This week the GAA Top Brass got a warning shot across the bow, they need to pay heed ! Well done to Kildare players, M'ment & County Board for shouting No & standing for their rights & the rules made, a decision fully vindicated last night. The GAA have been let change the goalposts on lots of occasions & got away with unjust decisions. The GAA just rode rough shod over Kildare, breaking their own rules created for this competition, a rule that the whole basis of what the Super 8's was sold on by Padraic Duffy when he toured the country selling the format to counties. Only this time they didn't expect the massive backlash from the public. It was a Tsunami of pent up anger from disillusioned GAA people who had enough from the Top Brass who they feel are completely disconnected from the realities on the ground. This had the makings of a civil war if the GAA stood by Fergal Mc Gill's decision, such was the anger, a level of which hasn't been seen before, the GAA had to back track. This level of discontent has been bubbling below the surface for years & club players & club fixtures being pissed on by County Boards & Croke Park & Presidents with empty words of rhetoric about the importance of Grassroots is where a lot of it stems from, as they see nothing done about it. Add in lots of other issues parachuted in despite concerns from Grassroots by the previous incumbents of President & Ard Stiurothoir such as Sky, the GPA deal, the Super 8's & the whole concentration on finance has disillusioned people further & added to the melting pot that overflowed with last weeks decision & people just said Enough & vented their voice in thousands. The arrogance of saying the game would go ahead in Croke Park & the absolute idiotic comment on the possibility of crowd trouble was just pouring petrol on the fire. This is not soccer !! Those employed at the top, whose salaries should be made public, which might be an eye opener, are not been made accountable by anybody. The outgoing DG came into power declaring that payments to managers at club & County level was a massive issue, a decade later he leaves saying the same thing, even though he had the power to change things, empty rhetoric once again. Congress no longer represents Grassroots, their vote against the CPA motion on transparency proved this. It is a body used by many to further their political ambitions within the GAA, it needs to be disbanded or radically reformed. For now the GAA will continue on & those journalists who backed Croke Park on the Kildare issue will continue to sell the party line as will those employed at the top. Let's not forget many people are salaried now, in Croke Park, the GPA, Provincial Secretaries & staff, County Secretaries & staff, they have a vested interest as does all forms of media esp those with the TV rights. One thing is clear though, there are a lot of angry & disillusioned GAA people out there who feel they are no longer listened to & feel detached from an Association that seems oblivious to their concerns, those at the top need to take note as one incident too many will split the whole thing either plunging it into a messy split or resulting in a mass of people walking away & joining something else. The playing numbers leaving at club level from 16 to 24 is already at crisis point, another debacle could see parents, coaches, sponsors walk from the scene. The melting pot is still bubbling away underneath, will the GAA Top Brass show leadership for once to prevent the pot from boiling over ? You have got your warning .

Uimhir.a.3. (Galway) - Posts: 409 - 01/07/2018 10:16:32    2117092

And what are these "peoples" concerns? Listen to what exactly? cranks moaning about this and that? Our games are fighting for their very existence against other sports. The only thing the GAA got wrong last week was not stipulating the size of grounds required for major Inter-county matches that is all. What else is wrong? Just itemise the list and then we can have a discussion. There are problems I will list a few here:

Provincial championships are dead
Why is there a GPA
Why is there huge salaries at the top of the game
Why is the plastic wall still in place at foot of Hill 16
Why is All Ireland championships not graded - Senior, Intermediate and Junior
Why are some county boards operating like fiefdoms
Why do some counties discriminate against some GAA codes
Why are womens codes allowed to operate separately even though each player is a member of the GAA?
Why do certain counties hide their debt
Why do certain counties spend everything on one team/code
How come the president of the GAA gets more than our real president?
Why is their NO real child protection governance?
Why is there NO complaints procedures/process at County/Club level

We all love a good moan and lord knows there was a mountain of moaning this week, all is over and done and dusted. But nothing has changed or will change but first you got to set out what you want.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4896 - 01/07/2018 15:12:16    2117210