National Forum

Paul Kimmage

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Replying To icehonesty:  "I don't understand why some are not greeting these articles with open arms.

I want to know what and why things in Athenry happened how they did.

I want to know why the GAA paid a settlement on an individual's behalf in the O'Dwyers case.

These are two brilliantly written articles about our sport, exposing issues which usually are kept hidden. Why are some of you complaining they were published? I don't get it. I know GAA clubs, I know the politicking that goes on and how a complaint against one person, even if true, is dismissed if that person is well in withing the club.

These are two great pieces Kimmage has written and I hope he writes more. These are things we need to know."
Again totally agree. I hope he dedicates more articles to it. Jesus some of the things that goes on is swept under the carpet is a disgrace. And I call on everyone who knows the nudge and a wink politics to stand up to it.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 11/06/2018 08:21:14    2109707

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Replying To PaudieSull1:  "Not at all....what I'm saying is that there needs to be balance and both sides of story represented.....currently feels like Kimmage is on a GAA witch hunt with no attempt to bring balance to his articles.......how come he doesn't do an article on the 1000s of parents who would have nothing but praise for the scores of excellent coaches and mentors up and down the country which make the GAA the great organisation it is........"
I'm not religious but I know 2 priests very well, one would be a close family friend. They are excellent upstanding men. Does that mean the papers shouldn't go after the bad ones?? Nonsensical to equate cause there is thousands of good people involved in it that the way we cover up for the bad ones shouldn't be exposed.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 11/06/2018 08:27:33    2109709

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Replying To Tir Conaill Abu:  "There was a headline during the week in the Donegal media about the referees of soccer on Donegal concerned over the amount of assaults on soccer referees in Donegal. Every sport has issues but Kimmage has picked GAA as it's the start of the season and he wants to be in the media.

I can't stand him btw but wouldn't worry about his articles. He's not uncovering anything new that level headed people in the GAA are trying hard to stamp out."
And here is the problem we persistently come up against. This attitude is what is causing issues within gaa.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 11/06/2018 08:30:30    2109710

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Replying To arock:  "First off the two articles are fundamentally different. BUT in both cases a resolution of sorts was found, the business with the money in the O'Dwyers case is a separate issue and should be answered by the GAA and O'Dwyers. Secondly the issues behind both Athenry and O'Dwyers have been dealt with albeit unsatisfactorily. The fundamental essence of the GAA is a community of volunteers, within the clubs are committees and executives and that community is very strong. However it is totally incapable of dealing with issues and problems when they arise. It is an inadequate system, we have executive members years and years on committees oh yes they are elected mostly "returned unopposed" year after year after year this is the real problem. It becomes a club within a club, they are untouchable, It is a suffocating, nespotic environment in which if you don't play ball or if you walk on toes you will be out or worse. This cannot go on, in that type of culture all kinds of potential problems arise. Surely all the lessons from the church/bank/police tribunals, from all the problems with our society tells us that type of community cannot deal with bad behavour. We don't as a nation do holding our hands up and saying sorry. No one should serve more than two years as chairman or on a club executive. There are great courses and child protection procedures available but there is NO proper complaints process, it is totally wrong a club investigates a serious issue itself first. Club constitutions should formulate a proper independent complaints procedure but no club executive should have the power to arbitrate if itself is been complained about end off. Finally it is remarkable that the GAA has produced so few problems given its membership levels."
In fairness the reason people are normally elected unopposed is no one wants the job. If you put in a 2 year time limit for club executive. You would have no one to fill these positions. Not to mention the amount of skill and experience you would lose.

ros1 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1211 - 11/06/2018 08:46:47    2109716

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Replying To Tir Conaill Abu:  "There was a headline during the week in the Donegal media about the referees of soccer on Donegal concerned over the amount of assaults on soccer referees in Donegal. Every sport has issues but Kimmage has picked GAA as it's the start of the season and he wants to be in the media.

I can't stand him btw but wouldn't worry about his articles. He's not uncovering anything new that level headed people in the GAA are trying hard to stamp out."
You are correct and Paul should continue to sort out his own sport where there is still lots going on. He's paid to generate a story and a good headline helps to sell.

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 11/06/2018 09:33:28    2109735

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Wow, when i see some of what written here it's just propagating exactly what Kimmage is talking about...Nothing to see here ..move on.

The GAA puts itself forward as a professional organisation and even more so in the past 10 years, where GAA suits dominate our screens. If you want to talk the talk the walk the walk....

The days of jobs for the boys are not gone and the wink wink, nudge nudge is still well evident. Whats even worse is that depending on your surname you will be still be treated differently in clubs. If you don't believe this, then you are one of the ones whole surname is seen favourably. Attitude like this is what Kimmage is getting at and he shows how so destructive they can become.

Of course the GAA is great and does wonderful things, but we don't do things right when it goes wrong and whats even worse is that we seem afraid.

ponger (Cavan) - Posts: 540 - 11/06/2018 09:47:47    2109746

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Replying To browncows:  "You are correct and Paul should continue to sort out his own sport where there is still lots going on. He's paid to generate a story and a good headline helps to sell."
He's a born and bred Dub. He has as much right to discuss the GAA as anyone in this country.

extranjero (Wexford) - Posts: 375 - 11/06/2018 11:52:59    2109862

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Replying To PaudieSull1:  "A sport rife with drug cheats, ah cmon at least compare like with like.....nobody has said that he can't challenge poor behaviours in the GAA......but what people have rightly asked is where is the balance, Kimmage rarely has a good thing to say about the GAA in any of his articles.....if he think he has been balanced in his coverage then fair enough"
Believe it or not, I am comparing "like for like". Go to places like Flanders or the north of Spain, cycling is massive, followed with an almost religious devotion. Like hurling in Kilkenny, or football in Kerry, for example. Even in some places in Ireland, I'm sure you'll find cycling clubs with members as devoted to their sport as anyone in any GAA, soccer, rugby, basketball, athletics, or any other differing sports club.
For sure, doping is an issue at the top end of cycling, and to a lesser extent further down the sport aswell. But nobody involved in cycling is in denial about that.

But here's a question for you.
If any leading GAA journalist did an article on cheating or any organisational misdemeanors in Irish cycling, do you think it would be the correct response of the Irish cycling community to demand more "balanced" and upbeat articles on cycling?
Also, should cycling fans dismiss said article on the basis it wasn't created by a "cyclist" journalist, regardless of the quality of the content in the article?

extranjero (Wexford) - Posts: 375 - 11/06/2018 12:57:14    2109917

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Replying To browncows:  "You are correct and Paul should continue to sort out his own sport where there is still lots going on. He's paid to generate a story and a good headline helps to sell."
He's a sports journalist (and a good one at that), is he only allowed to cover cycling? Come on now...

Loughduff Lad (Cavan) - Posts: 2383 - 11/06/2018 13:04:28    2109919

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We're looking at his articles with our GAA filter on. Would probably be different story to read if he was writing about soccer, rugby, cycling, golf etc. This could be worse in other sports, it could be better too. We don't know that. Only a few weeks ago a GAA club coach was in the headlines and is now forgotten about. Irish swimming had it's own abuse scandals and would have been buried if some had refused to be silenced. The soccer coach in England was eventually jailed after some men, who had been through turmoil for years, spoke out and were eventually believed. 100% be proud of the great organisation that is the GAA. But if you hear whispers within it or other sports or beyond don't ignore them thinking sure he/she is sound and no way would they do that. Always better being safe than sorry.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7344 - 11/06/2018 14:52:29    2109980

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Replying To extranjero:  "But the question remains, If these were in Rugby clubs would he have wrote the story?
Yes. A quick Google search of Kimmage will tell you that. And he's about the only journalist who's even attempting to bring the rugby authorities to task for doping problems in the sport.

Kimmage is down on GAA
I don't believe he is, and I posted a link earlier to an article he wrote a few years ago which would support that.

he just wants all sports to be as doomed as cycling.
Have you any evidence to back up your claims it's doomed, or is it just a sport you neither care for or understand?

Then there was him throwing his toys out of the pram about Jim Gavin's boring post All Ireland Press Conference.
I'd agree with you here. While I understand his issues with J.Gavins passive-agressive attitude to the national press, his remarks were over the line and too personal.

I think he expected the Athenry story to explode I don't think he really did. The sensationalist headlines are purely down to the editor, not the journalist.

I love "A Rough Ride", its a great book."
I agree. He comes across as a narcky old git (which he still does to this day), but it's a fascinating read for any sports fans."
But the question remains, If these were in Rugby clubs would he have wrote the story
Yes. A quick Google search of Kimmage will tell you that. And he's about the only journalist who's even attempting to bring the rugby authorities to task for doping problems in the sport.
Ok, but his attack on the GAA is not on one subject, it's on several. On last Sunday's piece he did the "please think of the children" line about Lee Keegan throwing his GPS. A subject that had died 2 weeks after last years All Ireland Final. Also the subject of last Sunday's piece seemed to be that a fella was reluctant so say he'd thumped someone and got sent off. No wonder this piece was (mercifully) only ¾ of a page.


Kimmage is down on GAA.
I don't believe he is, and I posted a link earlier to an article he wrote a few years ago which would support that.
That article was 2 and a half years ago and was about Kimmage's favourite player from the 70's. So it was an article about nostalgia, not about the GAA.

He just wants all sports to be as doomed as cycling
Have you any evidence to back up your claims it's doomed, or is it just a sport you neither care for or understand?
Seriously, are you living on the moon?

I think he expected the Athenry story to explode
I don't think he really did. The sensationalist headlines are purely down to the editor, not the journalist.
Bad luck, but one of the last paragraph of this week's hatchet job was Kimmage bemoaning the fact that the Athenry and O'Dwyer's stories had got zero traction with the national media This was even after both got 2 page spreads on the biggest selling Sunday paper in the country. You know why there was no media reaction? It wasn't because the GAA "got to" every media presence in Ireland and beyond, it's because no one cares. If either case were in Monaghan, I would care, especially if they were at my club. But they are not, so I, and obviously thousands like me, read it and forgot about it.

FootblockREF (Monaghan) - Posts: 563 - 11/06/2018 15:14:44    2109999

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