Criticism of Cooper event down to 'Irish begrudgery' - Donaghy
September 28, 2017
Kerry's Kieran Donaghy, Colm Cooper and James O'Donoghue.
©INPHO/Cathal Noonan.
Kieran Donaghy has defended the decision of former Kerry team mate Colm Cooper to have a testimonial dinner.
Cooper is set to hold a corporate sponsored dinner in Dublin on October 27th and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin and the Kerry Cancer Support Group charities.
The Dr Crokes star is the first GAA player to hold such an event and has come under criticism from certain corners for doing so, with RTE pundit Joe Brolly labelling it "a very disappointing development" which goes against the amateur ethos of the association.
Donaghy disagrees however, telling SportsJoe Live: "It's something that's been done by some of the rugby guys and someone approached him about doing it. It's going to be great for him. It's going to be great for the two charities that are going to get a nice touch out of it.
"The bit of stick he's getting is probably a bit of Irish begrudgery really, to be honest. For guys like himself or the likes of Stephen Cluxton, guys who've put 15 years into it and put their lives on hold and put financial gains on the back burner, they should be getting something from the GAA I feel when they retire.
"If a guy has put in 5, 10, 15 years, they should get a kicker from the GAA to say 'thanks for all the entertainment. And the guy above in Leitrim who's put 12 years into his county jersey is probably more entitled to it than we would be, I would say."
