Jerry is a wee bit like Joe Brolly only not as funny (except for the mullet i suppose ) Its not a race to the bottom Jerry as regards sport and funding in fact more should be spent. The benefits are huge not only with community and society positives but health benefits for children who, lets face it, badly need it to get them away from x box and tablets

Tim_Burr (Down) - Posts: 460 - 27/03/2014 15:30:20    1565811

So how is spending 600.000 of Irish taxpayers money on a project in London going to help with this may I ask

tinrylandman (Carlow) - Posts: 387 - 27/03/2014 16:01:20    1565835

Its a centre for Irish people in London is it not?

Tim_Burr (Down) - Posts: 460 - 27/03/2014 16:22:29    1565858

I'm afraid the more I think about Irish taxpayer funding for the grounds in London, the less comfortable I am with it. I'm not totally against it, emigrant funding has merit (I'm one myself), but I'm not sure this is the best way to spend the funding. This is a public sporting amenity, which I hope would be open for everyone to use, I assume more and more native British people will use it over time as they pick up interest in the games (I hope). If government/taxpayer money is going to fund it, it should probably be public funds from the country its being built in.

That's not to say emigrant support should not be funded by the Irish government, or that the stadium development isn't a worthy cause. I just think there may be better ways to spend emigrant funding. I hope that doesn't appear unduly harsh, not trying to be a wum

tinrylandman
County: Carlow
So how is spending 600.000 of Irish taxpayers money on a project in London going to help with this may I ask

Help with what?

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 27/03/2014 16:48:04    1565886

That was my concern also marlon. England dont fund the facilities of irish soccer teams...

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 27/03/2014 17:03:44    1565898

The GAA or its clubs for that matter receive a fair bit of funding from the UK national lottery in the North. Funding GAA in England I do not have a problem with particularly given the number of young people from these shores who have made their way to England in great numbers in the last few years in particular.

Naysayer (Antrim) - Posts: 2071 - 27/03/2014 17:21:41    1565911

How many times have games had to be cancelled in Ruislip coz of bad weather or pitch unplayable? What's the point in being proud of having Croker & other great GAA grounds here if the likes of Ruislip & Gaelic Park in New York are dumps? These are Irish centres & mean everything to those of us who've had to emigrate. Money well spent, I think!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 27/03/2014 18:51:56    1565965

Naysayer
County: Antrim
The GAA or its clubs for that matter receive a fair bit of funding from the UK national lottery in the North. Funding GAA in England I do not have a problem with particularly given the number of young people from these shores who have made their way to England in great numbers in the last few years in particular.

That's not really comparing like with like. GAA clubs in the North should get UK funding, that's the economy the people in those clubs are paying their taxes to. I'm not trying to be smart, but that's just the UK funding clubs and organizations in its jurisdiction, that's their job, that's what they should be doing, people paying taxes to the UK will be using those facilities. That's not the case with Irish taxpayers funding stadium development in London.

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 27/03/2014 19:39:35    1565985

Marlon_JD fair enough point regarding tax collection/allocation etc and I understand you are not trying to be smart but I still see it as positive that a lot of Irish in England can benefit from a sum that is a drop in the ocean in taxation terms especially given many people likely to benefit have been displaced from Ireland due to the economic hardship that followed the heady days of the Celtic Tiger that has had a much greater appetite for tax revenue. I would also assume the situation in your neck of the woods is similar to here where many lads travel to London every week to work only to fly home at the weekend and bringing their English wage home into the local economy.

Naysayer (Antrim) - Posts: 2071 - 27/03/2014 20:22:28    1565998

Marlon that view you have lacks any compassion for your fellow citizens who find themselves located abroad at this moment, many of whom would much rather be back home but this is not an option currently open to them. For many of these emmigrants, young and old, the GAA is of great importance to them not just as a sporting body but also a social outlet. For the country to recognise these emmigrants in some small way by contributing €600k to the most important outlet they have over here seems appropriate and to begrudge it to them seems rather petty. These emmigrants are likely to contribute many multiples of this to the Irish economy each year on their frequent trips home. My only complaint is that a similar venue to Ruislip is not being developed in the north of England which the Irish government could also contribute to.
Regarding Jerrys comments many people say he makes good points but has expressed them badly. Id love to know what these good points are as I didn't identify any. His main argument seems to be that because the GAA is so successful at getting huge numbers of participants, volunteers and funding from the general public it shouldn't receive any state assistance, and instead funding should go to sports the public have less interest in and are less likely to contribute to by choice.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 27/03/2014 20:30:20    1566004

Soma
County: UK

Soma, I AM one of those citizens located abroad at the moment, I upped sticks and moved to the US a few years ago, when job offers back in the parish were coming in 'lazily', to say the least. So I don't need any lectures on compassion. And equally, I don't need any 'pity the poor immigrant' speeches either, Irish people weren't so nice to immigrants to our own shores during what tends to be laughably labelled "the boom years". Things are still crappy at home, I don't expect the Irish taxpayer, who are already being taxed to the hilt and not getting proper public services in return, to spare money the don't have to fund stadia over here.
If they were going to contribute funding, a stadium is the last thing I'd want the money to be spent on. Funds should be reserved for things emigrants actually need to live and work abroad, most notably support for visa's, work permits, getting proper documentation, maybe organisations that help people find jobs and a place to live. Let the government I pay my taxes to worry about building public stadiums in Boston. And yeah, of course the GAA is of great importance to alot of us. But not every emigrant is a GAA fan.

I'm not trying to be snotty, but if the Irish taxpayer is going to have to pay money they can't really spare, it needs to be for more important things than stadia.

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 27/03/2014 21:30:02    1566021

Naysayer
County: Antrim
They'd have a fairly rough weekend commute to and from Boston! But yeah, I get what you're saying. And I'm not saying there isn't merit to funding GAA grounds abroad, I'm just not sure its the absolute best use of funds already ear-marked for emigrant support by the Irish government. I know myself, there's alot of ways I'd like to see the Irish government support emigrants that they're not currently doing, despite their usual St Patricks day promises when they grace the diaspora with their presence.

Marlon_JD (Tipperary) - Posts: 1823 - 27/03/2014 21:50:13    1566035

alot of ignorance and downright racism being displayed here by the usual suspects regarding the part funding of the gaa complex in Ruislip. many of the people who will visit and play there have already contributed handsomely to the Irish tax system and many will do so in the future. are these the same people who spend their hard-earned cash on trips to manchester to watch their beloved Man U, or spend their hard-earned cash on replica soccer jerseys thereby filling the coffers of the big british soccer clubs yet resent the irish govt helping out the irish in britain. They don't mind taking the money from the returning emigrants at christmas or the summer.

they don't mind that the irish in britian fork out a fortune in airline taxes to the irish govt every time they fly back.
Don't get me started.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5520 - 27/03/2014 21:54:23    1566039

Marlon of the list of ways you would like to see money spent to help emmigrants, only the help in finding jobs and accommodation applies to those in the UK (they have no visa issues etc). I would suggest the biggest single organisation that does this for the Irish in London is the GAA, the headquarters of which are Ruislip. Therefore surely this money is going to the exact location you want it going to? This isnt simply funding to keep spectators dry while watching a game on a wet day abroad, surely you can see the much bigger role Ruislip plays in the life of the Irish in the UK?

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 28/03/2014 09:03:18    1566060

Soma
County: UK
Posts: 200

1566060 Marlon of the list of ways you would like to see money spent to help emmigrants, only the help in finding jobs and accommodation applies to those in the UK (they have no visa issues etc). I would suggest the biggest single organisation that does this for the Irish in London is the GAA, the headquarters of which are Ruislip. Therefore surely this money is going to the exact location you want it going to? This isnt simply funding to keep spectators dry while watching a game on a wet day abroad, surely you can see the much bigger role Ruislip plays in the life of the Irish in the UK?
__________________
Very well said Soma, I think we tend to play down the role that the GAA plays in the lives of exiles, not just the speorting aspect but the social and cultural role too. Whilst I've never had to avail of the services they provide myself I know a lot of people who have and the networking that any GAA centre provides to emigrants in terms of employment opportunities and leads, affordable accomodation, etc, simply cannot be understated, so I believe that this money is an investment in people rather than just bricks, mortar and comfy seats.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 28/03/2014 09:34:45    1566071

Guys after reading the last few pages of this thread I will just address some issues.

Firstly, I heard the interview from Kiernan on Newstalk the other morning. And whilst at times I dont agree with Jerry, I actually agreed with what he was saying here.

I have played Gaelic Football and Soccer my whole life. It was never an either or....I loved them both growing up and just played both. I used to hate those idle threats coming up to championship time from managers telling me not to play soccer because the CHAMPIONSHIP was way more important. I played anyways, and got an ear bashing and just nodded etc. because I never really got the whole....GAA is better than soccer, Soccer is better than GAA thing. Its quite childish. I hate when other sporting bodies slag another sport off as it looks juvenile.

Now onto London, and the government grant. Its a farce. People can give me lots of redundant arguments; but are the Irish government providing funding of facilities for the very many Irish people playing junior soccer for clubs around London? There are plenty of them; if not why not? Are junior soccer players in London less Irish?

And when you describe the why not; apply the same criteria to London GAA and you'll soon realise that this grant is grossly unfair. The GAA is a rich sporting organisation; they should fund London GAA. Why are the Irish taxpayers paying for something that is of no use to the Irish people in Ireland. Like many immigrants in Ireland; the onus on the government is to make their transition from immigrant to naturalised Citizen of a country.

The onus is on the British taxpayer to help fund facilities for immigrants in London; and to help community based projects in Britain.

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 28/03/2014 17:24:13    1566346

JayP I can not really agree with your reasoning there. Is there a junior soccer venue in London which attracts large numbers of Irish emmigrants most weeks, young and old, men and women, those who have emigrated recently and those who have been there many years? Is this soccer venue one of the first ports of call for many Irish seeking work and accommodation on arrival in the city? Do people go there to participate in Irish culture, whether that be sports or arts? If so I would certainly like to see these soccer venues also get some small funding from the Irish state to help them out, I wouldn't simply leave it to the FIFA because the contribution seems to be far more than a sporting one. To complain about a small sum of money like this, 3 months after the end of the year of the gathering which many considered to be a gimmick to extract as much money as possible from the Irish diaspora, seems needless.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 28/03/2014 20:01:46    1566407

Well I said Junior to avoid the obvious nonsensical remarks about the GAA being amateur. But you asked for this.....

London Irish, Liverpool and Celtic all have massive Irish connections. Why no 600000 donation to them?

Why not build an Irish centre in Glasgow!?

The above mentioned teams have contributed massively to emigrants in Britain.

The GAA should solely fund London GAA.

Irish taxpayers shouldn't.

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 29/03/2014 12:53:36    1566566

Tottally agree Soma,

these thickos need to get out more often and spread their wings and see what is happening abroad instead of giving out awl guff about stuff of which they know nothing. what about allthe money that was sent 2home2 from london to keep the irish economy going by the irish diaspora in the 50s 60s 70s 80s etc. the irish at "home" didn't say no to that, did they. When sligo,leitrim,mayo,Galway,Roscommon go over to London to play, do they play in some junior soccer club ?, no they play in Ruislip. Is some junior soccer club in the Allianz league ?, is some junior soccer club in the connacht championship ?, no.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5520 - 29/03/2014 13:00:02    1566570

Jay p you are talking bull. Liverpool are an english soccer club, celtic are a scottish club, they play in the english and scottish leagues, London Irish are an english Rugby club, they play in the english league.

now, we are not talking here about a london gaa club (like kingdom kerry gaels or tir connail gaels or fulham irish, we are talking about a "county" ground i.e. London.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5520 - 29/03/2014 13:05:26    1566574