Government to Fund GAA Player Wages?

I don't think that this grant is for all GAA players, quite simply for those at senior county level, which i am in favour of. I have a friend and a chap in work here who play at senior club level and the comittment they both give is quite amazing, giving up most nights a week to be out in the fields or in the GYM, even after a full day in work, they won't see the grants and won't complain either. Senior country players have it much tougher due to higher demands, more games, juggling club and county comittments and they should be rewarded, at least for expenses incurred as mentioned earlier.

As for giving the grant to 'elite athletes' such as rowers etc, senior county GAA players are elite athletes.

and another thing.. How do you know soccer isn't an anglicised form of Gaelic football ? i'm well aware of how ridiculous that may sound but prove it wrong. You'll find out that you can't..

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Originally Posted by Colm55

As for giving the grant to 'elite athletes' such as rowers etc, senior county GAA players are elite athletes.

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That assumes there are 1900 elite Gaelic football & hurling players in the country (based on squads of 30 players). :rolleyes:

Surely eL players give a lot of their time to the sport with little pay for vast majority. I would suspect GAA players take home more pay in "expenses" than average part-time eL player...

Right, that's it.....I'm going to take up rounders and get funded by the GAA. Rounders of course being one of our other traditional sports the GAA look after.

And, by the way, a lot of those gaa players do alright for themselves workwise. The high profile guys getting time off that the ordinary worker wouldn't get. Didn't Séan óg ohailpín say so himself in that documentary last week.
So they can féck off if they think I'm going to fund gaelic games.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Colm55

I don't think that this grant is for all GAA players, quite simply for those at senior county level, which i am in favour of. I have a friend and a chap in work here who play at senior club level and the comittment they both give is quite amazing, giving up most nights a week to be out in the fields or in the GYM, even after a full day in work, they won't see the grants and won't complain either. Senior country players have it much tougher due to higher demands, more games, juggling club and county comittments and they should be rewarded, at least for expenses incurred as mentioned earlier.

As for giving the grant to 'elite athletes' such as rowers etc, senior county GAA players are elite athletes.

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So what if they give up an "amazing" amount of time - no one forces them to and if they need paying let the GAA pay them. Anything else is illogical.

And they are not elite athletes just because you think they are. The term elite athlete has a very specific definition - available from the Sports Council and the Department of Sport - and the GAA players are not elite athletes.

KOH

The GAA is the richest sporting organisation in the state, mainly because it refuses to pay it's players. If the GAA players are deserving of grants/ expenses (wages under another name), then the GAA should pay it out of the money that those players earn for the association.

Maybe they could do so by reducing the salaries and expenses of the blazers in Croke Park, or by reducing the "expenses" for high profile managers.

Contrary to what most people here have been posting and giving out about the GAA and having ot give over your tax money to them, the article not once says the GAA are looking for the money. The government have made it available and so far it hasnt been accepted.

Secondly, as was pointed out there would be 1900 or so players involved at county level. The €5million the government has offered would give each of these about €50 per week. Hardly what you'd call an income now is it?