Awards scheme proposal passed by a large majority

THE HIGH-PROFILE Government awards scheme for intercounty players was overwhelmingly accepted during Saturday's session of the GAA's annual congress. Proposed by Con Hogan (Tipperary) and seconded by Joe O'Boyle (Antrim) the matter was intensely debated before being passed on a show of hands by a margin believed to be about three-to-one.

Supporting the motion that congress accept the scheme as in keeping with Rule 11, governing amateur status, Hogan said: "Central Council agreed the scheme on the following conditions - that it does not contravene Rule 11, that it be funded by the Government and that no GAA funding be provided." He added these conditions had been met and referred to the decision of the GAA's independent arbitration body, the DRA, last week that the scheme did not contravene Rule 11. Derry chair Séamus McCloy, opposing, described the scheme as "grubby, cheap and wrong", and added "this final step has always led to professionalism in other sports".

Dessie Farrell, chief executive of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), said acceptance of the scheme could "only enhance improving relations between players and administrators". He also reiterated "the GPA's commitment to amateur status" and that "if this funding stops there is no onus on the GAA to take it over".

Mark Conway (Tyrone) said that the reason the scheme was on the clár, "was that someone had said 'if you don't give us this we go on strike'," and added: "We will be the first generation to hand on the GAA in worse shape than we received it." Donal McAnallen (Tyrone) said: "If we push this through now people will increasingly ask 'where's my cut?'."

Commenting, GAA director general Páraic Duffy, who in a departure from the style of predecessor Liam Mulvihill contributed to some of the debates and who as player welfare manager had negotiated the scheme, said the association was "committed to maintaining and developing our amateur status. I ask you to accept that we have worked very hard to meet those concerns."

A request to move up the agenda a Derry motion calling for congress to require a change to Rule 11 before accepting the scheme was defeated.

The biggest surprise was the massive vote in favour of readmitting National Football League Division Four counties to the All-Ireland qualifier series. This overturns a decision of special congress less than 18 months ago and takes back dates that had been allocated to the club season as part of what's supposed to be an ongoing process of rebalancing.

Despite an intervention from Duffy the director general, pointing out the consequences, Congress overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Wicklow motion, which was supported by Leitrim, Tipperary, Offaly, London, Clare, Kildare and Carlow. The move won't take effect until next year's championship and would appear to spell the end of the Tommy Murphy Cup, the competition for weaker football counties into which the Division Four counties have been diverted under the new arrangement. President Nickey Brennan said afterwards, the Murphy Cup was "dead in the water".

A Kilkenny motion requiring all hurlers to wear helmets by 2010 was passed.

The first motion of the day was a detailed package of measures proposed by the Rule Book Task Force to: adopt Central Council rule interpretations in 2007, amend arbitration procedures at the DRA as well as at disciplinary hearings and pass miscellaneous measures governing terms of office as well as restricting to the under-12 age group the participation of girls in boys' hurling and football.

Ironically - in the light of the later decision on re-extending the qualifiers - a Tyrone proposal preventing the reversal by special congresses of motions accepted by the immediately previous congress was accepted.

Unanimous approval was extended to a Laois motion forbidding the filling of GAA trophies with alcohol.

GAA PRO Danny Lynch, who will retire later this year, received a standing ovation in recognition of his 20 years of service to the association. Liam Keane was reappointed as secretary to the Disputes Resolution Authority.

Congress stood for a minute's silence on Saturday to mark the passing of former Uachtarán na hÉireann, Patrick Hillery.