Cathal Dervan Lover's Unite and shed a tear for the FAI

[tayto]

soccer may have lots of people playing it at lunchtime but that dosent mean they give a damn about the FAI or soccer.
Playing competitive sport is a more accurate reflection of real participation and to get an idea of the breakdown of real participation the stats are as follows.

29% of all adults who are members of sports clubs are GAA members, compared to soccer 9%

Out of the people who Volunteer to help out in sport GAA 40% - Soccer 17%

source: http://www.esri.ie/publications/search_for_a_publication/search_results/view/index.xml?id=1969

[AZOffaly]

Not trying to defend the tube, but I think he said 'among the youth of the country'.

Is there figures to support/reject this?

[tayto]

I believe there was an ESRI survey that said as much, yes, schoolboy participation is a couple of percent ahead of football.

John Delaney dosent bother with that little detail when he's making claims to having the highest participation.

[dubnut]

In fairness when they feel the need to constantly mention they are the biggest participation sport in the country, it kind of makes them look a little desperate.

[mayo51]

dervan has got to be the worst journalist ever.he was the idiot who defended michelle smith saying that she never used steriods  .his only proof wasthat he asked her did she use them and she said that she did not.great investigative journalism at its best.he did ask the irish supporters to boo roy keane which was keanes reason for not particapating in niall quinns testimonial as dervan  was one of the organisers of the match progam.he is forever referring to various top soccer  people   as his mates especially mick mccarthy which drives me nuts.the sad thing is that he will probably enjoy all this adverse publicity as he is to stupid to realize that he is the laughing stock of journalism

[The Biff]

I dont think there are too many among the GAA Hierarchy who will care much about the ramblings of Cathal Dervan.  Among the Irish Sporting Fraternity, the FAI has little competition for the title of the most inept organisation in the country.  It will be interesting how they will get on trying to run the domestic League on a professional basis when it is plain for all to see that the money is just not there to support such a structure.

Someone said earlier that a Pleb is someone low in rank with an opinion that does not matter (or something like that).  I would suggest that the GAA is in fact built on the opinions of all the "Pleb" members, and has often shown tremendous examples of active democracy in how the views of the lowest levels (i.e. the clubs) are fed up to the Congress floor and rules are changed accordingly.

Can anyone make a similar case for democracy among the structures of the FAI?  The Genesis Report after the Saipan Fiasco certainly could not.  Have any or all of its recommendations been implemented yet?  I wonder could Mr.Dervan answer that, or would that require a level of thinking that might be beyond his abilities?

[Declan]

I dont think there are too many among the GAA Hierarchy who will care much about the ramblings of Cathal Dervan.

I'm sure you'll all be interested to know that the GAA have refused Mr Dervan a press pass for Croker to cover the soccer internationals so they must be more sensitive than you think Biff.

[Bord na Mona man]

I dont think there are too many among the GAA Hierarchy who will care much about the ramblings of Cathal Dervan.

I'm sure you'll all be interested to know that the GAA have refused Mr Dervan a press pass for Croker to cover the soccer internationals so they must be more sensitive than you think Biff.

Ha ha.
At least the martyr angle will appeal to Dervan's target audience when he starts complaining of his treatment!

[neilthemac]

can't wait to see what he writes about that!

[ITOB]

I dont think there are too many among the GAA Hierarchy who will care much about the ramblings of Cathal Dervan.

I'm sure you'll all be interested to know that the GAA have refused Mr Dervan a press pass for Croker to cover the soccer internationals so they must be more sensitive than you think Biff.

Another GAA own goal.  Let him in I say, then sit back and enjoy the further mayhem he will surely create for himself and the FAI. 

[armaghchik]

Why Croke Park for internationals when even Shelbourne or Bohemians stadia can do just as well.....The FAI are a farce when they have it in a GAA stadium? the two sports should be kept seperate in my opinion!!

What an expense!! and leave Tallaght alone with their ground, there will alyways been someone there

[dubnut]

"Why Croke Park for internationals when even Shelbourne or Bohemians stadia can do just as well"
What do you mean can do just as well? Surely its about demand, if the FAI thought they would only get 8 thousand at the games then ok, but that statement has bamboozled me!

"What an expense!!"
Expense to who?

"and leave Tallaght alone with their ground, there will alyways been someone there"

I dont even know what that means!

[lynchbhoy]

the question I suppose is - if shamrock rovers get the money to fund this stadium (paid for by the gov - I know , yes and it is alongside grants already given out to soccer , GAA and rugby in Ireland)
can Rovers fund the running of this stadium?
from their side a rovers only stadium would be great for their club, but given the financial problems in their past and the embezzling culture within LOI & FAI circles, going in with other tenants would make most financial sense - rather than have the gov bail them out time and time again in the not too distant future!

Beggars being choosers and all that.
Having sen the size of Thomas Davis underage GAA scene, I very much doubt that they are too worried about Shamrock rovers joining the area. Theres plenty of kids to supply even more clubs/sports in that area...

[dublinfella]

the question I suppose is - if shamrock rovers get the money to fund this stadium (paid for by the gov - I know , yes and it is alongside grants already given out to soccer , GAA and rugby in Ireland)
can Rovers fund the running of this stadium?
from their side a rovers only stadium would be great for their club, but given the financial problems in their past and the embezzling culture within LOI & FAI circles, going in with other tenants would make most financial sense - rather than have the gov bail them out time and time again in the not too distant future!

Beggars being choosers and all that.
Having sen the size of Thomas Davis underage GAA scene, I very much doubt that they are too worried about Shamrock rovers joining the area. Theres plenty of kids to supply even more clubs/sports in that area...

Technically its not Rovers stadium, the trade off is that they give back the land in return for a long term lease on the SDCC's soccer stadium. Much like the continentals the SDCC will take rent and a cut of the gate. The theory is that the FAI will play underage internationals and cup finals there while the schools in the area get to use Rovers training facilities.

My understanding of the new FAI league is that there will be no more excuses for the sort of financial nonsense that has happened before. Above board or out which is aa it should be.

As for CD, can the GAA exclude him from the press box at the soccer games? Surely thats a FAI/UEFA call?

[lynchbhoy]

Technically its not Rovers stadium, the trade off is that they give back the land in return for a long term lease on the SDCC's soccer stadium. Much like the continentals the SDCC will take rent and a cut of the gate. The theory is that the FAI will play underage internationals and cup finals there while the schools in the area get to use Rovers training facilities.

My understanding of the new FAI league is that there will be no more excuses for the sort of financial nonsense that has happened before. Above board or out which is aa it should be.

As for CD, can the GAA exclude him from the press box at the soccer games? Surely thats a FAI/UEFA call?

I would like to think there has been a wholesale eradication of the jobs for the boys/embezzlement culture in fai etc - but remain sceptical given that nothing seems to have been done to remove the status quo that dogged Irish soccer for so long. Maybe they did it behind closed doors.


I  would like to see a municipal stadium so that soccer , GAA AND Rugby can play in Tallaght.

the IRFU are putting huge resources into rugby out there and if they had a decent place with which to play , it would help garner players. Otherwise they are really up against it.
I dont see why Gov funding cannot be spent and all sports benefit (if more than soccer/rugby and Gaelic games want to use the venue).
A running athletics track would surely be useful out there also.

as for cathal dervan. If memory serves me correctly , he used to write in the 'Irish' star in the early 90's.
He along with that other amadan roy curtis displayed a talent for having no clue about soccer or Gaelic football which began my scepticism of 'sports reporters'.
Not only would I ban dervan from Croker, I'd ban him and his ilk from every sporting venue in the land - such is their level of inaccurate and rubbish cliche layden columns.
Plus that most of the papers take generic game reports from all English/Scots and Irish games - more often than not bearing no similarities to the game I may have seen live myself.
Plaguarists and cowboys most of them are. Then there are a few who are more poet-esque than sports writer....they bore the fcking erse off me also
hardly a decent journo out there imo.
rant over..