We're looking for compensation not pay for play

Player's meetings: Many GAA players believe they are getting a raw deal from the GAA, says the GPA's Donal Óg Cusack, and that's why the players are meeting today

Today's egm is immediately related to the issue of sports grants for players, but more generally, it has come about because GPA members feel they have no alternative given the constant delaying tactics we have encountered from Croke Park.

Players don't become embroiled in issues or meetings like this for the fun of it. We have over 1,400 members and, as with all large bodies, some players are quite passionate and militant and others just want to sign the forms and support the thing in the background. But there has been a broad groundswell of anger and disappointment.

Communications received from around the country have suggested that some members are seriously thinking in terms of boycotting league games. On Thursday evening, the GPA contacted all members by text to gauge the general mood.

The main purpose of today's gathering is to measure the extent of anger and frustration that GAA players all over Ireland now share.

That disillusionment has come to a head over the failure of the GAA to meet us to discuss the sports grants. It is the same old story. The GAA believes that if we can be distracted and put off until the championship, then we will have no time or stomach for anything else. And they are right about that. Players want to play, not to get involved in political games. But the situation is reaching breaking point.

I know I am probably perceived as one of those who are always ranting about players' grievances and I wish I didn't have to. We would all rather be spending this Saturday on a hurling or a football field. And we appreciate that GAA people are fed up hearing about this matter and that there is a feeling that all the GPA do is whinge. What we want is to sit down with the GAA representatives and come to a solution on issues that are affecting players across the country.

There has been a failure to quantify precisely what those issues are and we would accept that the GPA is at least partly responsible for that. We haven't been fully successful in communicating what we are trying to achieve and there is some confusion as to what our overall intentions are. That is because, for the most part, the GPA has been busy just trying to survive.

We don't have any resources other than those we generate and the reluctance of the GAA to engage with us has been very disheartening. For every 20 letters we send to Croke Park, we are lucky if we get two replies. But the fear that the GPA is leading a slow march to "pay for play" is just scare-mongering. Grants have long been issued to college players on scholarships without a murmur. And in no way do they contravene the principle of amateurism.

Nothing we are trying to achieve tampers with that principle. We are talking about simple compensation for players who find themselves in vulnerable positions for various reasons. We have many examples of the way players are compromised by the failure of the GAA to treat them fairly.

One brief case involves a Carlow intercounty player who has been waiting for several months for the county board to pre-pay for an operation that he needs in order to recover full athletic health, let alone his playing career.

A Cork playing colleague of mine suffered an injury that kept him out of work for several weeks at the beginning of last season. He is self-employed and the cost of hiring a replacement to meet his appointments came to €3,000. But the GAA insurance scheme only provided for €1,000 cover. It is just inadequate. Now, as it happened, the Cork team has its own fund which covers situations like that. But not all county players have that privilege. And in any case, the insurance situation needs to be dealt with.

The fixtures list is another burning issue and it affects club players in particular. I have been coach and captain for Cloyne for the last three years so I believe I am in touch with club concerns. And my personal vision for the GPA is that it would eventually represent all players, club and county, and have representatives to deal with their needs. Because the response of the GAA has been one of shuffling reluctance. That, however, is some way down the road. Our main priority to date has been survival.

It is well known that the Cork hurlers made a stand over conditions. We made a decision to do that rather than let the prevailing problems drag on indefinitely. Our relationship with the Cork County Board is excellent and it should be acknowledged that we are well looked after. But other players in other counties are not so fortunate.

In some cases, the changes that were passed regarding mileage and other basic requirements by the GAA's own players' committee in 2002 are not being implemented. And there is no policing, no body to make sure that players are getting even those common entitlements.

We cannot predict how this will end. But it should be stressed that we don't believe in issuing idle threats because ultimately people stop listening. The GAA needs 30 players and it needs two teams. The GAA needs everybody. But the GPA does not need everyone to make an effective protest.

We would not be committing ourselves to this if we didn't know in our hearts that the GAA have the means to meet the needs of the players. The fact is that we would happily pay to play GAA if that's what was needed. Hurling for Cloyne and Cork is the most important thing in my life, it is what gets me out of the bed in the morning. I met many of my dearest friends through the game. I adore the game. And I regard it as a privilege to be able to hurl at the level I do and make my family and friends proud. I know how lucky I am.

But I do think that it is wrong to classify what we do as a hobby: what other hobby includes sponsorship, huge gate receipts and random drug testing? And our love for the games does not change the fact that at this point in time, many of the GAA's most dedicated players know and believe that they are getting a raw deal from the association. That is why we find ourselves meeting today, with another championship season on our doorstep and our players still labouring with problems that we highlighted years ago. It cannot go on like this.