A row over the proposed transfer of a young GAA player from one club to another in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, has led to a High Court action. The issue of whether Mr Patrick O'Donoghue was ever a member of a club, and therefore the GAA itself, is disputed between the parties.
Mr O'Donoghue (20), of Wilderness Grove, Clonmel, is suing Mr Tomas O Baroid, secretary of the Tipperary GAA County Board, and Mr Sean Quirke, secretary of Clonmel Og GAA Hurling and Football Club.
He is seeking a transfer to Clonmel Commercials/St Mary's club, where, he claims, he stands a better chance of improving his skills and enhancing his prospects. He wants the court to declare that Tipperary County Board, in restricting his transfer, has acted in breach of the GAA's official guide rules.
He also wants a declaration that the by-laws of the board infringe his constitutional right to freedom of association.
Yesterday, Mr Thomas Slattery SC, for Mr O'Donoghoe, said that while his client played for Clonmel Og from the age of 10, which had an association with his school, St Peter and Paul's, he had never made a formal club membership application or paid a fee and had played his last game for the club in November 1996.
To improve his skills, he decided to join Clonmel Commercials football club, which also has a sister hurling side, St Mary's. Clonmel Og is a junior club at adult level, but Clonmel Commercials is a senior club.
The South Tipperary board considered his transfer request in March 1997 and decided to grant it. That decision caused some disquiet in Clonmel Og, which felt endangered by having some of its most valuable players "poached" by senior clubs in the area.
In April 1997, the Tipperary County Board refused the transfer application, counsel said. However, correspondence between his solicitor and Mr O Baroid in connection with the matter was not brought to the attention of the board in making his decision, although Mr O'Donoghue's legal adviser had said this should be done.
The effect of that decision was that his client could not play for any other club.
Mr O'Donoghue claims the decision was unlawful, unreasonable and unfair. That is denied by the defendants who also reject claims that they wrongly interpreted the relevant transfer rules.
In evidence, Mr O'Donoghue said when deciding to join Commercials to upgrade his skills and move to senior level, he believed his transfer request would be "rubber-stamped " by the county board, having previously being approved by the South Tipperary board.
Cross-examined by Mr Sean Ryan SC, for Mr O Baroid and Mr Quirke, he said he was aware his parents had been members of the club, but he did not know that their family membership also included him. When he left in January or February 1997 he believed he was not a member of the club.
It was his own decision to leave. He agreed there was "trouble" at that time about players in Clonmel getting transfers because of the existence of what was known as the Nugent deal. But he thought this arrangement operated for one year only, after which there would be no problem about a transfer.
The hearing continues today.