Players' body begins journey on firm footing

Now that the GPA has established itself as a permanent presence, itsnext challenge is to agree its tactics and its relationship with Croke Park,argues Seán Moran.

It was remarked at the time of the organisation's annual awards last November that the Gaelic Players' Association (GPA) had made a lot of progress during 2002. This evening's a.g.m. in Dublin's Citywest Hotel can reflect on that, but it all gets rather more complicated from here.

The initial three-and-a-half years of the GPA's existence have been taken up largely with establishing the union as a permanent presence. That process wasn't easy and at times its feasibility looked in doubt.

But since the deal with Carphone Warehouse stabilised the GPA on an administrative level and facilitated the appointment of Dessie Farrell as a full-time chief executive, that doubt has been removed. Now comes the hard part.

What does the GPA want to do? What will be the agenda and tactics of the year and years ahead? Over the past 12 months a couple of things have become clear. The amateurism issue has come into sharper focus and more quickly than could have been foreseen when the GPA was founded in September 1999. Secondly, the desire of Croke Park - to paraphrase Machiavelli - "to conciliate rather than annihilate" has become more marked and will continue to do so.

These developments raise significant issues for the players. Taking the latter question first, the relationship with Croke Park will be near the top of today's agenda. According to Farrell, the top table will let the rank-and-file make the call on whether there should be closer links to headquarters. But his own view is hardening.

"There are pros and cons, but we've coped admirably outside of the association. Perhaps more could be achieved inside, but I'm sort of leaning towards staying out. Look at the way other players' organisations operate. None are subsumed into the sport's organisation."

The debate takes place in the context of this year's GAA annual Congress, to be held in just over two months. This is a changeover year for the presidency, and the incoming Seán Kelly from Kerry has already demonstrated a willingness to build bridges - most publicly by attending November's awards with Jarlath Burns, the chairperson of Croke Park's own Players' Committee.

Like all other committee chairs, Burns's will be up for grabs in April and that will give Kelly an opportunity to move the Players' Committee into closer harmony with the GPA. That has been the way of the evolution. Outgoing president Seán McCague's tenure marked a more pragmatic attitude to relations with the GPA than had been the case with his predecessor.

Joe McDonagh's anti-GPA outburst towards the end of his presidency (in which he attacked those "purporting to represent other members of the association") was seen as being triggered by his close friendship with Noel Lane, whom he had appointed as chair of the then Players' Advisory Group and whom he felt had borne the brunt of the emergent GPA's barbs.

Should this evening's meeting decide against closer structural links with Croke Park, the question remains how Kelly will constitute the Players' Committee in April. There have been calls for the members to be elected rather than selected by the president.

Another opportunity for closer co-operation that emerged recently was the discussions between Donal O'Neill, the GPA's first administrator who has a marketing background, and the GAA about taking over the agency business for players.

The arrangement with Murray Consultants, who were appointed over two years ago to organise endorsement deals for players, was not renewed. To be fair to any company trying to execute that function, the GAA championship, with its shortage of guaranteed fixtures, is not ideal product.

At present talks with O'Neill are still at the exploratory stage. O'Neill is said to be interested in a broader remit than Murrays had, with the matter of commercial licences for playing gear and equipment - a long-time hobby horse of the GPA - amongst his priorities.

Amateurism and pay-for-play possibilities have never featured highly on the GPA agenda. This has drawn cynical interpretations that the players aren't willing to risk the controversy of semi-professionalism while still pursuing other issues.

Farrell rejects this. "It's like everything else. Players will dictate that. At the moment it's not on the agenda and I imagine it won't be for some considerable time. It's a misconception that we're secretly in favour of professionalism. My talks with players indicate that they don't want to see that. For instance, in my dealings with the Cork players about their problems it was something that never came up."

Mention of Cork inevitably raises the tactical question of the use of a players strike, which proved so successful in concentrating minds down in Cork after months of stasis. There has been intermittent talk about the GPA mobilising a general strike as a last resort, but Farrell is non-committal on the subject.

"The fact that a strike happened in Cork - one of the big counties - made people sit up and take notice and maybe encouraged other county boards to re-appraise their treatment of county teams. But it also highlighted how powerful players can be in that situation."

There will be a difference of emphasis at today's a.g.m. In the past, the GPA felt under pressure to maximise turnout in order to demonstrate its support.

"I think the awards gala night answered that," says Farrell, "so we're not as concerned about the size of the turnout. We're looking for one or two representatives from all the counties in order to broaden the base."

A broader base is desirable given the range and importance of the issues facing the GPA in the campaign for better treatment of players. To quote Winston Churchill - speaking after a big championship win - "This is not the beginning of the end but it's the end of the beginning."