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Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'GAA bosses have gone too far by prioritising money over community'
What in the name of God is going on in the GAA. Last Saturday was one of the busiest of the year in terms of football matches and none were shown on free-to-air television. Dublin were playing Derry in a crucial match for All-Ireland survival, Meath met and walloped Kerry in one of the shocks of the year, Galway needed a result against Armagh to survive. Yet the only place you could see these crucial matches was on Croke Park's lucrative streaming service GAA+ - where you are charged for the privilege. No team, of course, could actually play in Croke Park because the GAA top brass had given the stadium for the URC rugby final, which Leinster thankfully won against the mighty South African Bulls. I have nothing against rugby but surely the national Gaelic stadium could have been used as a neutral venue with so many do-or-die All-Ireland series matches going on, and not rented out to rugby. It seems to me that the GAA is now ruled by the well-paid suits who are more interested in hitting their revenue targets than doing the right thing in the public interest. The powers that be in Croke Park seem more interested in making as much money as they can from their GAA+ streaming service than letting their members all over the country watch vital important matches for free. What they are doing is totally and utterly wrong. There are hundreds of thousands of people - many of them old-age pensioners who gave their lives to the association for free - who would have loved to watch these matches on RTE or Virgin Media. Croke Park need to realise they are not the Premier League, but yet they are starting to behave like them with their pay-per-view strategy. The GAA is a national organisation built from the grassroots up who have a moral obligation to look after their members and do the right thing. Doing the right thing means showing these games on free TV as we know it, and not charging the various county fans who already spend a fortune following their team, more money for the privilege. Most pubs in the country can't afford GAA+ and if they do have one of their games on it is probably from a "dodgy" box. By not doing the right thing, the GAA is losing out big time. They will argue that the highlights of these matches will be shown on RTE's Saturday Game but it is just not good enough. I was in my local pub last Saturday evening and guess what was on - the rugby. It was full of who I would call GAA people and everyone would have loved to have watched Kerry and Meath, followed by the Dubs. Dublin themselves have such a huge following and it is wrong that the majority of their supporters would not have seen the game unless they could afford to pay for the pay-per-view. The Dublin lads in our bar could not believe the Derry match was not being shown live by RTE. But to be fair to RTE it is not their fault - it was the GAA's fault. My late father Johnny spent half his life as a volunteer in the GAA involved with his club, the Oliver Plunketts and the County Board in Louth. Like many others of his generation he gave his all to help build the association in what it is today. There was no one prouder going to the new Croke Park than him. Every penny of taxpayers' money that was given to the GAA at the time to build the new-look stadium was worth it. In the last years of his life, when he was not as mobile as he used to be and couldn't go to games anymore, there was nothing he enjoyed more than watching all the various inter-county matches on the telly. But he lived in a time before the GAA decided to go down the streaming route and he would be turning in his grave at what's happening right now with vital matches not being shown free-to-air. He would rightly feel betrayed. The GAA, for as long as I can remember, is all about the community. Every town, parish and village has their own pitch and club. It should, as an organisation, be all about serving its members and not making money. We all know that unlike the FAI, the GAA is an amateur sport run by professionals. But sadly the professionals in Croke Park these days have gone too far and need to get a grip. One of the best games of the year was the Munster Hurling Final when Cork beat Limerick in a penalty shootout the weekend before last. It was rightly shown on RTE and the whole nation was enthralled by it. It was a wonderful advertisement for the sport. The people of Ireland should have been able to see Meath demolish Kerry, they should have been able to see Galway battling for survival against Armagh with the last kick of the game. Last Saturday, the only GAA matches you could watch on traditional TV were two Ladies Football Championship matches - I have nothing against the ladies by the way - and the All-Ireland Hurling Minor Semi-Final, and all on TG4. If you wanted to see anything else you had to pay for it on the GAA streaming service. The GAA will argue that Sunday's Monaghan vs Down and Donegal vs Mayo were shown free on RTE 2. Not good enough. Three of those teams were from Ulster so what about the rest of the country - do the other teams and games not matter? This issue should be raised at the next Congress and GAA President Jarlath Burns needs to step in and do something about it. They also need to spread the season over the summer and not be playing so many cracking matches on one weekend. The All-Ireland final should never have been moved from the traditional third Sunday in September and the idea that the national GAA season ends in July is insane. As Pat Spillane rightly says, it just gives a free ticket for all other sports to promote their games.
The Irish Sun
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
GAA shooting itself in the foot with schedule decisions – a bit of common sense would benefit fans
WITH so much to cheer about in hurling and football, the fixtures schedule continues to let us down. The weekend gone by was a prime example. 2 Unfortunately the thriller between Clare and Tipperary wound up playing second-fiddle for many fans 2 There was another Clones cracker in the Ulster football final as Donegal eventually triumphed over Armagh Saturday was awash with games in both codes across the country, but so many clash crimes were committed by the powers that be. The biggest of those was on Saturday evening, when Clare's Munster SHC showdown with Tipperary collided with It was such a shame for so many to miss out on one or the other, depending on your preference. Read More On GAA Yes, these were games in two provinces in different codes, but the GAA at large need to realise there is a massive general fanbase with a deep love for both. The Ulster final was moved to Saturday so it could be played as a double header with the ladies showpiece between the same counties. Good call, but it led to what transpired. Most read in GAA Hurling A bit of common sense would be no harm. TIPP THE BALANCE? Are Tipperary back? Liam Cahill insists they are not, but it certainly feels like it. Henry Shefflin hilariously dabbles in Gaelic football punditry as RTE's Saturday Game debuts format change How they dismantled Clare in their own back yard on Saturday evening was astounding, and it was their best performance since Cahill took over from Colm Bonnar ahead of the 2023 campaign. The Premier expects success all the time. Failing to emerge from the province last year was far from good enough when it came to their demanding public, but the doubters are believing again. Replacing Brian Hogan with Rhys Shelly in goal three games into the Munster championship was a risk that came up trumps against the All-Ireland champions. His puck-outs laid the platform for so many Tipp attacks as John McGrath and Andrew Ormond netted two apiece in the first half. But Tipp's resolve really shone through when the inevitable Clare comeback arrived, and the Banner drew level. Shane O'Donnell's cameo off the bench really lifted the hosts, but Cahill's defence showed incredible composure to withstand that pressure when the chips were down. Nobody is talking All-Irelands just yet, but their Munster destiny is in their own hands when Waterford come to Thurles on Sunday.
The Irish Sun
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Luke Loughlin's individual total matches Antrim as Tailteann Cup co-favourites Westmeath send out message
AFTER Kildare racked up 0-36 against Leitrim on Saturday, fellow Tailteann Cup favourites WESTMEATH only had to Luke to their star man to notch a similar haul against ANTRIM. Luke Loughlin booted 1-17, with 0-13 from play, as the Lakesiders saw off the Saffrons 4-24 to 1-17 in Mullingar. Loughlin kicked five two-pointers as Westmeath took over in the second half, but for the opening 40 minutes it looked as if Antrim might cause an upset. A pair of two-pointers from Dominic McEnhill and Patrick McBride launched them into a 0-5 to 0-2 lead after 12 minutes. Two goals in as many minutes from brothers Sam and Danny McCartan put Westmeath on the front foot. But Antrim hit back and when Kavan Keenan goaled after collecting a ball that came back into play off the upright, the visitors were just a point adrift. Read More On GAA Then Loughlin took over — hitting a two-pointer and finding the corner of the net from a penalty. Only a superb save from Michael Byrne kept it relatively close at half-time, 3-9 to 1-10. Ronan Wallace hit the crossbar and Byrne strode forward to fire a two-point free over to reduce the gap further. But for the last half-hour, Loughlin was mercurial and Westmeath surfed on his wave to record a comprehensive win. Most read in GAA Football Matthew Whittaker hit a superb goal and Loughlin began firing over scores and bringing his colleagues into the game in equal measure, while Antrim faded out of it. The main concern for Westmeath manager Dermot McCabe in advance of what should be a straightforward trip to London next weekend will be injuries to Brían Cooney and captain Wallace, who was a colossus at the heart of the defence. Henry Shefflin hilariously dabbles in Gaelic football punditry as RTE's Saturday Game debuts format change Another skipper, Mikey Bambrick, notched 2-4 as CARLOW travelled to Brewster Park and picked up the only away win of the weekend, claiming a 3-18 to 2-18 victory over FERMANAGH. In an entertaining encounter where only five scores came from frees, the lively half-forward shot the first three scores, opening with a point before his low shot just about crept across the Fermanagh line. John Murphy's explosive finish made it 2-2 to 0-3 to the visitors after 12 minutes, but a Conor Love penalty dragged the home side right back into the game. John Phiri and Bambrick pushed Carlow five clear again before half-time but once play resumed, Darragh McGurn set up Joe McDade for another goal that kept the crowd on their feet. 1 Luke Loughlin notched an astonishing 1-17 as his county won by a scoreline of 4-24 to 1-17 The home crowd would have felt they had momentum on their side when a run of points from Fionan O'Brien, Conor McGee and Josh Largo Ellis levelled matters with 15 minutes to go. However, Carlow were not to be denied and they had one final push in the tank that got them over the line. Kevin Murphy put the ball in the net only to have it ruled out for square ball, but there was no denying Bambrick as he fired in his second goal, backing up points from Ciarán Moran and Conor Crowley. Fermanagh got back within one score and very briefly had an extra man due to Ross Dunphy's black card, but could not find the goal they needed.
