Before moving to Australia, Irish journalist Catherine Murphy reported on Gaelic games for Ireland’s TV state broadcaster RTE. Here on afl.com.au she provides an insight into Gaelic football and the future of the code’s amateur status.
CRUCIAL days lie ahead for International Rules, with the game’s ruling bodies – the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the AFL – meeting independently to decide the future of the Australia-Ireland series.
The GAA convened in Dublin this weekend to discuss the revival of International Rules, while the AFL Commission met in Melbourne on Monday.
Both parties met in the United Arab Emirates last week before the Collingwood-Adelaide NAB Cup opener, and in Paris in October last year.
But while the AFL Commission will discuss International Rules at its next meeting on March 14, the fate of the series may be decided by the direction the GAA chooses for its own code.
A probable topic at the GAA’s meeting was the issue of AFL scouts targeting Irish players. On Monday, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou publicly opposed Ricky Nixon's plan to see a recruiting manager based in each of Ireland’s 32 counties. However, Demetriou admitted little could be done to stop Irish players moving to the AFL.
The key dilemma for the GAA is that it – and therefore Gaelic football as a code – remains an amateur organisation. Without the economic muscle to prevent its players defecting to professional football in Australia, Gaelic football has begun to lose some of its most talented young stars.
Accepting this, why then doesn’t Gaelic football simply turn professional?
Primarily, the reason is that the GAA and many others are proud of the code’s amateur status. In Ireland, you play for the county where you were born and raised. It’s a parochial culture that the GAA fears would be lost with the rise of professionalism.
The GAA’s problem isn’t a shortage of funds. Stadiums all over the country are packed for the summer months and Dublin’s Croke Park is bursting with almost 90,000 ticket-holders.
Traditionally, the GAA has pumped its earnings back into the clubs, coaching and facilities. After several renovations, Croke Park is now one of the best sporting stadiums in the world.
And more money is on the way. The arrival of new TV channel Setanta Sport and the success of terrestrial channel TV3 means the state broadcaster RTE, which has always broadcasted championship games, now has competition for TV rights. Negotiations for the rights are ongoing, but Gaelic Football’s worth has increased to a point where, along with several new sponsorship deals, the GAA could net up to 50 million euros this year (A$80.6 million).
Although not a patch on the AFL TV rights deal, this sort of money entering the Irish game could only encourage players to seek their own piece of the pie and reignite debate on the game’s amateur status.
The Gaelic Players’ Association, which campaigns aggressively for its 1881 members, has already hinted it is eager to research the sustainability of Gaelic football as a professional sport.
But the association recently attracted criticism from sectors of the GAA community after successfully campaigning for government grants.
Opponents suggested this was the start of a slippery slope to professionalism. A wall in Belfast City was spray-painted with the words “Pay for play – no way”.
And this is the problem for the GAA. Feelings and traditions run deep in Ireland, and there are many in Gaelic football who see the game’s amateur status as a birthright.
But as long as the association cannot provide financial incentive in Ireland, there will always be the temptation for its players to accept lucrative contracts in Australian football.
Whatever the outcome of the upcoming talks on International Rules, it’s primarily the GAA’s handling of this domestic issue that will shape its relationship with Australian football.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
