GAA in France

Seems only appropriate that as my last post on this blog a few years ago was about the GAA in France, then my next post should address the same subject.

Recently, the France GAA team played Ireland in Paris, with the Irish team made-up of Irish players living in France from clubs such as Paris Gaels, Toulouse and Rennes.

France are hoping to send a team to the inaugural GAA World Games which will take place in Dublin in 2016 to coincide with the 1916 commemorations.

Based on their performance it looks like they'll be sending a strong team to Ireland next year; it took the last kick of the game from Ireland to level the scores at 3-10 to 3-10.

Enjoy some of the highlights.

Gaelic Football in France

Thought I'd share some extracts from a recent piece in the Sunday Times on Gaelic football in France. And it's 110% real GAA all the way...

"...Rennes are one of six gaelic football clubs in this small region of France and every single male playing member are French. It would be a mistake to think that they’re rabble outfits, just playing a different sport for variety or a means for keeping fit; in 2007, Brittany won the Shield competition at the European Gaelic Games Championships.

Although they struggled at the top level in last year’s European Games, the standard in the region is improving all the time and so is the level of competition. Liffre were only founded two years ago and they won last year’s Brittany championship. That domestic championship kicks off again on February 7th, when the first tournament of the season will be held in Vannes. Five tournaments will take place between February and the end of May, where a points system decides who is crowned champions. “The competition is very intense and it is a huge honour to win it,” says Guillaume Kerrien, a founding member of the Nantes football club.

Although there are gaelic football clubs now in every department of the region, they hope to expand the base even more. Lannion and Vannes were only founded last year and they expect a club to be up and running in Lorient before the end of this season. Two other towns have also expressed interest in forming clubs and plans have already been drawn up to form a Breton league.

...

Although the growth of gaelic football in Brittany in such a short time has blown away all convention, the region always had the potential to be a fertile soil for its promotion. Historically, Brittany is a very Celtic region and its people have always been acutely attuned to their Celtic identity. As well as the cultural links through the vast number of twinning relationships enjoyed between towns in Ireland and Brittany, there is also a huge student-exchange culture.

The first GAA club in Brittany was founded in Brest in 1998 by Yann Guenneguez, a Frenchman who had spent some years in Westport. The club in Rennes was set up a year later by Dan McGuigan along with Benoit Jeannin, who is still the club president. Rugby and soccer have a strong presence in the region but Gaelic football has become so popular there now that it was passed last year as a subject choice of the Bach, which is the equivalent of the Irish Leaving Certificate.

Having such a presence within the schools is a massive promotional tool. A network of PE teachers, who play gaelic football, have introduced the game to many of the schools but the crusade was effectively launched by Anne-Marie O’Rourke. From Coolkenno in Wicklow and a member of the Wicklow ladies side which won the 1990 All-Ireland Junior title, O’Rourke is the only Irish member of the Rennes club and is pretty much a one-woman GAA promotional machine.

...

The clubs in Brittany get some assistance from the ECB but their budget, which comes from GAA Central funding, has to stretch over 30 clubs across the whole of mainland Europe. In the last two years, 30 French people have taken GAA foundation level coaching courses and have been trained as GAA instructors, some of which are Bretons. In Rennes on Wednesday, there was a coaching session organised by the Youth Development Officer of the Federation Francaise de Football Gaelique, which effectively governs the game in the region.

Gaelic football is taking root at all levels. INSA, a third level institution in Rennes, have created their own team and they competed in the British Universities Championships last year. INSA also hosted their own gaelic football tournament, which included three British Universities.

Unlike most other Breton clubs, Ar Gwazi Gouez (Rennes) want to be associated with all forms of Irish culture and they are the strongest club in the region. Through intense fundraising and sponsorship, their self-financing potential is far greater than all other Breton clubs. “It is quite hard because we have to fund everything ourselves,” says Nantes’ Guillaume Kerrien. “It’s difficult to get financial help from the town and city councils because the sport is not nationally known or recognised by the head sporting organisations. But we have a pragmatic approach and we help each other.”

The game in Brittany will always have to survive on indigenous talent because it doesn’t have the same pulling power that attracts Irish people to other cities and regions around the world. Brittany is one of the poorest regions in France, with the minimum wage only E1000 a month...

...Sheamus Howlin, Chairman of the Overseas Work Group has attended some games in Brittany and has been “very impressed with the quality of football,” Breton championship matches are officiated by Irish referees based in Paris and every player is well aware of official rules. Even when a beach gaelic football competition was held in Pornichet last year, which featured on the TV programme The Road to Croker, the competition was still organised under the umbrella of the ECB.

The first pioneers of gaelic games in Europe date as far back as 1747, when an Irish Brigade at the Battle of Lafelt, near Maastricht, played hurling matches amongst themselves during breaks in the fighting. But the deep embedding of such a strong GAA culture in Brittany is a first because of its dominant French influence. And given how fast gaelic football is developing there, it’s unknown where it may lead to."

Time to form a Club Players' Association

It may have been tongue-in-cheek but the Sindo's call for a Club Players' Association merits serious consideration. 

"Much energy and ink is expended on the apparent indignities suffered by our unfortunate inter-county footballers and hurlers. But at least they're getting the opportunity to play. Pity the poor clubman, denied games when the pitches are good and forced into wars of attrition on days not fit for man nor beast when the weather can turn the game into a lottery".

Why do the County Board's let this happen? Why do the clubs tolerate this situation?

 

It's almost as if the GAA is conspiring to keep lads sitting around all summer and then drawing the club leagues and championships out as long as possible to keep players away from rugby and soccer. Nah, they surely wouldn't?

Croke Park has acknowledged this as a serious problem. But, as with all problems identified by Croke Park they needed to first write a report, The Club Fixtures Report (no copies available on the 'net). And now, it seems, on the basis of this report they are proposing a Charter to sort things out. Huh, a Charter?

Like some charter outlining the problem and calling on County Boards to make sure players have regular games is going to make a real difference. All we have to do is look at all the UN Charters for proof. Whatever we read in the papers about the threat posed to GAA by the best players opting for Aussie Rules, rugby or soccer, this is where the greatest danger to the future of the GAA lies. Players getting cheesed off because they have to wait until November to play the most important games of the season. What other sports have regular gaps of 3 months between rounds in their championships? 

But, lets be realistic. Nothing will change for the clubs so long as Croke Park, the County Boards and the GPA are the main stakeholders at national level. And the situation for the clubs will only worsen, if, more likely when, the GPA is officially recognised. 

As I've said before the Club Forum is a good start, but it's not enough, the situation of the vast majority of the GAA's members--the clubs and the club players--need a representative to speak and lobby on their behalf. Just look what that's done for the inter-county players. 

Ulster GAA is ahead of the game

Over 400 club volunteers will participate in the second Ulster GAA Club and Community Conference at the Europa Hotel, Belfast tomorrow.

This year’s conference is focused on improving the capacity of clubs and volunteers across the province as the theme of this year’s conference: “Strengthening community cohesion though the development of the GAA clubs and volunteers” underlines.

As part of the consultation process for the new Ulster GAA strategy 2009-2015 a specific part of the conference has been set aside where participants will take part in a one-hour club feedback forum were club officials can make their voice heard on the issues currently facing the GAA in the province of Ulster.

Every province should take note and follow suit.

Revealing Comments from Ó hAilpin

It's depressing to read about Frank Murphy's dictatorship versus the Liberation Player Rebels everyday. It's Séan Óg's turn to have a blast today on Setanta.

What Ó hAilpin's comments ultimately reveal is the growing tension between expectations of the elite players and standards in GAA. The GPA has been beating the GAA over the head with the stick that some administrators (officially) and managers (unofficially) get paid so why shouldn't they receive some financial incentives for their participation too. At the same time they are demanding that the game be run like a professional sport and that the conditions under which they train and play--from facilities, to medical advice, to nutrition etc.--should also be as high as any other professional sport out there. That's fair enough, given the time, effort and commitment they put into the game and the money generated from large attendances at matches.

But, if the GAA wants to protect funding for the majority of the people involved at local level, and rightly refuses to officially pay managers, then where are the mangers with the expertise and experience of a sufficiently high standard to meet the elite players' demands going to come from? Many county boards and clubs refuse to pay (and that's still the case with a lot out there despite the current perception...this is based on my own anecdotal evidence, just like the counter prevailing view) and look internally to appoint the best available.

The problem is that the players have deemed McCarthy "not good enough". That's the spark that has ignited this dispute, although it is now being used to settle a long running grudge between Murphy and the players.

How long before other county panels adopt the same attitude?

Players are the GAA’s crown jewels says GPA chief Farrell

Dessie's not one to let the opportunity for an argument pass by, and no doubt got his buddy and biographer, Potty to help him pen and a swift and acidic response to Paddy Heaney's piece (Time has come for GPA to stop asking for more).

Earlier this year Paraic Duffy pleaded for a better relationship between the GPA and those that do not share the same views, reminding the GPA that it is not helpful for them to "use dismissive or intemperate language towards those who hold a contrary view on player-related issues". That call certainly fell on deaf ears, even though Dessie says, he "tried to temper his response".

Dessie makes it clear that any formal recognition of the GPA will have to involve the GAA bankrolling the players' association so that it can apply for "an expanded package of player welfare services". Dessie's wish list of employment programmes, health services and education initiatives would make Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro proud. One further step on the slippery slope to professionalism.

Except Dessie thinks he can cloak the intention as a guise to protect Gaelic's amateur status. "We can safeguard our amateur status by ensuring we achieve excellence in the area of welfare" Dessie boldly claims. Because if you don't he warns "this has the potential to set us on another collision course with the GAA regarding sponsorship, TV and image rights". That's code for we want control over the money generated from these rights and we will strike if we don't get our way.

Most alarmingly, and this betrays Dessie's true vision for the GAA, he sees the GAA as a "product" which we must make the "best in the market" to compete with other codes.

Lord help us all.

Time has come for GPA to stop asking GAA for more

Paddy Heaney of the Irish News has had enough of Dessie's rants. (The full article is posted on GAAboard.com)

While I don't agree with everything he has to say, he makes some good points. 

If, as Dessie claims, it was all about the elite players--"Without them there is nothing" to quote from his speech at the GPA dinner on Friday-- then as Paddy says, why is the Railway Cup not a roaring success? Fair point.

And while Paddy acknowledges that the GAA hasn't always treated players so well, he explains how Alan Simpson, the Linfield goalkeeping coach, who was part of Ross Carr's backroom team for Down, was "overwhelmed by how well Down's county footballers were treated and hugely impressed by the way no expense was spared in meeting their needs". This echoes Babs Keating's comments that the Tipperary squad of 2007 weren't "left for anything" with the County Board spending €870,000--that's a lot of money--training teams with no success to show for it. 

And that's the part Dessie doesn't mention. He focuses on the empty part of the glass all the time. 

The GAA currently allocates nearly 50% of its income on expenses that are directly related to inter-county teams: 14%  on match and competition costs; 18% payments to counties (we know from the comments above how most of that is spent); and 14% on player welfare. (Source is GAA Annual Report 2008) 

Dessie states that the GAA is going to have to fund the GPA--and pay Dessie's salary!

If the GAA, ultimately, does end up having to fund the GPA then another part of the Association is going to have to pay--that will mean a reduction in funding for facilities, or funding for coaching and games development. 

Then the real losers will be the clubs and volunteers who work so hard to train and coach future generations of inter-county players.

Europe's GAA season ends

The final tournament of the European Gaelic Football season was played in Maastricht last Saturday. Belgium GAA won the tournament and secured the European championship. 

The Irish Times had a great feature on growing interest in Gaelic games in Asia last Saturday. As in Asia there's a great social dimension to involvement in GAA in Europe, but that shouldn't take away from the high standard of football played and the commitment of those involved. Traveling to The Hague, Maastricht, Munich, Paris, Rennes and Budapest to play GAA may sound a little glamorous (the GAA glamorous!), but it also takes a lot of time and can be quite costly for those playing.

A big "well done" to Belgium for their victory and to all those involved in European GAA in 2008. 

GAA can't compete, shouldn't try to compete

Who's the Irish Independent journalist writing under the alias "the.couch@hotmail.com"? Any ideas?

He seems to be implying today that as long as GAA remains amateur it won't be able to compete for young talent with Aussie Rules, soccer or rugby.  

And how exactly does "the.couch" think Gaelic could "compete" as a career choice if it did become professional? 

The GAA will never be able to match the earnings or marketing exposure of these professional sports. Surely, if GAA did become professional then those talented enough to choose whether to continue playing Gaelic for a few grand or to play one of the other sports professionally for pots of filthy lucre are then going to make their choice based on financial considerations. Soccer players, for one, are not known for their loyalty in choosing clubs over money.  

So how would the GAA be any better off than it is now?

An Spalpin on the Cork mess

An Spailpín is always worth a read. Today's article on the so-called "Cork hurlers" merits a few moments of your time.

Not only is he handy with the prose, but also with photoshop, as the above photo shows!

I wish, however, he'd enable the comments function so that others can contribute.

GAA It's all glocal

Think globally and act locally they say. Seems like the GAA's taken that to heart too.

But, while it makes for a good story, having to dash back from Mexico for a county final in November is a disgrace. So what if Wexford got to the All-Ireland final for the first time since I don't know when. 

Why do club players have to sit around all summer and then cut their holidays short to play in the depths of winter? Does anyone care or is anyone trying to rectify this situation?

GAA out, GPA in

Just as Croke Park is distancing itself (that shouldn't be too hard with most of them Down Under right now!) from the now annual feud in Cork, the GPA, has the Speedos and goggles on, and wants to dive in at the deep end.

Dessie reckons the GPA has a role to represent the players in the dispute and that likewise, Croke Park, could represent the County Board. And hey presto, we could avoid this type of situation. Dessie's using the quarrel, once again, as an opportunity to call on the GAA to recognise the GPA. Is Donal Og in cohoots with Dessie and engineering the whole thing so this could happen? 

That's a bit far fetched even for the biggest conspiracy theory fans, but it is jarring to see Dessie jump in and claim that the players are free to walk away "as ultimately it is volunteering and done on an amateur ethos". That's totally out of kilter with Dessie's usual spin that the county players are enslaved on the county teams and therefore deserving of money to compensate them for being so badly exploited. 

Player power in the GAA

As Hurling Blog says, the "prima donnas" in Cork are at it again. And as he rightly calls it, it's all about player power. Gerald McCarthy makes that clear in his statement. The players are abusing their high public status and forgetting how they got to be inter-county stars. 

No matter what the truth behind how McCarthy's appointment was handled it's hard to argue with his position on what he considers the nub of the problem:

"The fundamental issue here is whether players have a right to effectively appoint their own managers or veto the appointment of managers. I don't believe they should. It is undesirable, unworkable and untenable. It is a basic truth in sport that managers manage and players play. For Cork hurling to capitulate to a demand that would not be entertained in any other sport would be massively damaging to hurling here".

Consult them by all means, but that should be the limit to their involvement. Makes sense.

The problem in Cork is that the players, with their rancorous relationship with the County Board, clearly no longer respect the County Board as a legitimate authority to make these decisions. 

All GAA is local

Looks like an interesting series on the GAA to be broadcast on Setanta from Sunday onwards. I'll have to ask the relations in Dublin to set the video recorder as am particularly interested to see Setanta's take on the fourth and final episode "All GAA is local". The caption is intriguing "All GAA is local" examines the contrast between the glamour of Gaelic Games at an inter-county level and the ethos of amateurism and volunteerism that continues to sustain the GAA at local level".

GAA What the real story should be

Frank Roche in de Herald recounts a history of the recent violence in the International Rules series. The appropriately titled "The Beast is Coming Back" is describes some of the outrageous Aussie carry-on, while also fairly exposing some of the hypocrisy of the GAA taking the high moral ground on violence in sport. We've seen it all before though and there's been at least two articles every day for the past two weeks speculating if the games will degenerate into something more appropriate for an American extreme fighting cage.

The real story is elsewhere, however, but receives little attention. According to Frank, himself, on another page -- ignore the piece about those Cork langours -- Wicklow SHC champions Glenealy are threatening not to contest this year's final against Carnew after the game was fixed for this Sunday, despite the presence of Leighton Glynn, Glenealy's star, in Australia with the International Rules squad. Glenealy have threatened not to appear on Sunday. Rightly so.

That's the real story. That's what the media should be writing about. An important final for serious GAA players, two clubs and thousands of real GAA supporters is being disrupted. And for what?  

But, that's only half the story. Why hasn't a county which got knocked out of the All-Ireland championship in early summer not yet played its county final? What the hell have they been doing all summer!? Why can't the GAA not put in place a proper scheduled season? When are they going to start paying more respect to the majority of its members? That's the real disgrace, not some bastardised nonsense thousands of miles away.

Liam Hayes for manager

Liam Hayes has the experience. All-Ireland medals in '87 and '88, finalist in '90, and '91 as captain. Three NFL titles, an All Star honour in '88 and three matches against the Aussies in '84, '86 and '87. Add to that a few county titles with Skryne and it makes a fine footballing CV. 

But, as a manager. Carlow for two years. 

Yup. That's all there is to say. 

He cited "business and family commitments" as the reason for quitting that position rather than his blatant failure to make any progress with the Carlow team, as was clearly signalled by defeat to Leitrim in the Tommy Murphy Cup just before his resignation.

Hayes at one stage even suggested Carlow change their colours reasoning that they hadn't been successful with their triple colour combo.  So it's not just in his newspaper columns that he puts forward ideas that make the rest of the country wonder if he pens his pieces from under a rock on Mars.  

His nomination as manager for the Meath position is totally out of the blue. Literally, as it was Skryne, his blue-jerseyed home club that reportedly proposed him.  I don't think there's many in Meath that fancy him for the job, although rumour has it that Meath's sponsor, Menolly Homes, is demanding a high profile man for the job. Maybe they think that's the only way they'll sell a few houses this year.

I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding. My theory is that Skryne, they too are looking for a new man to take over the team, phoned Liam inquiring whether he was interested in the manager's position. Liam, being Liam, am sure, presumed they meant the Meath job and of course, he'd be honoured if they put his name forward. 

They couldn't really turn around and say "No, not that manager's job", now, could they?

GAA International

How often have we heard the Compromise Rules series defended as the only international outlet for our beloved national games? Merde, if you'll pardon my French. 

When one thinks of GAA played abroad it's natural to think of the UK, the USA or Australia and the strong Irish diaspora living there. 

Well, not anymore.  It's time to broaden your mind. Take for example a French woman playing Gaelic football for Paris Gaels who first learned how to play GAA in Shanghai. Yes, Shanghai. China. Globalisation went that deep it also touched the GAA. 

Despite their number across the city ten years ago in Madrid it wasn't possible to find an Irish bar that showed GAA. Now there's even a team in Pamplona. In the last ten years in Europe GAA seeds have taken flight across the continent and numerous clubs from Brest to Budapest have taken sprout:

• Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Pamplona 
  
• France - Brest, Rennes, Paris, Lyons
  
• The Netherlands - The Hague, Amsterdam, Maastricht
  
• Belgium - Brussels
  
• Austria - Vienna
  
• Denmark - Copehagen
  
• Germany - Munich, Dusseldorf
  
• Sweden - Gotenburg
  
• Luxembourg
  
• Hungary - Budapest
  

While it is true that some of these clubs rely on the Irish community living abroad for their existence the game is also taking root in some parts through the efforts and gra for the game of the locals. In Rennes there's only one Irish person permanently involved in the game and yet Rennes will host 20 teams from across Europe next weekend for the European Gaelic Football Shield and Championship semi-finals. Not only have the local GAA enthusiasts planned and organised the tournament, but they've also succeeded in promoting and developing the GAA in schools in Brittany. And so, for the first time two schools from Rennes and Vannes will participate in the tournament. (There's more details here in the European Irish.)

The GAA is involved and has put some structure in place to promote Gaelic games in Europe. Still, one can't help wondering, instead of spending lots of money to send GAA players long distances to play a bastardised game that's not even GAA, would it not be better to spend a bit more money on those who want to play Gaelic games instead?

Describing yourself as a GAA man up North

There's been a raft of articles recently about the GAA in Northern Ireland. Tyrone's All-Ireland final victory and the arson attacks on GAA grounds have been in the headlines sparking questions about what the GAA stands for, what it represents, and if it's doing enough to open to the Unionist community.

Describing yourself up north as a G  A  A man--I've never liked it when pronounced gah, I always thought there were some negative connotations when heard it said that way--has many more implications that it does down south. Not only are you a bog hopping culchie, but generally considered a dangerous Fenian one at that. 

The Belfast Telegraph has been weighing in with a series of articles some positive, some negative, all demonstrating that we've a long, long way to go yet. Pity there's not more like Ed Curran, the editor-in-chief of the Telegraph group, who today provides the best analysis on situation yet. Well worth a read.

While I'm on this subject...there's a great story about Paddy, who was walking down the street in Belfast and he discovers a gun pressing against the back of his head. A voice says, "Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

Well, Paddy has to think fast. He says, "I'm a Jew." 

And he hears a voice say, "I've got to be the luckiest Arab in the whole of Belfast."

GAA Clubs need a Voice

Some think that Of One Belief lost at Congress, others believe the GAA did. No matter.

No, wait! Before you depart, I'm not going to get into grants, or expenses, or whatever we should call it.

Of One Belief may be no more, but their brief existence taught us an important lesson. Although vilified and pillorised by some, with Martin Breheny leading the lynch mob, Mark Conway and Of One Belief were a critical counterbalance to the money-driven and elitist GPA in the "grants" "debate".

Without Of One Belief there was no other point of view than the GPA's. Croke Park and the GAA hierarchy were easily cowed by the GPA threats and did their utmost to whisper through an agreement with them. Nicky and the suits certainly made no effort to inform the GAA members of the details of the agreement and what the potential consequences were. wasn't until Of One Belief was formed that some semblance of a debate began and the pro's and con's of the agreement were properly aired. 

Now that the GPA have got what they wanted they have firmly established themselves as an important and acknowledged constituency within the GAA, the next step will be to recognise them as the inter-county (always important to make that distinction) players official union. Talks to do so are already under way. Not before its time, some would say, and that's a fair point. 

Official recognition will give the GPA a place at the top table and an even greater influence on the future direction of the GAA. Ordinary GAA members, in contrast, who make up the vast majority of the GAA's numbers, are increasingly disenfranchised from GAA decision-making. The GAA prides itself on being a democratic organisation, but the clubs are too far removed from decision-making at Congress and Central Council to have any real say. With the exception of the "important questions" like the Ban, Rule 42 etc., the clubs are not consulted on the running of the GAA and have little, if no, impact. The Club Forum is a good start, but it's not enough.

With the GPA's emergence as a force in GAA decision-making we can expect that the frequency of occasions when what's good for the GPA is not necessarily good for the rest of the association to increase. The problem is that there will be no voice for the majority of the GAA's members to put their point of view across. If the media wants a quote it needs someone to go to. Without a spokesperson or focal point for the majority of the GAA's members the GPA will once again have free reign in the national media for their bullyboy tactics.

But, the clubs don't have direct representation, despite desperately needing it. There's a whole range of problems, from fixtures (some go weeks and even months without matches during the summer freeze) to volunteering, which are neglected because Croke Park and the County Boards' give more weighting to the inter-county scene. 

The weight of representation is against the clubs. With so many diverse interests in the game the GAA cannot continue to speak for them all. That needs to change.

The grant that never was is approved

The "grants" rigmarole finally come to a close yesterday when the GAA Annual Congress rubber stamped the deal. 

As Peter Quinn said on TV a few weeks ago, the decision-making machinery of the GAA Congress replicates that of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China -- the important decisions are decided before the meeting, so the outcome was no great surprise. Also like the GAA the Chinese also use the occasion to decide leadership changes; review and change, if necessary, the Party's Constitution; and select the Central Council, a powerful decision making body, the authority of which, according to its spokesperson Danny "Sum Ting Wong?" Lynch, should never be questioned. 

Trying to get an accurate account in the GAA annals of how this decision was brought about is going to be very difficult because of the Rashomon effect. Rashomon is a Japanese film which has become "a byword for any situation in which the truth of an event is difficult to verify due to the conflicting accounts of different witnesses". We've seen this time and time again during this debate with many blinkered views [Martin Breheny wins the overall prize for his perverse and twisted interpretation] of what was happening.

In general there are two versions of how the GAA bungled from "grants" to "eligible expenses":

The hey presto, Nicky Brennan, Croke Park and GPA version, which would have you  believe that they knew what they were doing all along-- that it was "rubbish" and "farcical" to argue that the grant was a threat to the GAA's amateur status -- despite the radically rehashed deal emerging from the depths of the GAA's "open and transparent" hierarchy. "Didn't we tell you all along that we wouldn't sign up to any deal with the GPA that would harm the GAA's amateur status?" Then why are all the poor journalists so confused that they still refer to it as a grant?

The other is Joe Brolly's analysis, subsequently endorsed by the DRA:

1. GAA announces grants deal with GPA

2. Of One Belief launch legal challenge to grants/pay for play warning of dangers of EU law

3. GAA retain Alex Schuster, law lecturer at Trinity College and recognized authority on European community law, who  clearly advised them that grants would mean the players were involved in economic activity, which would mean that community law applied 

4. GAA buys time at DRA through technicalities and unavailability of key witnesses

5. GAA junks the original "Grants" scheme and develops the elaborate, complicated, wholly incomprehensible bureaucratic nightmare that is the "eligible expenses" scheme.

Despite the calls that it's time to move on the amateur, shamateur, professional debate is not going to go away.