GPA'S JOBS INITIATIVE:Steps have been taken by the players association to help the increasing number of their members who are unemployed, writes Ian O'Riordan
“At the moment I’m a full-time footballer, because that’s all I’m doing. Work is just too hard to find. When I came back from Hong Kong at Christmas I thought there would be a job for me, but six or seven boys on the panel are in the same the situation. And it’s getting worse. The county board are trying, but it’s hard to look after anyone. I don’t expect myself to be put ahead of any of them.
“Hong Kong was always a brief thing but if I didn’t love the football as much, and if I didn’t think we’d a good chance with Laois this year, I’d definitely consider going back. The life and money was good out there. But I came back because I wanted to be involved in the Laois set-up. I’m lucky enough that I’m not married and have no family and can go back to college.
“As soon as I finished in Carlow IT I went for a job interview in the bank. As soon as they saw my CV they hit at my football, wanted to know how that was going to affect my work. Some institutions look at that straight away, and think if he can’t give his full commitment to this job well then we’ll look at another candidate, someone with no out-of-work activity.”
“Malley Sports was set up by a former Dublin footballer Kevin Kehily about five years ago and I joined a year or two later. We’re supplying gear to several GAA clubs and colleges but also do most other sports, basketball, golf, and so on. I handle the main sales and we’re busy enough at the moment.
“Teams getting sponsorship for gear has gone down, but it’s about being creative, innovative, and coming up with fresh ideas. We’ve come up with a few deals over the last couple of months that teams seem to like. Now I’ll be working with a mentor four or fives times over the year, getting some feedback and advice from someone more experienced.
“I’m fortunate that I’m pretty much my own boss and can be that bit flexible with my own time, like if I have to get a gym session in somewhere. But this time of the year it is more difficult when your whole focus is football. Hopefully businesses will look at intercounty players and see the commitment that they give, and can show that with their work as well, but being involved with an intercounty team means giving up 20 or 25 hours a week of your free time.”
“I’ve been laid off since the end of March, after nearly four years as a roads engineer at the National Roads Design office, with Donegal County Council. I just got married five months ago, and moved into a new house, so it’s a really bad time, personally. You just feel really let down, after going to college, getting a good education, and getting into a Government job, you’re all of a sudden told you’re let go. The office was funded by the NRA, and in the current climate, their funding was reduced dramatically, and that’s had a knock-on effect. I was just one of the people to suffer.
“Football will have to take a back seat, because it won’t pay the bills or the mortgage, and if work doesn’t come along soon, you’d have to look beyond. At the minute there’s up to 10 of us on the panel out of work. Some since Christmas. The numbers seem to be going up every week. Players are staying about as long as they can, but come September, October, when the club and county scene comes to an end, players are going to have to decide what they’ll do. It will be a sad day for the GAA if the best players have to leave the country to play their football.”
THE DAYS when being an intercounty player came with a sort of passport to permanent employment are now so well and truly over that the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) has decided to do something about it. Two schemes aimed at both securing and maintaining employment for players during the recession were announced in Dublin yesterday – and according to some such players in attendance they haven’t come soon enough.
Firstly, the GPA has set up a jobs board, www.gpajobs.com, the purpose of which is twofold: to allow players seeking employment to post their CVs; and to allow prospective employers to view those CVs when it comes to any recruitment opportunities.
Secondly, the GPA has joined up with the new business advisory company Mentors.ie, which provides guidance and support framework to business leaders and companies in Ireland. Through the GPA, Mentors.ie will provide advice and mentoring to a select number of players in businesses of their own over the coming months, with more players coming on board over time.
Given the GAA’s amateur status, intercounty players are no less vulnerable to the unemployment crisis – and it was somewhat ironic that the GPA, once seen as a threat to that amateur status, was first in with these employment schemes, rather than the GAA.
According to GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell, the number of intercounty players around the country currently out of work is running “between 12 to 15 per cent” and obviously these figures aren’t going to improve any time soon. Already 55 players have registered on gpajobs.com and Farrell believes both schemes have the potential for significant uptake in the coming weeks.
“We’re all aware these are difficult times,” said Farrell. “There are some particular black spots. Clare hurlers I know have 13 or 14 players out of work, and other areas hit bad are Wicklow, Louth, and Donegal. Even Kilkenny hurlers are feeling it.
“So I think these are two very important initiatives. The jobs board is a simple and effective process, to get some interview processes off the ground, and our partnership with Mentors.ie is another practical way which we can help players in the area of career development, and something I’d be optimistic a lot more players can get guidance out of.
“We all need to realise player welfare is not just about playing gear or tickets or whatever else, but it’s about looking after players off the field as well. So in ways this is making the call on GAA business people, or companies aligned with the GAA, to consider these schemes when it comes to any potential recruitment, and that they will realise players by their very nature possess many of the traits which are required to be successful in the workplace.”
Among the players in attendance were footballers MJ Tierney of Laois, Brendan Boyle of Donegal, and Barry Cahill of Dublin – and each had a different story to tell. Tierney, who graduated in communications from Carlow IT last year, spent the off-season coaching in Hong Kong, but returned in January for the new season, and the quiet assurance of a job. That never materialised, and he’s now looking to do a masters degree.
Boyle graduated in civil engineering in 2004 and for the past three years worked with the National Roads Design Office of Donegal County Council. In March, without much warning, he was laid off. Recently married and moved into a new house, he fears it may only be a matter of time before he has to look overseas for employment.
Both Tierney and Boyle believe being an intercounty player now impinges on employment opportunities, whereas in the past it would have helped. The commitment to training has become so great that most employers view it as detrimental to work commitments.
Cahill’s situation is different again in that he helps run the new sportswear brand, Malley Sport, which means he’s more flexible when it comes to combining work and football commitments. He’ll be working with Mentors.ie to help improve the success of Malley Sport in the long-term, by getting feedback and advice from those already established in the area.
Farrell says the schemes aren’t about giving special preference to intercounty players, but rather making sure they aren’t overlooked: “We’re just trying to be creative here, and address the situation ourselves in whatever way we can. If there are any green shoots emerging in the economy, we want out players to be in a position to avail of that upturn, if and when it does happen. The other danger is that the upturn may happen in other countries first, and that will put further pressure on players to look overseas when it does come to securing employment.”
