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Ha - you stupidly assume that the 2K will stay at 2K.



I am using circumstantial evidence of both local rugby and local soccer - you (and the other pro grants supporters) are using hot air to back your argument.



Repeating ad nauseum that "the GAA are different", and "it won't happen to us" is not an argument based on anything but your own pre-conceived notions.

Ok RGAAGAA since we are all naive, stupid and ignorant can you explain to us in layman's terms why the government will increase the grant every 2-3 years or if they won't how the GAA can be forced into taking over this responsiblity.
                 Local soccer? the ills of soccer in this country are because it's professional at the top level? Are you nuts?
                 Everybody on this site agrees that professionalism as is practiced in the premiership, the heineken cup, in Aussie rules or any other fully pro sport would have serious consequences for the GAA but we are nowhere near that, and you considering the rest of us as naive won't change that.

Its pretty obvious to anyone that thinks about it that the money for the players will come from central.

Why would the GAA pay every IC hurler and footballer in the country, nobody wants them to and they could only do so after the membeership voted to allow them to and this won't happen.

I know - the evidence is staring them in the face yet they are burying their heads in the sand.

Yep that's right lads we have our heads in the sand, thin edge of the wedge, look at what happened to rugby, lads will travel 4hr round trips 3 times a week for €2K a year. 95% of your points are about what will happen (IYO) in the future, with nothing to back it up and little engagement on opposing points made to ye. Just repeating the mantra that the sky will fall in on the GAA.

This rugby comparison has been trotted out here on a few occasions, but IMO there is no real comparison. They are very different situations and very different sporting make ups. But before going there, Zoyler you are the latest thin edge of the wedge man, now anyone can come on here and claim this, that, or the other thing will happen at some point in the future. In your opinion do you think the GAA are going to start paying a living wage to players in the future? If so how do see this coming to be?
                 Now I'm not much of a rugby man, but in my home town the rugby club has gone in and out of existence for decades. But it is currently doing quite well for itself, and there is a notable increase in rugby jerseys floating around the town. The point I'm making is that AIL rugby has taken a hit because it has been replaced as the top level of rugby in Ireland but lower down many junior clubs are doing quite well. So saying professionalism has destroyed club rugby is an exaggeration. More importantly rugby was forced to go completely professional by international influences. We don't have that, so players, regardless of their number or quality, can't force the GAA to go professional, it can only happen if a majority want it to happen.

QF prediction,

UL V GMIT
CIT V Garda
Queens V UUJ
DCU V NUI (maybe)

Semi prediction

UL
CIT
Queens
DCU

I haven't been able to post the last few days, so first off thank you for reolying to my question Tram (still the only anti-GPA poster to do so). But I'm afraid your scenario, with respect, is so unrealistic as to hardly warrant debate. RadioGAAGAA your last post is typical of many of the anti-gpa posters, it's almost dripping with paranoia.

Do you actually think county board members are going to give their time as freely now that others are being recompensed and they aren't?

Do you actually think that the government are going to pay this money from their own coffers?
a) if yes (which will not be the case IMO)- do you think that money should be better spent on hospitals etc?
b) if no - since that money is being lifted from the grants the govt give to the GAA for infrastructure, or from the tax breaks, its money that won't be spent on coaching/stadia/pitches/offsetting insurance etc.

Are you so naive as to think these "grants" are going to remain at €2500 a year?

Do you think the top players are not going to face extra temptation to transfer to the better counties where the prospects of getting more money are better? Or conversely, a poor hurler by Kilkenny's standards could transfer to... say Down - he'll get a grant then. A better example would have been Dublin to Meath I suppose.

If you go through that list of quotes above according to you, club and county administrators will walk away, the health service or GAA sporting infrastructure will suffer, the grants are sure to escalate, and the pick of the bunch players will leave their clubs and travel half way around the country to make at max €2500. None of these things are in anyway realistic, I'd be absolutely flabbergasted if next January when I start back up the U-8 and 10 training one of the coaches told me he wouldn't be involved because IC players were getting grants.

I think Man United do have to pay for that 14 year old.

Its my opinion and its only an opinion that whats ahead ( now that the principle of "pay for play" is gone) is a situation where whoever has the biggest cheque book will have the best players playing for them like what has been going on in America for years.

I appreciate that it is only your opinion but if you are going to oppose the grants on the basis that it will lead to professionalism. Then for it to be taken seriously you must have an idea how this can happen, otherwise you are against the grants based on an irrational fear. Now some on here will have you believe that this is already professionalism and will quote dictionaries to prove it. But this isn't professionalism and unless you can at least speculate on how a professional GAA can come to pass then I don't think you can argue against the grants on that basis. By the way you are not the only one who has used this fear as their rational for being anti-grant and none of them can answer the question either.

I am totally against players receiving these grants because I believe its only round one for Farrell and co they are not going to stop at these grants. What they want is professionalism. When do we draw the line?  

If this is so perhaps you can do what none of the other anti-grant posters have been able to do and tell us how this is going to come about. To go professional would need a complete overhaul of the GAA so how can this be forced upon the organization by a small few players and their representitives? Unless you can answer that then this thin edge of the wedge argument should be dropped.

Well I know for a fact I got paid when I was out there. So just from my own experience, I have been paid to play GAA in the US, given a cash grant from a provincal council as a student and offered a coaching job that involved monetary gain. I played senior inter-county but not with one of the stronger counties and my coaching portfolio is fairly small. So if I can be offered that then what kind of money is going to top inter county seniors in colleges like DCU, Queens or UUJ, or to managers with successful inter county experience. But none of that matters I suppose when the government is willing to pay this very meager grant to players. Because these guys getting this money is going to destroy the GAA.

POG I'm just trying to find the basis of RadioGAAGAA's opposition to the grants. I know why you oppose them and it is a consistent position. But some lads don't seem to quite know why they oppose it, they just do. I agree with paying administrators and I can see how you can and still oppose the grant but it can't be on the basis of the amateur principle.

Darbyo...you just seem to be sticking your head in the sand and refusing to accept that this is the beginning.

Rule 11 has been diluted and is not worth the paper it is written on after that decisiion at the weekend

Ok FTJC, if my head is in the sand, can you explain to me how professionalism can be foisted upon the GAA membership without their approval, and please don't point to this grant as something that went against grassroots opinion. Because there is a world of differnce between a grant of €3k from the government and the GAA paying players a living wage for playing football/hurling. If as you say this is the beginning then you must have some idea as to how it can go forward.

Darbyo, if the grants announced had a top level of around €25,000 instead of around €2,500 would you have a different opinion?

No, I have no problem with the government giving GAA players money whatever the value. My objection to professionalism has nothing to do with elitism, the principle of amateurism or anyother such notions. I just believe that it couldn't be sustainable, hurling would probably die off as genuine sport, county football in 2/3 of the counties would also end and numerous clubs would fold. In addition too few players would be soaking up too much GAA money and as a consequence improving infrastructure, investing in clubs etc. would all suffer. But if the government want to pay them great. Now I've answered your question do you want to have a crack off answering mine?

I fear this may lead the GAA down the same path as soccer/rugby - that is a far far bigger problem in my eyes than a silly little strike.

See above post for me too.
Spot on radioGaaGaa.

Ok so, I've asked this numerous times already and no-one in the anti-GPA ranks has even attempted an answer. If you fear that this may lead to the ruination of the GAA by turning the organisation professional. How can this happen, unless a 2/3 majority of the members of the GAA want the organisation to go professional? And if the vast majority want to the GAA to go professional then that is the democratic will of the members of the GAA.
                  Unless ANYONE (I swore I'd never used caps to make a point, but ye have driven me to it lads) can lay out the path to professionalism for the GAA, then you just sound like a bunch of Al Gores trying to catch man-bear-pig before it destroys the world. (It's a South Park episode for non-fans)

If I was playing IC for the last 3 years and the government said we now want to give you 2.5K for doing that, then yes I'd take it. If in 3 years time the government said sorry lads but we can't afford to give you the grant anymore then I'd say fine and continue playing for my county. So to sum up I'm not playing for the money but if the government is willing to pay me for doing something I already do then yes I'd take it.

This is a very interesting one, by all accounts the CB have widespread support on this issue. While I think the CB was very wrong in making the decision it made and worse again, for the wrong reasons. It was voted through (twice) by the clubs, unlike a few years ago I think the Cork players have misjudged the feelings on the ground and we may have 2 entirely new Cork panels for 2008. Or none at all, as I'm reliably told a number of the lads next in line won't tog off for the county. Interesting times.

Yeah that makes more sense, you could see at the end of the match that the Moorefield lads were less than impressed with him.