QuoteThomas Davis are down on the canvas, Rovers with a nice shot there. Davis left themselves very vulnerable there Bob.
Irish Times 18.04.07
Roche criticises Thomas Davis letter
Emmet Malone Soccer correspondent
Wed, Apr 18, 2007
Tallaght Stadium controversy:Shamrock Rovers chairman Jonathan Roche has described as "a disgrace" a letter sent earlier this month by his counterpart at Thomas Davis, Christopher O'Donnell, to members of the GAA club in relation to the issue of access to the stadium proposed for Tallaght.
Roche also says that an item of supporting documentation, which accompanied the letter, is "riddled with factual inaccuracies".
In the letter, dated April 7th, O'Donnell encourages members to make an election issue of the club's fight to win access to the stadium and provides detailed instruction to members on how the issue should be raised with politicians during the forthcoming election campaign.
He also suggests they should not support local Fianna Fail TD Conor Lenihan, a Minister for State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, because he has recently signalled to club officials his support for the line taken by John O'Donoghue, that Government funding for the project be conditional upon it being used solely for soccer. O'Donnell says the politician has been informed he will not be welcome at the club until the GAA is accommodated at the stadium.
Lenihan said last night that while he was aware of the letter's content he found it both "surprising and ironic" that he first heard about it last Thursday night while attending a charity fund-raiser at the club. "I was being treated to drinks by senior members of the club and talking to a couple of former players who were special guests at the function when somebody approached me solemnly and presented me with a copy of the letter. Given how welcome I was made to feel on the night, I haven't really bothered to pursue the matter."
While O'Donnell clearly suggests to members in the letter that Thomas Davis and GAA other clubs in the area have been warned their stand on Tallaght might preclude them from receiving funds under the Government's Sports Capital Programme, Lenihan points out that one reason he believes he was made so welcome at the function was the news the club had just been allocated some €200,000 under the scheme.
"There seems to have been a suggestion that they couldn't benefit from Sports Capital Programme funding but as a result of the type of representations made by me, amongst others, the club received €200,000 only last week and I have been instrumental in obtaining over €600,000 in funding for Thomas Davis over the last few years. It is a matter of deep regret that we should have such a deep division between supporters of two sporting codes, and people on both sides of this debate have gone too far in what they have said at times. It would still be a concern of mine, however, that if Thomas Davis are successful in having the stadium opened then it may be the case that other clubs will take cases to have facilities already funded and built opened up too."
Within Rovers, meanwhile, there is disquiet over what the club's officials see as the latest attempt to undermine their attempts to get into the Tallaght development. In O'Donnell's letter he states on a number of occasions that Thomas Davis did not want to do this and that they did not intend either to dispute their neighbour's status as "anchor tenants" at the stadium.
However, Rovers' club secretary Noel Byrne points to a letter written in September 2005 by another Thomas Davis official, David Kennedy, to Dublin County Board chief executive John Costello as evidence that the club's public position cannot be readily taken at face value. In that letter Kennedy notes that in communications with South Dublin County Council, which is to complete the stadium, Thomas Davis have accepted the facility will also be used for soccer. "Tactically," he writes, "I think that has to be right for now. I'm confident (however) that in any bout with Rovers," he concludes, "that the GAA will be the last man standing."
Byrne believes the lack of any attempt by Thomas Davis to build trust between the two clubs in the aftermath of that letter becoming public calls into doubt anything that the GAA outfit might say now. "We continue to take advice on the situation while watching with amazement the activities of Thomas Davis and nothing they have done to date would suggest to us that they want to forge a long-term relationship with Shamrock Rovers" he says.
On this occasion a number of documents are attached to the letter including a circular from Costello to members of the GAA's central council in which a brief synopsis of the Tallaght stadium story to date is provided. Roche says this document is "riddled with factual inaccuracies" and that the overall tone of the new letter is similar to Kennedy's.
"They claim no Shamrock Rovers money went into what has been built so far but that's simply not true," he says. "The 400 club alone provided over €100,000 for the payment of professional fees and other items related to the project.
"Now, setting all of that aside, I have no problem whatsoever with junior gaelic or hockey or any other type of sporting contest being staged at this stadium as long as it doesn't require changes (an enlarged pitch) that substantially impact on and delay its delivery but that is precisely what Thomas Davis appear determined to achieve."
Thomas Davis are down on the canvas, Rovers with a nice shot there. Davis left themselves very vulnerable there Bob.
Well fair play to the IT in that they've moved what 'till now was seen as a sports story into the realm of a full blooded news story.... and more importantly have highlighted the fact that much of what TD said in thier letter and supoorting documnets to their members are in fact 'untruths' the most glaring one bein the fact that thy have actually received recently themselves a substantial grant from the Dept of Sports (ie John O'Donoghues dept) of €200,000.Hopefully there will be moreof this type of press coverage and the balance of public opinion will swing fully in Rovers favour
However the fact still remains that by pursuing the legal route TD can still cause substantial delays to the Tallaght project , so we have to hope that (1) the Judicial Review is completed quickly or (2) The ordinary decent members of TD see that their club is being used in a selfish manner by a few and revolt against that continuing in order to protect the good name of heir club before it is damaged beyond repair.
To ensure that they need to quickly convince their executive commitee to drop the JD. To do so would not in any way be a cause of a loss of face but would be viewed by the majority of decent sports loving people as an act of sporting bravery which would be applauded by the vast vast majority of decent people in Tallaght and through ou the country no matter what their sports affilliation..... so the question is, has TD the moral courage to take that step or will they be lead into a morass of legal bills and confrontation...which ironicly will only serve to deny the people and especially the children of Tallaght the opporunity to have a super stadium delivered to their doorstep which will be avaialble for use by both Rovers and underage GAA teams.
The Fact that TD has recently recieved €200k and are still objecting to the stadium is an outright disgrace.At least Mr Lenihan made sure that the Irish Times were aware of this. I wonder what the majority of Thomas Davis' members think of the issue?the lads who play on the 2nd/3rd team etc, surely they dont agree with the heirachy at their club and the hardline/neo nazi stance of Mr O'Donnell...
2 articles in the Indo also today, one balanced, one very pro-GAA (which probably counts as impartial in this country).
The PR war is obviously in full swing.
One of the Indo articles is highly amusing in that it puts forward the pro's and con's of each side (public money, Rathcoole etc.) and then finishes up by saying that the GAA are fearful of Tallaght turning into an Association Football stronghold.
They could've saved themselves the bother and just printed the last last line.
Any Thomas davis player i`ve spoken to about it couldnt give a toss about the whole thing and dont really understand what all of the fuss is aboutOriginally Posted by Row Z
if TD wish to make this a election issue then i hope rovers do likewise especially in tallagh
I wish i did not know then what I dont know now
Maybe this plays into our hands because as long as FF get back into power they will want to put TD in their place
Champions 2010
Champions 2011
Dick Brush 1 Sligo 0
Bohs are going bust.
God i hate the GAA
low lie the fields of Bishopstown......
There is a poll on the Evening herald website asking if Tallaght Stadium should be used for GAA. 60% in favour of it being used
You can vote below but you need to register
http://www.evening-herald.ie/sportsdesk/football/
Always look on the bright side of life
Give me five minutes i will fix that a couple of hundred no votes should do it
Last edited by hoops1; 18/04/2007 at 9:47 AM.
Champions 2010
Champions 2011
Dick Brush 1 Sligo 0
Bohs are going bust.
I didn't need to register and I voted.
Oh and in case you were wondering I voted No.
As someone that has been heavily involved in both the GAA and Association Football it sickens me to see Thomas Davis and by extension the County Board acting in such a manner.
Check out my new sports blog http://www.action81.com
This link has been passed on. We have all voted no.
The vote as it stands is 46.1 Yes and 53.9 No
You can vote without being registered. I suspect you need to be registered to post a comment though.
Vote is narrowly in our favour at the mo. I'm gonna post a link on the DCFC site to this, and I suggest other supporters do the same with their clubs.
We need strong solidarity on this issue, and a clear message communicated via this poll.
Agreed.
Yeah I'd say the poll is gonna have a huge impact on the judicial review proceedings.
Well done to Rovers PR department.
"The Star has obtained a copy of the memo"
KOH
No One Likes Us, We Don't Care
Yes
44.4%
No
55.6%
Who Cares?!
Cynic.Yeah I'd say the poll is gonna have a huge impact on the judicial review proceedings.
It's a small link in the PR/publicity battle. Every link in a chain has a role to play.
56.5% 'no' now........
I voted in it and voted no. I live in Tallaght and will be discussing it with policiticians on the door step. I just think people are getting carried away with the poll, particularly as its been run by the Herald who will prob fix the results to suit themselves anyway.Cynic.
It's a small link in the PR/publicity battle. Every link in a chain has a role to play.
56.5% 'no' now........
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