Thomas Davis v the Government

[dublinfella]

Colm Keyes in yesterdays Indo

THE Thomas Davis GAA club will have their request for a judicial review of South Dublin County Council's decision to make the Tallaght Stadium a soccer only venue heard in the High Court today.

The Tallaght GAA club have the backing of other southside GAA clubs, the Dublin County Board and the GAA as they seek a review of a decision that bars the playing of Gaelic games at the stadium.

The Tallaght Stadium, the proposed new home for Shamrock Rovers, will enjoy significant exchequer funding to serve its completion.

But the local Thomas Davis club want the council's decision reviewed on the basis that it will provide a strong advantage to soccer in the area and will greatly assist them in winning the hearts and minds of the local youth.

In a submission on behalf of the club, the High Court will hear that the"youth of Tallaght will be restricted to a diet of association football" if the decision stands.

Ideal

Thomas Davis and the other southside clubs see the municipal stadium as an ideal venue for championship matches between clubs in the area.

To facilitate GAA matches, the pitch would have to be extended.

However, this would involve extensive work at the venue and Shamrock Rovers fear that if there are any further delays they could go out of business.

Senior GAA officials are keeping a close eye on the Tallaght situation at a time when Croke Park is preparing to open up to international soccer and rugby next year.

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the case wasnt heard yesterday for lack of judges and TD mysteriously arent available for any of the free dates in the immediate future. but i love this line  "the youth of Tallaght will be restricted to a diet of association football". they actually had the balls to use this line as the basis of a legal action.

and gaelic games arent barred from the stadium, the dept just arent willing to redisign for senior mens games

im f**king furious that this €200,000 legal escapade is being funded by the association. they cant win and will lose costs, and as hyland sad in the herald during the week, if they win they potentially open every gaa ground in the country that has recieved public money up to other sports. there is a bigger picture here and TD need to be reminded of it.

[Bogball XV]

Dublinfella,
read the article again, it does not say that the submission says "youth of Tallaght will be restricted to a diet of association football", that might or might be a direct quotation from the submission, I would assume not.  You really should not believe everything written in the papers, they tend to put certain spins on things.
As for your fury re the wasting of the association's money, i'd be more furious that the govt. should have decided to build a stadium exclusively for the use of a business that has failed several times now, despite the windfall taken by the clubs then owner for the Milltown lands. 
Obviously the fair approach here would be to build a proper stadium that would accommodate all codes, that may well be the outcome of the judicial review.  As for your other argument re other grounds being forced to open up to other sports - no, that's utter bollocks.  The difference being ownership of said grounds.

[neilthemac]

the GAA grounds are owned (mainly) by the GAA themselves so they have say over who uses them

this stadium will be owned by south dublin co co and the taxpayer

Thomas Davis are right to challenge this development. Publicly funded stadiums should be built for use by a multitude of sports - GAA, soccer, Rugby, cricket or whatever

Especially when Shamrock Rovers are too financially inept to run a stadium on their own

[Rossfan]

Jesus Christ !!! it is absolutely unbelievably pathetic that the Government through South Dublin County Council is going to spend €11m on a stadium for a failed(at least 3 times) professional sports club while a succesful voluntary non commercial sports body is specifically barred from using the same tax payer publicly funded stadium.
All I would say is GAA pweople rememebr this at election time and vote for the opposotion no matter how much it might hurt .
Show blusterer O'Donoghue where to get off- the b***ix

[neilthemac]

yeah. all Thomas Davis and the GAA are asking is that the pitch be made big enough so that GAA games could possibly be played there in the future - say when Shamrock Rovers have no games, or go out of business (again) or decide to move elsewhere...

more people are likely to frequent the place if all sports can use the facility. Then it really will be part of the community

[Bogball XV]

the first time i have heard any sports body bring the dept to the high court to stop them funding a rival and as a side show has the potential to open all GAA grounds.

What do you mean stop them funding a rival?  You know what TD want, why do you not think it is fair?  As for the opening of all gaa grounds etc, as explained before, that's nonsense - gaa clubs by and large own their own grounds.

if south dublin needs a stadium so bady, why wait in the wings until Shamrock Rovers (and why do you refer to them as a business just out of intereast?) hit a snag?

Or alternatively, if rovers need a stadium so badly, why not build it themselves?  If they're not a business what are they? 
It's fairly obvious you a very different agenda to the majority of posters on this board on this one Dublinfella, and that's fine, to me, this issue is pretty cut and dry as regards natural justice - i have no idea how the courts will rule, because I haven't seen the various affidavits, there may be enough in there to allow sdcc to proceed, but that does not mean that the sensible decision will have been taken.

[An Laoch]

Why is it only Thomas Davis and the GAA kicking up about Rovers getting a stadium? Why no complaints from the local rugby clubs to ensure their sport can be played on it, shouldn't their be an athletics around the outside, and a baseball diamond tucked in there, perhaps some tennis courts too?

This is all about Thomas Davis obstructing the progress of soccer - it's small minded and unnecessary, they'd do better to find better ways of keeping kids involved in their club instread of worrying about other sports competing for the attention of the youth.

[armaghniac]

The GAA cant refuse (rightfully) to share their facilties and demand that others share with them, especially seeing as Rovers have put €2m in and the Dept will put in the other €4m

if the public are putting up the bulk of the money then the public should have the opportunity to use the facilty.,If the pitch is made bigger then soccer, GAA and rugby can use the ground. In GAA facilities there may have been a public contribution, but it is not two thirds of the cost!!

[deiseach]

so let them build one. this is the crux of my anger. when do we get the southside parnell park? whats happening with the Rathcoole site? Is GAA policy now not to bother building on our own, rather wait like vultures? We need someone in the DCB to get off their arses and make good on the promises to build a ground, not sue the govt for helping another code who tried to sort it themselves.

In what way are Rovers building their own stadium? You say they are stumping up €2m of the €6m being spent on the project, but seeing as the Revenue Commissioners had to write off the best part of €1.5m owed to the Exchequer by Rovers, it seems the taxpayer is effectively paying €5.5m of the cost. Not even at it's most generous did the EU ever contribute over 90% of the cost of any one project. Factor in the way Glenmalure Park was sold and you have a recipe for some major hole-sickening.

Whatever the legal outcome, Shamrock Rovers have done nothing to deserve this largesse.

[Bogball XV]

Does anybody on this board really believe think that this action is more about making things better for South Dublin GAA than about making things difficult for a soccer club?

I do, but my info on it is limited to what i've read on this board and its previous incarnation.

[magickingdom]

anyone know when the high court is coing to reach its decision?

[dublinfella]

anyone know when the high court is coing to reach its decision?

on that, im' 'rehashing' this because was up at on friday but postponed for lack of judges (which is another thread in itself). hearing is re-set for the 14th of December as TD's legal team were unavailable for all the openings before then. Decision whenever after, you know the courts. could be an hour, could be a month. Talk in the clubhouse was early next year, but TD are highly unlikely to win so its off to the appeal courts and beyond.

[Bogball XV]

If it goes to supreme court, that'll be another year - and then they'll lose - the supreme court are hand picked by the govt, so generally they do what the govt. tell them - ah, tis great that the judiciary and the state are so disparate.

[deiseach]

I'im not disputing that, what I am disputing is the 'right' the GAA have to demand access to a project that was never intended for their use.When did municpal become multi sport? The other municipal stadia i listed were all more than 50% funded by the exchequer and the GAA managed to avoid going to court? why is this different?

its clearly a move to damage a soccer club's prospects and thats not acceptible form the GAA in 2006.

Clearly the GAA have the right to argue their position - unless you think due process doesn't apply when it comes to soccer clubs. A substantial amount of public money is being given to one organisation with little or no cost to that organisation. How bad would the uproar have being if 90+% of the funding for Croke Park had come from the public purse?

Of course you could argue (as you seem to be doing) that the GAA's stance is in some way immoral, but some of us find it even more distasteful that large amounts of cash are being handed over to an organisation - Rovers - that has shown itself in the past to be, shall we say, cavalier in matters financial. Maybe the GAA should start flogging all their grounds, safe in the knowledge that not only will they make money out of the sale but the State will then pick up the tab for building new ones - all in the interests of the 'community'

[paddypastit]

Amusing that the main defender of a south Dublin GAA club here is a Louth man.

This T Davis effort is outragous. If they need a facility then go build one, don't be acting the magpie on it.

The GAA has done well enough out of the public purse - they shouldn't look the gift horse in the mouth and comments from people on here proclaiming their concern to be about the granting of taxpayers' money to a 'failed' business stink of self righteous hipocracy, if not not self serving bigotry. If it was anything else ye'd not be bothered.

If SDCC wants to build a ground for whatever it wants to build a ground for, that's its business.  Hasn't the GAA got grounds all over South Dublin - the Davis and St Annes grounds are literally within shouting distance - if they really want to develop them. Small minded petty s**t like this is what p****s me off about the GAA and some of the people that inhabit it.