Time for the GAA to look at itself

THE EMERGENCE of a vibrant, youthful Meath team during the summer came as a surprise to many. As things stand at the moment they must already be favourites for next year's championship.

But what a goodhews far Meath followers is the very opposite for Dubliners and, although he doesn't say it in so many words, John Costello, the secretary of the Dublin County Board, is far from happy about the situation. The draw for next year's championship which has thrown Meath and Dublin together in the first round, has done nothing to ease the situation from Dublin's point of view. Costello includes some interesting statistics in his annual report which goes before the annual meeting of the board next Saturday which touches on aspects of the unique position of the GAA in Dublin.

Dublin for instance has to cater for 30 per cent of the population. The population of Dublin (city and county) has grown by 70 per cent in the last 70 years during which time Dublin has won eight football titles and two hurling titles. "In other words two thirds of Dublin's All Irelands were won before 1926," writes Costello.

He goes on to point out that the county is administered by five administrative bodies. "In that light it is not unreasonable to suggest that a far more extensive structure is needed to oversee GAA affairs. At present the county board has two full time officials - a number that has remained static for 25 years."

No wonder then that Costello says that "the administrative machinery is unrepresentative and creaking".

It is easy to understand John Costello's concerns for Dublin but many of Dublin's problems are being replicated in other parts of the country and perhaps it is time for the GAA to take a close look at itself.

Times have changed dramatically in Irish sport within the past 25 years or so and will continue to change. Dublin suffers more than other places because of its growth rate, but urban populations are growing at the expense of rural areas in all parts of the country and this brings its own dangers for the very fabric of the GAA.

That fabric is based on parish first, and then county allegiance. Demographic changes therefore weaken this fabric and the dangers are growing all the time.

Time was when the only real threat to the GAA in any area was the growth of soccer, which, along with many other sports, is now being force fed to the entire population by means of television. Rugby has also become a threat with its decision to go professional. The attractions of a lucrative career in sport are growing all the time and with jobs hard to come by, the pressures are sure grow.

This is where Dublin GAA is in the eye of the storm and the GAA as a whole has a responsibility to itself to address the. problems head on as a matter of urgency.

John Costello's expression of concern for the situation in Dublin is timely, but Dublin should not have to face these problems alone. As he points out, Dublin, by reason of its size and complexity, cannot have a parish rule as such, since demarcation lines would be impossible to draw or enforce. Club allegiances are not as tightly copper fastened as in other counties. Indeed, many clubs in Dublin are heavily peopled by folk who are not native Dubliners at all.

If solutions can be found for Dublin's problems these solutions can then be adapted and applied to other affected places. Great efforts have been made in Dublin in recent years to try to come to grips with constantly spreading populations and to cope with the movement from the inner city to the suburbs.

Many Dubliners - are now living in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and this trend is sure to continue.

In the early 70s the GAA set up a special commission to look at the entire structure of the association and that report is a valuable document in itself. However, since that commission's report many things have changed in our society as a whole and in sport in particular. Perhaps the time is now ripe to call another commission into being.

While that might in itself be a costly exercise, it would be well worth the expense and the effort. In fact a very strong case for government funding for such a project. John Costello points out in his report that if the GAA, through its voluntary efforts, had not provided sporting facilities all over the country the Government would have had to spend vast sums of taxpayer's money to provide alternatives.

The GAA, of course, is not alone in its work for young people and for entire communities, but the information gleaned from such a commission would, surely, be of widespread value to the entire country.

Perhaps this might be something high on Joe McDonagh's agenda when he takes on the mantle of president. It would certainly be a project which would be well worth his while and would certainly represent a significant contribution to the life of the nation.