Padraig Duffy's proposals for fixtures and player burn-out have generated some commentary since their publication recently.
Chris Breen in the Fermanagh Herald has a good piece today and makes some important points on how the proposals fall short.
Bringing forward the All-Ireland finals by two weeks is positive and is to be welcome. But, the problem doesn't lie in August no September for most countries it's the months preceding it. Couldn't agree more. Despite the 13 day rule few counties play their club championship fixtures between inter-county championship matches. The predominant discourse in the media led by ex-county players and managers is that the two can't be played side-by-side. This is wrong and treats club players as second class citizens.
Ending replays as Chris points out could hurt the GAA financially but the players - the vast majority of them being club players - are the real 'currency' of the GAA and need to be protected. It's about time the GAA recognised this. Giving club players a regular and meaningful fixture of matches should be the top priority in securing the GAA's future. Otherwise they will find something better to do with their time.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
It's time to say goodbye to the International Rules
With the International Rules this weekend it's worth recalling that on the 19th November last year France played Italy in an international GAA match in Toulouse.
Perhaps France's overwhelming victory on the day meant a re-match was not sought by the Italians this year. Nevertheless this match was a sign of things to come. The French are intent on sending a well-prepared team to represent France in the GAA World Games in Ireland next year and were recently unlucky not to beat an Ireland side comprised of Irish players based in France.
While it will take at least a decade before a French team can take on a real Irish team the growth of GAA in France over the last ten years has been impressive and the standard of Gaelic football is improving all the time.
Which begs the question. Why does the GAA want to promote a game that no-one in Ireland plays? It doesn't have any identity and it certainly doesn't have a future.
If the GAA really wants to promote its games internationally then investment should be made in countries like France where there's an appetite for the game. Not some made-up sport that no actually plays.
Around the World in 80 GAA Clubs
Great initiative by Joe to feature some of the GAA clubs from around the world. Although eighty sounds like a large number of clubs it's just over a third of the 315 international clubs affiliated with the GAA. That number is based on figures from the GAA's last annual report 2014 and am sure the number of clubs has grown since then.
1. Berlin GAA Club
2. Helsinki GAA Club
3. Qatar GAA Club
1. Berlin GAA Club
2. Helsinki GAA Club
3. Qatar GAA Club
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
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."
"...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."
Thursday, January 15, 2009
125 birthday wishes for the GAA
The Herald has put together a wish-list, some tongue-in-cheek, for the GAA's 125th anniversary. Here's a few i liked from the list:
26 ...the Lilywhites unilaterally abandon the handpass. (I blame Micko)
30 That GAA officers in power finally start looking at the small picture. (I hope by that they mean the clubs)
35 That Dublin get rid of those ridiculous new jerseys before anyone mistakes them for Man City.
54 That the Meath county board gets rid of that awful accordion/snare drum CD it plays before (and sometimes during) matches in Páirc Tailteann.
60 That Dublin fans are on time every time.
65 That cowboy hats are confiscated from all supporters. Bring back the furry cap, we say! (Before the Leinster Final in 1986 I was promised one if Meath won... )
76 That Fermanagh kick the ball from their own half at least once.
102 That football boots of any colour other than black are banned.
113 That Eamon O'Brien rediscovers that long-lost species - Homo Royal Teak Tough Erectus - that once produced Lyons, Harney, Foley, etc. (They don't make Meathmen like they used to...alas)
119 That GAA club players rediscover that magical experience of playing a championship match with moulded studs on a hard pitch in the middle of summer.
26 ...the Lilywhites unilaterally abandon the handpass. (I blame Micko)
30 That GAA officers in power finally start looking at the small picture. (I hope by that they mean the clubs)
35 That Dublin get rid of those ridiculous new jerseys before anyone mistakes them for Man City.
54 That the Meath county board gets rid of that awful accordion/snare drum CD it plays before (and sometimes during) matches in Páirc Tailteann.
60 That Dublin fans are on time every time.
65 That cowboy hats are confiscated from all supporters. Bring back the furry cap, we say! (Before the Leinster Final in 1986 I was promised one if Meath won... )
76 That Fermanagh kick the ball from their own half at least once.
102 That football boots of any colour other than black are banned.
113 That Eamon O'Brien rediscovers that long-lost species - Homo Royal Teak Tough Erectus - that once produced Lyons, Harney, Foley, etc. (They don't make Meathmen like they used to...alas)
119 That GAA club players rediscover that magical experience of playing a championship match with moulded studs on a hard pitch in the middle of summer.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Keep Croker open
Why not? Just for the games when capacity requires it.
Technically, neither the IRFU nor the FAI will require Croke Park once Lansdowne Road is redeveloped but with such a huge capacity differential between the two stadiums there's a clear logic in continuing the current arrangement for major games.
Full article.
Technically, neither the IRFU nor the FAI will require Croke Park once Lansdowne Road is redeveloped but with such a huge capacity differential between the two stadiums there's a clear logic in continuing the current arrangement for major games.
Full article.
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