do, thats fair enough but to throw things like doing nothing for the club player is a populist slogan.
"I know, too, people took great pride seeing hurling being played in the famed Notre Dame University but the truth is that should be a secondary consideration. It would be time better spent ensuring more members get a chance to play hurling in Croke Park."

I see COR has nailed his colors to the mast on the importance of the development of the game and people wo are involved in it outside of Ireland - its all of secondary importance

COR's answer to developing the game of Hurling in Ireland is for the GPA to demand the GAA make the changes otherwise they will withdraw their services. Did he ever consider that players might not support the idea of not competing for Sam regardless of the county they are from? I assume he knows in Hurling there are second and third level competitions where the finals are played in Croke Park?

Anyway I will be in a minority here but I did find his original article written at a time when there is little else to write about.

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 1805 - 28/10/2014 16:06:25    1667811

I heard Dessie Farrell on Newstalk Zinny and I thought he came across quite well. In fairness that was what you would expect of him/GPA and not the text scandal. I think the text thing reflected badly on whoever was the brains behind it / those who blindly tweeted a response.

Going back to O'Rourke's article, I think the crux of his argument was that the GPA have gone very quiet in the last while. I think most informed people realize that the GPA are not there to represent club players. But should they? Or could they use their position to force debates on issues such as the scheduling of club fixtures - after all the people they do represent are club players too.

As regards people talking about the elitism of the association, I feel there is a discussion there too. I'm sure more Dublin players have benefited from the various schemes than say Leitrim or Carlow ones. Also it's a bit of gray area what actually gets you into the GPA? If you're a county player who plays during the League but get drop for the championship, are you a member for life?

I actually don't think O'Rourke was too harsh and the article certainly didn't warrant all those tweets.

Former_Poster (Meath) - Posts: 394 - 28/10/2014 18:25:45    1667853

Well done golm. The gpa are no longer radical they are reduntent

foreverroyal (Meath) - Posts: 349 - 28/10/2014 20:58:45    1667906

So the GPA don't represent club players at all. It is specifically county players. Then how about O'Rourke's point about the AI semi being played in Limerick and the GPA off on a golf outing? He was right, they should have been all over that.

Also, while the GPA obviously cant represent every club player individually, they should try to sort out issues that would help them collectively, like scheduling of games or allowing a country-wide break during the season for players to have a holiday away etc.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 29/10/2014 09:53:43    1667964

The GPA has gone quiet in recent times. But, to be fair, why wouldn't they be gone quiet? What they were formed for, they have largely gotten their way at every turn. They have used player power to force the removal of managers who they didn't like- for example Justin McCarthy, Gerald McCarthy, Teddy Holland. There is €1 million of taxpayers money going directly to GAA player grants each year. There are numerous university scholarships for intercounty players now, meaning very few have to trouble themselves with a part-time job while they study. They have established health tests and schemes for their members to provide assistance with counselling, education advice, financial advice and they secure jobs for their members from sponsor companies. They secure lucrative sponsorship and mareting work with partner companies like Opal and Britvic.

Largely, their mandate has been fulfilled. Why would they need to be seen? They have gotten what they wanted and more besides. The GAA has welcomed them with open arms and given them what they want. There is no need to see them or have strikes or whatever. They wanted intercounty players to be "looked after". They certainly are well looked after, especially when compared to 15 years ago and compared to club players.

What saddens me about the GPA is that the players in the GAA with the most power to help players at all levels are intercounty players. But the intercounty players, through the GPA, chose to help only themselves. So the club player is now out in the cold.

As an aside, I struggle to understand why people who are not intercounty players hold positions of authority in the GPA. Donal Cusack and Dermot Earley are no longer intercounty players- why are they chairman and president?

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2553 - 29/10/2014 11:36:19    1667987

I think McGee's 10 questions will cause much more of a problem for the GPA.

Will they reply to these questions?

BIG SACKS (Tyrone) - Posts: 1681 - 29/10/2014 11:51:08    1667992

Former_Poster

I don't think they do claim to represent regular club players as they are not members. I guess this is the point, a regular club player is supposed to be looked after by his club and a regular club player has a direct say in how the club is run through his membership. As a county player that link is not there and that was the reason why there were so many issues between county boards and players. Now you could say the county board follows the wishes of the clubs (even that is tenuous!) and the county player is a member of the club but we all know the that really doesn't fly as what irks the county player may not irk the rest of the club and the club is there to follow the wishes of the majority not to fight the case of the odd county player. So that is the logic behind the GPA, the GPA is not trying to say anything else other than that - therefore should the discussion not be about why clubs are not looking after the interest of their own players?
There may be a point in who benefits from the GPA and if it looks like some benefit more than others and explain the process and how it the results come about. At the same time I wouldn't like to see it turn into a naming thing - that would be unfair on the individuals involved.

Big Stacks

There are some valid questions but what he hasn't done is said what his point is - back to the Leitrim question, the insinuation here is that without saying it he is trying to imply that the GPA favors Dublin over - well the weaker counties and the stats would prove that but that would prove nothing. If he is really interested in finding out if they do discriminate then why not ask for relevant information the would allow people to draw that conclusion, for a start, what the criteria for receiving each type of assistance, how many people for each county applied, how many people from each county were successful, what was the reasons for rejection by county. All the existing questions do is set it up for sensationalist headlines. How many people attended the AGM - well what difference does it make? if they are interested in an AGM then they will attend - on a whole I would say most players don't attend club AGMs either - what does that prove?
Sorry 8 and 9 are ridiculous - they want the GPA to solve the Fixtures issue, seriously, even if they go a motion onto the congress clar which they cannot do directly anyway it wouldn't have a snowballs chance in hell of getting approved. 9 whats their view on their members going abroad and leaving their clubs - why do they need to have a view? Is that not between the club and their players and not just county players at that.

I do see a point that there has been a lot of good work done around mental health by the GPA and I think this is an areas that could be looked at for sharing with clubs and what they are doing for their own players.

I am not a member of the GPA but I just hate seeing trial by media - this would never be raised in August!

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 1805 - 29/10/2014 13:36:54    1668033

Fogarty blasts Tipp board
29 October 2014

Former Tipperary county board chairman Sean Fogarty has hit out over the handling of fixtures in the county after conceding another provincial club fixture, the Irish Examiner reports.


I am sure he got that wrong - are the GPA not to blame for it?

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 1805 - 29/10/2014 14:07:52    1668043

zinny

I agree with some of what you said, I mean the original article by O'Rourke looked very much to me like an 'off season' article, there was probably very little else to talk about.

But I also think that O'Rourke was right to challenge them because the GPA has been poor on important issues recently such as the Friday night game and the Limerick SF etc, no harm to light a fire under them. But also I think their reaction and the reaction of some of the GPA's high profile members to Colm's criticism was quite poor and childish and it only helped fuel the fire and draw more attention to O'Rourke's article, this could gave blown over much quicker had they been a little more professional in their response.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 29/10/2014 14:20:22    1668051

How do they define an Inter-county player? they say they represent 2,300 Inter-county past and present players, who selects them? All of the activities of the GPA is the responsibility of the County Boards through the GAA and the players respective clubs. Its so-called social awareness programs, its mental awareness activities, anti-racism program etc etc all of this can/should be run by the GAA.
Just don't see a single reason for its existence at all.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4897 - 29/10/2014 14:42:19    1668065

Are you a county player if you play O Byrne cup , are you a county player if you dedicate your youth from 10 years of age till under 21 , living the dream but not going any further ? i know lads with under 21 All Ireland medals for gods sake are they worthy of GPA representation ?
Who dictates who is IN and who isint ?
Its a mess and only someone in serious denial would disagree .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 29/10/2014 20:26:19    1668184

Damothedub

I think like you, we both seem to know Inter-county players at U21 and indeed panel players/subs at Inter-county level, so how do these players get represented? Are they represented?
They claim 2,300 players/past-players but are these members or people they represent? I mean I can become a member of the GPA (the website that is!!) but thats surely not what they mean?

I'm sure someone can find a link and post it here explaining the criteria they use and then all will revealed?

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4897 - 29/10/2014 20:58:03    1668200

Has Farrell commented on that text yet or has he tried to sweep it under the carpet?

ballydalane (Kilkenny) - Posts: 1246 - 29/10/2014 21:32:53    1668208