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They're not contradictory at all. One is a professional sport, the other is a community based organisation and the greatest amateur sport in the world. One in which players by and large play only for where they're from and one which is embedded into villages and towns all over the island. The GAA is far more than just sport. The other part is that making GAA players professional just wouldn't be sustainable. It would require a massive reduction of intercounty teams, and change it from what makes it so popular in the first place. I'm not totally in favour if players joining the AFL and I do think it impacts the GAA. I'd much prefer of they stayed here, from a GAA quality point of view. At the same time I don't begrudge the players themselves taking the opportunity. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3015 - 23/08/2026 10:23:47 2690928 Link 0 |
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Theres a difference between not begrudging a player leavng the GAA to join the AFL and out and out glorifying it (i think one fella said earlier hes "delighted" to see them leave),,i dont begrudge them either but I hate whats happening,and would way rather they stayed,yet some on here, probably in an effort to appear open minded, cant comment on the issue without talking about how great it is that they're leaving . The same people become a hell of a lot less open minded when a player dares to transfer club,however,while at the same time being totally in favour of managers changing clubs,if you can square that one. Yes pay for play is not sustainable, and no ,i dont want it even if it was,but to applaud AFL bound GAA players for pursuing a professional sporting career while harshly criticising GAA players who might want the literal exact same thing makes no sense. Seniorleague (Galway) - Posts: 298 - 23/08/2026 12:00:58 2690944 Link 0 |
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Moving to Australia to play a professional sport is not the exact same thing as someone switching GAA clubs in the same sport and same county/country. It's quite a bit different. One is taking up an opportunity to play as a professional in a completely different sport and organisation. The other is doing something which isn't generally in line with the ethos of the GAA. One which is a big part of what makes the GAA what it is. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3015 - 23/08/2026 12:43:27 2690949 Link 1 |
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If I had a quid for every time i heard someone say "the GAA ethos"... The reasons given in support of players moving to the AFL are generally that ,a they're free men and can do what they choose , b its a great opportunity ,c it gives them a chance to play at a higher level and d its a chance to make money The first 3 reasons could all apply to moving club and the fourth one if anything works in favour of the GAA player switching club,as he's making the move for sporting reasons ,not financial ones. If anything switching club is more in line with the gaa ethos than leaving the gaa altogether to the afl and get a paid. Seniorleague (Galway) - Posts: 298 - 23/08/2026 13:45:44 2690954 Link 0 |
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We're hardly the only organisation that become a bit less open minded to players transferring club. Anyone who follows a bit of soccer knows that.... when Stevie Gerrard even entertained the idea of moving from Liverpool he received death threats. As for managers I'd prefer clubs went for managers within their own county however as we all know not every player who plays the game is cut out for management and therefore the pool of managers can be limited enough. I certainly don't want pay for play but I don't begrudge any player headed for AFL because I know we can do little about it (at the minute anyhow). I'm certainly not celebrating it.
Square_B (Leitrim) - Posts: 2357 - 23/08/2026 13:48:30 2690955 Link 1 |
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You'd have a few quid, I suppose. That doesn't negate the fact that it's true. The vast majority of GAA players play for their home clubs and counties. So it is part of the GAA ethos, whether you put it in quotes or not. It's absolutely a core part of the GAA, that players generally don't hop clubs on a whim. The GAA also make it difficult to do so, and we have things such as the parish rule in rural Ireland, which also protects it to some degree. The same isn't true of soccer for example. The main reason for players moving to the AFL is to try to experience life as a professional sportsperson. The lifestyle and move to Australia also appeals to some. None of those would apply to someone moving GAA club within their county. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3015 - 23/08/2026 23:03:33 2691015 Link 0 |
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If the GAA were ever going to have a professional aspect to it I think it would be much more likely to come through the club game rather than the county game. I'd go as as far as saying that the conditions are right for it. Certain clubs are practically semi-pro right now and well able to attract talent from other counties to their club and the players remain available for their home county. Could this be more formalized and would it be preferable to lads joining the AFL? I think that's a very tough question - and probably on balance has more against it than for it. brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 504 - 24/08/2026 10:43:02 2691044 Link 0 |
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Sure,thats all fine, but if a motivated GAA player,who wants to get the best out of himself,is unfortunate enough to be stuck with a club where other players are turning up for games hungover and not really being committed at all,well then him deciding to move to a higher standard club surrounded by like minded players and coaches is fine by me, and id personally be far more in favour of that than a player leaving the gaa altogether to go to a different sport. This is nothing against kobe btw,or any other player who leaves,i hope they achieve great success out there. Seniorleague (Galway) - Posts: 298 - 24/08/2026 12:53:42 2691056 Link 0 |
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At the end of the day you only get to play for so long and you should be loyal to yourself first and foremost and put your own interests first. Its only amateur after all.
Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2676 - 24/08/2026 13:37:21 2691072 Link 1 |
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Read the gooches book He absolutely hated it,and rightly so. From his viewpoint half the aussie team were only interested in inflicting injuries on our players. Id imagine the likes of Mattie Forde and Phillip Jordan,among others,wouldn't be too keen on it either after being out and out assaulted while playing. As a sporting spectacle i enjoyed it but some of the stuff that went on was scandalous and the Aussies seemed to hae very little respect for our players as sportsmen or even as human beings. Good riddance to it. Seniorleague (Galway) - Posts: 298 - 25/08/2026 08:46:03 2691187 Link 1 |
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This isn't the premiership, we (as in the GAA) are allowed to do things differently. The ethos is important, otherwise what exactly do we have? Just another nondescript sport with little morals or values. The organisation is not about the individual as you well know. If a player finds himself or herself in that position, the path of least resistance shouldn't the first path to take, by just leaving. It's very rare that there will be only one person in a club in this position, change only happens by talking to people & understanding what is happening to allow the conditions to effect change, not by walking away when the going gets tough.
Square_B (Leitrim) - Posts: 2357 - 25/08/2026 10:24:31 2691202 Link 0 |
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Exactly. Also the scenario mentioned would be very rare. A case where one player is determined to his best, but all around him are too lazy and hungover. That's a fair bit of a reach. Most players who move are for geographical reasons, i.e. living a long way from their original club, or in rarer cases, a row in the club. Some of the best county players ever played for small clubs and never had a thought of leaving them for a more successful club. Winning a junior title with their own club would mean more to them than winning a senior with a club in which they didn't grow up. The GAA wouldn't be half as popular as it is, if players were just moving around willy nilly. The GAA is disproportionately popular as sports go, mainly for the reason of attachment to club, community and county. You lose that and there's nowhere near the same passion for it. To compare that to someone moving abroad to play a different sport professionally is nonsense. That's literally moving out of the country and taking up an actual job. In many cases, those players remain associated with their GAA clubs, as we saw with Mark O'Connor coming back to play for An Daingean. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3015 - 25/08/2026 15:45:52 2691266 Link 0 |