The GAA have responded to the criticism this has received: link

So they'll allow any sport in Croke Park but not in any other grounds.

'Obviously, Croke Park was opened up to the Irish soccer and rugby teams in 2005 but this decision was only ever limited to Croke Park. Milton confirmed that Croke Park is a stand alone case and is exempt from the ruling.'

CroiGorm (Dublin) - Posts: 1547 - 05/02/2016 11:55:31    1822517

When i used to play football & hurling a long time ago,sometimes our football manager would let us play a game of soccer to freshen things up.By the sounds of it my club shus of been fined 2,000e on quite a few occassions Pathetic carry on.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 05/02/2016 11:57:08    1822519

The rule is archaic and just shows that even in these more enlightened times there are still some dinosaurs prevalent within the GAA.
The world truly is a messed up place when a rural organisation hosts an event benefiting the youth of their community and are subsequently punished for it. Dress that up in any way you want, rule or no rule, it is simply wrong. Another spectacular own goal in the GAA scrapbook. They could give Richard Dunne a run for his money in the own goal department.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9141 - 05/02/2016 12:33:01    1822537

Idiotic and the club need to refuse to pay the fine.

The people making decisions up in Croke Park really are completely out of touch with reality and seem to have no feel at all for good pubic relations.Surely someone up there could have said yes it may be against the rules but the bad publicity isn't really worth the fine or making any fuss about it.

It's about time that rule 42 was get rid of in it's entirety and clubs can do whatever the hell they would like with their own property.

The best repsonse after refusing to pay the fine is for this club to raise a motion for next years congress to have rule 42 got rid of.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 05/02/2016 12:34:56    1822538

Pathetic nonsense from the GAA.

Soccer, rugby, athletics, rugby & the GAA are all involved in the same business, getting kids active.

With all the reports about obesity we should be applauding volunteers from communities who stage summer camps as well as those who facilitate them.

When my kids were younger they went to loads of summer camps & I can't help but feel that it is very narrow minded to see other organisations as competitors who shouldn't be helped.

In my own small business I have regularly helped & been helped by people in the same line of business, it's called decency & something the GAA should be promoting not clamping down on.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 05/02/2016 12:49:45    1822546

Dromard are a great rural club fighting against emigration and dwindling rural numbers just like similar clubs in North Longford, Leitrim and beyond. They have fantastic facilities, but they broke a fundamental rule and are lucky the GAA didn't demand their exec to resign and throw the book at them with a much bigger fine. The lesson for communities fundraising for facilities is that if you build within your GAA grounds, it becomes vested in the GAA, which means any sport/event in competition with the GAA cannot use it. Springsteen, One Direction etc. are not in direct competition with GAA, so they are allowed use upon request. The relaxation of Rule 42 to allow Rugby and Soccer only applies to Croke Park - every other GAA facility in the country is subject to a long-standing rule that competing sports cannot use their facilities and applications need to be made for all non GAA use. This is no different from businesses preventing competing companies using their brand or warehouses or factory floor which they have invested in to grown their own footprint. Club execs should know this and protect their club from exposure to fines - at the very least they should submit an application, which Dromard didn't do. The lesson is don't build non GAA facilities within your GAA complex if you want those facilities to have broad sporting appeal. Legal eagles in Dromard need to figure out how to 'rezone' that astro-turf pitch if they want to use it for other sports. Hopefully the GAA will return the money to Dromard and consider their point made without the need for fines. Its hard enough to keep rural GAA clubs running in Longford, so point made and let the fine slide.

arcadia (Longford) - Posts: 221 - 05/02/2016 13:31:35    1822565

Clubs are dying and the GAA dont give a f**k. They only care about intercounty teams and players. Sickening hypocracy. Time for the clubs to walk away and set up their own organisation.

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4624 - 05/02/2016 14:38:15    1822594

Good post, Arcadia. Right or wrong, those are the rules. Why didn't Dromard seek clarification on this before they went ahead with it? Like it or not, sports are in competition with each other. Here's a GAA club helping to promote soccer but does zero to promote hurling.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 05/02/2016 15:26:09    1822621

Another consideration surely is insurance. If a child gets a bad injury while on GAA grounds it's the GAA who's liable. If they weren't participating in a GAA sport or event then what happens???

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 05/02/2016 15:37:23    1822627

You have to feel sorry for this small club. By the way, can Croke Park be considered a GAA ground when Gaelic games have to give way to soccer, rugby, American football, boxing, or any entertainer or group who want to use. Maybe they need to build a national stadium which, like Dromara, is strictly restricted to GAA games.

neverright (Roscommon) - Posts: 1648 - 05/02/2016 15:49:25    1822636

Pity Jamie Carragher didn't arrive with a guitar and a supporting band, then it would have been ok.

People and clubs need to support and help each other in rural areas where facilities are poor. It's ok for the Dublin posters on here with their well-funded facilities (see article on home page) to denigrate rural clubs in working together. The petty minded and backwards nature of the GAA never ceases to amaze!

jimski (Kildare) - Posts: 381 - 05/02/2016 15:50:24    1822637

Jimski you could also why should the GAA bend over backwards to support every other sport.

Maybe the question should be, if the soccer have no facilities is where did the 5M€ and the rest of the FAI bribe money go??

I play and follow other sports but the idea that the GAA must give up grounds to other sports is beyond me. The reason the GAA have these grounds is 125 plus years of investment locally. The reason soccer and rugby don't have is because the game is geared around the professional world and TV rights.

The real truth is that the FAI couldn't really give a shit about Dromard, UFEA couldn't give a shit about Irish soccer, and since its always about money, FIFA are too busy counting the cash reserves to even care about the game. This is why there no facilities for the soccer to the standard of the GAA.

Whis this the GAA's problem?

witnof (Dublin) - Posts: 1604 - 05/02/2016 16:06:01    1822641

Witnof - it's got nothing to do with UEFA/FAI/FIFA (I don't dispute the money point) - it's do with young kids in a rural community - and I'm sure all benefitted including the local GAA club

jimski (Kildare) - Posts: 381 - 05/02/2016 16:39:53    1822652

We play rugby as part of our warm up and for making supporting runs

We have also played American Football to understand how making runs in the forwards is important.

We need a 4000 euro fine

valley84 (Westmeath) - Posts: 1890 - 05/02/2016 16:57:29    1822656

Jimski you could also why should the GAA bend over backwards to support every other sport.

Maybe the question should be, if the soccer have no facilities is where did the 5M€ and the rest of the FAI bribe money go??

I play and follow other sports but the idea that the GAA must give up grounds to other sports is beyond me. The reason the GAA have these grounds is 125 plus years of investment locally. The reason soccer and rugby don't have is because the game is geared around the professional world and TV rights.

The real truth is that the FAI couldn't really give a shit about Dromard, UFEA couldn't give a shit about Irish soccer, and since its always about money, FIFA are too busy counting the cash reserves to even care about the game. This is why there no facilities for the soccer to the standard of the GAA.

Whis this the GAA's problem?

witnof (Dublin) - Posts:868 - 05/02/2016 16:06:01

Even thought what the GAA did as wrong as it's bad PR and overly officious you are 100% correct.

There seems to be an expectation in Irish society that the GAA should bend over backwards to help others and expectation that isn't throw upon any other sports body in this country.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 05/02/2016 17:11:00    1822661

Disgraceful stuff from the GAA...Such an archaic and backward step. My old club at home used to train on the soccer astro before the club built one themselves and since then the soccer club have ran fundraisers in the GAA astro as it's a bit bigger. Something that is useful for the community and more importantly kids health then it shouldn't be penalised. Decisions like this would turn young people off the GAA

thebronze14 (Donegal) - Posts: 41 - 05/02/2016 18:31:05    1822691

Jimski you could also why should the GAA bend over backwards to support every other sport.

Maybe the question should be, if the soccer have no facilities is where did the 5M€ and the rest of the FAI bribe money go??

I play and follow other sports but the idea that the GAA must give up grounds to other sports is beyond me. The reason the GAA have these grounds is 125 plus years of investment locally. The reason soccer and rugby don't have is because the game is geared around the professional world and TV rights.

The real truth is that the FAI couldn't really give a shit about Dromard, UFEA couldn't give a shit about Irish soccer, and since its always about money, FIFA are too busy counting the cash reserves to even care about the game. This is why there no facilities for the soccer to the standard of the GAA.

Whis this the GAA's problem?

witnof (Dublin) - Posts:868 - 05/02/2016 16:06:01

Even thought what the GAA did as wrong as it's bad PR and overly officious you are 100% correct.

There seems to be an expectation in Irish society that the GAA should bend over backwards to help others and expectation that isn't throw upon any other sports body in this country.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts:774 - 05/02/2016 17:11:00 1822661
Agree with the above ,

We have an astro where the local soccer clubs jump the wall and warm up before heading accross the road to play in the park , and you know what they hate us , slate us constant snigger at us , bog ballers , stick fighting , this WHILE there on our astro , the same clubs fill local foreign nationals heads full of half truths and innuendos re our games in order to keep membership for their clubs .
I have had my lads down to soccer , I will support Ireland this summer , but if my local club was on fire the local soccer fraternity wouldnt pi77 on us ,
So I find it hard to believe the mutal love partnership exists , When it comes to soccer Im reminded of the saying of a certain saying of the french, There allways there when they need you

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 05/02/2016 19:44:03    1822714

Why hasn't Dromard or some other GAA club tabled a motion to abolish or amend the rule on this matter?

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 05/02/2016 19:47:33    1822715

Of course insurance may be an issue but we don't know if they were covered or not, in some cases they may have been depending on the policy. That aside, the GAA could have had a stern word and made it clear to the club this is not allowed and they could have then send a directive to all delegates to ensure this is doesn't happen and any club who does it will be punished. Following through with a fine is just stupid.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7903 - 05/02/2016 19:53:50    1822717

link

the official GAA launch was on a basketball court in a GAA club !!!!!

the hypocracy of GAA is disgusting. they dont give a s**t about clubs or communities

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4624 - 05/02/2016 20:18:23    1822720