It appears that GPA are gearing themselves up for another collision course, this time with our national broadcaster...

Many supporters are not happy over this and as it is fuelling the belief that the GPA are all about money. I believe the players have a strong argument here but the fact that so many mountains have been made out of molehills of late by the players' association means they may be suffering from ‘the boy who cried wolf’ syndrome.

The players have every right to be upset with RTE here for their blatant show of double standards with regard to product placement. Why should they care if players earn a few quid if they’re interviewed holding a soft drink in their hand? It’s a big laugh and a joke when the captain of the Irish rugby team does it but a different matter when amateur sportsmen do it. No GAA supporter should begrudge a player from earning such type of sponsorship money. Jim Kearney always makes a big point of thanking players for taking the time to do an interview and he’s only being mannerly in doing so. It’s just a pity his employers don’t share his respect for the players.

Previous arguments have not done the GPA’s credibility any favours. The most recent was the furore that was created by them over the Limerick footballers trip to La Manga springs to mind here. They couldn’t wait to rush to the media with their arguments and of course many sections of the Irish media are only too quick to run with a story that makes the administrators of the GAA look like dinosaurs stuck in the nineteenth century. However when Dessie Farrell debated the issue with Limerick county board chairman Denis Holmes on radio he was left with egg on his face as it was clear in many instances that he hadn’t done his homework properly.

This argument furthered by suspicions that the GPA are turning into a bad trade union as they feel they have to be seen to make waves very publicly every so often to justify their existence to their members and sponsors. This is a very dangerous road for them to travel as their credibility is fast diminishing. Indeed one would argue they never had much credibility to start with. In it’s infancy Sean O’Neill turned up at Congress a few years back to pull a publicity stunt. He complained to the media, who not surprisingly were only too eager to carry his story, that he wasn’t allowed in. He didn’t of course point out that given the fact that he wasn’t a delegate meant he had absolutely no right to be in there. This type of pettiness has been carried on by Dessie Farrell at times and achieves absolutely nothing.

Lately in a worrying speech, Donal Og Cusack the new chairman of the GPA, warned that strike action may be required in the near future. He also referred to administrators as ‘life-long dinner merchants’. Now it is true that there are some freeloaders involved in the GAA but if they were in the majority, or even a sizeable minority, then the GAA would rank below even the FAI as a sporting organisation. This remark was highly disrespectful to the people who have devoted their lives to keeping the organisation in such a healthy state. How can he expect them to have any respect for him and the organisation he represents when he goes to them with his list of demands, whether they be fair or not? Cusack could well do with a lesson on diplomacy I feel.

What worries many GAA fans is the threat of strike action. The Cork hurlers in my opinion were right to do what they did in 2002. They withdrew their services at a time of the year when nothing happens to create the minimum amount of fuss. They had many legitimate gripes and with the publicity they gained they knew the Cork county board were in a corner and would have no option but to agree to their requests. Despite the justification of the strike it has created a precedent and Donal Og would do well to remember that not all circumstances justify such action. If, as he is alluding to, the GPA were to call for their members to strike in say early spring when the nationals league starts, due to the GAA’s refusal to give his organisation official recognition the effects would be devastating. Many players in good conscience wouldn’t strike creating splits in county panels the country over. More importantly, those volunteers of the organisation who give their time freely to coach, administer, tend to grounds, drive youngsters to matches etc would never forgive them. A gap would be made between the inter county player and the ordinary volunteer.

The Cork hurlers were again in the news towards the end of last year as they refused to give interviews for the Setanta end of season DVD ‘Rebel Rising’ as they were looking for a large donation to the Cork players fund for doing so. This was wrong in my book as Setanta could not justify paying the €5,000 or so that was asked. These DVD’s are not nearly as profitable as they are made out to be so such a request was never going to be met. Surely being interviewed in a DVD that would end up in every second house in Cork would do wonders for their own profile and great benefit could be derived from that?

Recently we had Setanta O hAilpin remarking that he’d still be hurling if he was getting paid to do so and he believes hurlers should be professional. Such views are seriously misguided and someone should have a chat with him regarding the economics of paying players. Last year the Cork county board spent over one million euro in preparing county teams. You’d have to at least treble that figure if they were to pay players as well. Where is the extra money supposed to come from? Try justifying that extra expense to a treasurer of some junior club who struggles to meet their insurance and hurley bills every year. It’s only an opinion of mine that professionalism would destroy everything the GAA stands for. It’s an indisputable fact that it would destroy the organisation financially.

Many GAA members fear that the end aim of the GPA is professionalism and this is the root of a lot of mistrust. No player should be out of pocket for playing the game but they must realise there isn’t a bottomless pit of money there to compensate them either.

There are many issues that affect players and need to be sorted out. They do require representation at some level. However they will be worse off with a bad players organisation than no players organisation. What is required is for the GPA to drop their militant stance. Diplomacy is the only way forward and up until now diplomacy is not something the likes of Dessie Farrell and Donal Og Cusack seem to have in abundance. This has got to change if they’re to be recognised by Croke Park. Were they to work together issues with particular county boards, problems could be trashed out and resolved without even being mentioned in the local press let alone the national press.

For this type of relationship to develop then the GAA need to meet the players half way. Ten years ago that would have been unlikely but we’ve moved on a great deal since. Surely, they must realise that it can only help the GAA to have its players on billboards throughout the country and on ads on TV. This type of publicity appeals to young supporters in particular and shouldn’t be limited to rugby and soccer players only. There are many sponsors out there only too willing to have a well known GAA player endorsing their products.

It is important that the GAA as a whole isn’t left behind in the publicity stakes as this represents one of the main ways of attracting young members to the association in the modern age. Anything that has a player getting such publicity should be encouraged and facilitated by the GAA. Players should be allowed get as much as they can out of the game. This must stop at ‘pay for play’ though which can never be permitted. Sean Kelly has supported the idea of tax breaks or grants from the sports council being given to playe