All to lose and nothing to gain by splitting Dublin GAA – Duffy

Other points from Páraic Duffy’s 2018 annual report

1) Dublin: "Neither on competitiveness grounds nor on account of the unfairness of depriving Dubliners of the pleasure of expressing their local and historical identity through the GAA (as every other GAA supporter is allowed to do), should we countenance the splitting up of Dublin. There is all to lose in doing so, and nothing to gain."

2) Club Calendar Year: "Bringing forward the All-Ireland finals now makes a calendar-year schedule a much more realistic option than at any time in the past. The experience and the insights gained from the playing of fixtures in 2018 will also help to inform a debate on any additional steps that need to be taken to play all our competitions within the calendar year. Logic dictates that it is a change that should be made sooner rather than later."

3) Black Card: "The black card may come under review; it is right that we consider whether there is a better way of achieving the aims that led to its introduction and of consolidating the success it has achieved, namely the increase in the total aggregate scores per game, the reduction in the average number of frees awarded per game, and the virtual elimination of the dangerous body collide and deliberate trip. Reverting to a yellow card to deal with these offences would suit the cynical player and have a very negative effect on how football is played."

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4) Disciplinary process: "In 2017, in 74 per cent of cases, the penalty proposed by the CCCC (Central Competitions Control Committee) was accepted by the players concerned.

The CHC (Central Hearings Committee) is entirely separate from the CCCC and applies its independent judgement to cases submitted to it.

“Over the past four years an average of 34 per cent of cases brought by the CCCC to CHC were decided in favour of the player concerned. An appeal may be made by a player to the CAC where a penalty is imposed by the CHC.

“Fewer than 17 per cent of decisions imposing a penalty are appealed. Of the 15 appeals in the last four years, only two decisions of the CHC have been overturned by the CAC, which is a further demonstration of the evenhandedness of the CHC. In CCCC disciplinary matters, there have been only four requests for arbitration to the DRA in the last four years, one of which was successful and three unsuccessful.”

5) Fixture analysts: "One of the less-heralded changes made at Congress 2016 was the creation of fixture analysts at both county and provincial level, replacing the fixture planners.

“The process of installing and training the analysts took place throughout 2017. Their first task has been to perform a detailed analysis on a county-by-county basis of adult club fixtures in their respective counties, with the twin aims of identifying shortcomings in the fixtures calendar and promoting best-practice guidelines in each county.”

6) RWC 23: "A decision to hold the 2023 World Cup in Ireland would have provided an excellent opportunity to upgrade several of our stadiums through significant Government investment. That upgrading is a task that remains, but providing the funding to undertake that work will now be that much more difficult."

7) Gaelic Games television archive: "An ongoing collaboration between the GAA Museum and the Broadcast Authority of Ireland, known as the Gaelic Games Television Archive, is nearing completion and will be ready in the middle of 2018.

“It has resulted in the digitisation of 500 inter-county games from a variety of analogue formats to digital files. These games, from 1961 onward, have been catalogued to best international archival standards.

“Edited highlights of the All-Ireland finals are currently being created and will be available to view on the GAA’s website. Full games will be available on request.”