No Football or Rugby at Croke Park
From today's Indo
It looks like the former presidents will scupper the motion on opening up Croke Park again.
Still what would you expect from a committee that contains Peter Quinn, Con Murphy, Pat Fanning, Sean McCague and Jack Boothman.
President's men may KO Rule 42 plea
WITH the deadline for the submission of motions for discussion at this year's GAA Congress only a day away, there are growing fears that proposals to change the rules regarding the use of Croke Park may not even make it onto the agenda.
Eleven counties were stunned when informed last Thursday that their motions on Rule 42 - which deals with the use of GAA property - were out of order. They were given until 5pm tomorrow to re-submit amended motions but they were not informed as to how precisely to tidy them up so that they meet the criteria set down by the vetting committee.
It led to a frantic weekend as officials from various counties consulted with each other in a desperate attempt to come up with the correct wording. Their efforts are ongoing and will continue right up to tomorrow's deadline, by which time all 11 counties are expected to present amended motions.
However, there is absolutely no guarantee that the new versions will be accepted by the Motions Committee, which is comprised of GAA president Sean Kelly, Director-General Liam Mulvihill plus former GAA presidents.
The high-powered group caused uproar last year when they ruled all motions relating to Rule 42 out of order and they could be poised to strike again unless counties manage to plot their way around the intricate technical details involved in framing a complicated motion.
Roscommon's Tommy Kenoy, a long time advocate of renting Croke Park for rugby and soccer, said that while counties were being given an opportunity to re-submit motions, the decision as to whether they were in order would again fall to the committee which had rejected them twice before.
"It's very frustrating," he said. "The fact of the matter is that 11 counties want to discuss Rule 42 but we're still not sure if it will even be on the agenda. We have been told that our motions, as drafted, are not in order but we're not being provided with alternative wording so all we can do is make amendments as we see fit and hope they pass the vetting committee.
"People outside the GAA - and indeed a lot inside it too - will be amazed that what should be a relatively simple task of getting a motion onto the Congress agenda is proving so complicated," he said.
Counties have been told that a change to Rule 42 also requires amendments to Rules 3, 4 and 5 which deal with the aims and objectives of the Association, plus Rules 43 and 44 which covers ownership of grounds. It's all highly complicated and has led to claims that the Motions Committee are deliberately introducing technicalities to prevent debate on the use of Croke Park.
Former Munster Council chairman, Noel Walsh, who has been to the forefront of the campaign to open up Croke Park was disgusted when a motion that had been passed by the Clare County Convention was marked out of order last week.
"It's absolutely crazy. Special Congress agreed last autumn that in cases where motions were deemed to be defective, they would be corrected at national level and resubmitted by the county involved. Instead of that, we're being told that our motion is out of order but are left to our own devices as to how to amend it. I contend that a decision of Special Congress is being subverted.
"The trouble is that whatever wording we come up with, it's open to interpretation and if the Motions Committee decide it's out of order then there will be no debate on Croke Park this year. That would be a PR disaster for the GAA as it's clear that the vast majority want it discussed.
"Isn't it amazing that it was possible to get Rule 42 on the agenda a few years ago and now we seem to be all tied up in rules and technicalities? It makes you wonder what's going on," said Walsh.
Walsh and Kenoy also questioned the speed with which counties were obliged to re-submit motions that were ruled out of order. Congress won't take place until mid-April but only motions submitted by 5pm tomorrow evening have any chance of making the agenda.
Laois and Cavan are other counties who are trying to redraft their motions ahead of the deadline.
Anthony Delaney, whose club Shanahoe have pushed the Rule 42 issue in Laois for several years, said that they would be making every effort to get the wording right but conceded that they were operating in a vacuum as they weren't being told what precisely would satisfy the Motions Committee. Niall Dolan, (Ramor Utd, Cavan), is also trying to get their motion in order but, like all the others, is unsure as to what the Motions Committee require.
"It would be very disappointing if there were no debate on Rule 42 this year either but there's a danger of that happening because there is no guarantee the amended motions will be accepted," he said.
Seán Kelly, who is in favour of amending Rule 42, has said that he is hopeful that counties will be able to correct the motions so that they pass the vetting committee but others are less optimistic.
Noel Walsh said: "The reality is that we don't know precisely how to proceed. We will do our best to get the motions right but it's not easy when you're not quite sure what was wrong with them in the first place. 11 counties have spoken on the issue - surely that should be enough to get on the Congress agenda. All this technical stuff means nothing to the ordinary GAA members. They have strong views for and against opening Croke Park but instead of having an intelligent debate on the matter, we're bogged down in procedures as to how to get it onto the Congress agenda. It makes no sense."
It would be a blow to Kelly's Presidency if, for the second successive year, a proposal on this issue failed to go before Congress.
He is due to step down at Congress 2006 so effectively this is his last real chance to address the Croke Park issue which was a central plank in his candidacy.
Kelly favours opening Croke Park but there is a growing volume from other forces who are intent on thwarting him.
So where did all the money go?
Whilst I think the Rugby & Soccer teams should be playing at Croker while Lansdowne is rebuilt I have major reservations regarding both FAI & IRFU.
I even get english people slaging the GAA off for this issue but I don't see Twickenham having England games / FA cup / League cup finals there while Wembley is rebulit?
These two (FAI & IRFU) have failed to invest in stadia over the decades not just Dalymount/Lansdowne but most provinical gounds as well for example Munster can only play in front of 17,000 fans in big matches.
In fact of all the money from decades world cups / 6 nations / Euros & friendly internationals none appears to have been put aside /invested for upgading stadia.
Go to the goverment & tell them you have X amount of cash & they will give you more to finish the job. Thats what the GAA does!
I know there are people on here who hate the GAA & its sports, (why ask to use its stadium then?) fair enough but if the FAI / IRFU was run the same way there would be a decent stadium built by now!
Regarding the GAA I am one of the growing numbers that would perfer Hurling to split from Gaelic Football / GAA .
I do not see Hurling surviving & expanding in those counties where football is dominant. In 4 or 5 counties Hurling is on its deathbed.