'We had to stop the madness'

GAA/ Task Force Report: Ian O'Riordan talks to Joe Connolly, the chairman of the GAATask Force into alcohol and substance abuse, who was a constant drivingforce behind the report

Joe Connolly will always be remembered for his stirring speech delivered in Croke Park as Galway's All-Ireland winning hurling captain in 1980. Yesterday at the same venue his words resonated with almost the same punch, as he outlined his role as chairman of the GAA Task Force into alcohol and substance abuse.

Almost a year in the works, and involving 12 meetings of the seven-member force, the report was constantly driven by Connolly's desire to tackle the problem in a meaningful way.

"We came at it from an extremely determined point of view," he started, "that we had to stop the madness. I, for one, believe it is the biggest crisis facing Ireland, this scourge of underage drinking and drug abuse."

The success of the Task Force recommendations will rely on the very fabric of the GAA, but that, said Connolly, is its strongest selling point. "I believe sincerely the GAA club is one of the greatest institutions in the world. Nearly always the club you are born into is the club you die out of 60 or 70 years later. There is extraordinary passion all over Ireland for the club, no matter where. And the only thing worse than your own club going badly is the one beside you going well.

"About a month into this committee we got a letter from a club in the North, which was a cry for help. Underage drinking was taking the heart out of it. And it said exactly what we are about. So we are appealing to the passion in clubs around the country to be in a position to implement this at local level. We found out from talking to the experts that the best way to take it on is at local level."

Starting with the appointment of a full-time officer at national level, it is envisaged the recommendations will trickle down to all levels of society, particularly where underage drinking is so prevalent.

"The full-time national co-ordinator is a serious gesture by the GAA. But it won't succeed without it. Then the 32 county officers will be trained, and ultimately we will have a drugs and alcohol awareness officer in every club in the country. Just like a chairman, secretary and treasurer. And they will be chosen rather than appointed, because it's that important. And this person will become an integral part of the future planning of clubs.

"But for the youngsters themselves, it's not about hauling them into the local club or hall and talking to them about the dangers of drink. That's not the medium they relate to. We need to be very sexy in our messages to them, and speak their language.

"That's why we need someone like DJ Carey on our video, looking straight out at them, and saying it's a good idea not to drink at all if you want to reach the top of your sport.

"We need all our heroes telling them that they can't be a hurler or a footballer of repute if you mess around with drink and drugs."

The issue of alcohol sponsorship is central to the recommendations, and yet Connolly made it clear the task force had to be practical.

"We feel there is a growing awareness that it may be time for the GAA to take a policy on this. And we will leave that to the wisdom of the GAA to implement in their own time-frame.

"But at local level, the pride of the parish should not be going on jerseys with Murphy's Bar and Lounge on the front of it. That is definitely tying in too closely. But we understand clubs are under a lot of financial pressure, so we are giving some leeway, either two years, or whenever current contracts expire. But ultimately we want to break the tie between alcohol brands and licensed premises with the GAA."

Connolly concluded by saying it wasn't simply a matter of proving there was some tie between alcohol sponsorship of sports events and its overall consumption.

"You could examine different situations to that. But the true situation is that in an under-16 county club team in Galway a few years back, it was found out that 11 of the 15 players had been drinking the night before a game. That's the situation on the ground.

"What we're recommending is the structures we have on the ground in every parish and village in the country take on this culture. Everything else is much less important, but we have made a strong recommendation on alcohol sponsorship by clubs, and to be honest I don't think we could do any more than that."