Brilliant Brolly in Gaelic Life

[winghalfun]

Why?  Because he loves playing Gaelic for Tyrone and the Moy.  Australian Rules is a different game.

nrico2006 I think you might find that if the truth were to out, the money available for playing Australian rules might not have been tempting as first thought and perhaps the gentleman in question realised he would make more at his chosen career.
Only an opinion but one I believe in.

[muppet]

no it would not,it is his day job as a barrister which will make what he gets from rte pennies.

I was aware of his day job thank you. For me he fits into the same category as Michael McDowell and Robert McCartney whereby their supporters keep telling us 'but he is very intelligent' despite there being overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Speaking of his RTE pennies. In 2000 Johnny Giles earned £107,739 from the National Broadcaster.link to Boards.ie That figure is in Euros 7 years ago. I realise Johnny Giles will earn more than Brolly but given wage inflation for the last 7 years if you think he is taking pennies from RTE you need a reality check, it is serious money.

[realredhandfan]

Im near sure Brolly appeared on the front page of Ulster GAelic after the inaugural GPA meeting with I believe Donal O neill and others/  Ill check that photo.

[bigpaul]

As usual Joe's article is full of glib comments,broad sweeping statements and innuendo. He really does himself a disservice by continually failing to address the issue regarding his membership of the GPA. Earlier in this thread it was stated that Joe hadn't mentioned Brian Mc Gilligan, I think it is altogether more noteworthy that he didn't mention Brian Mc Guigan! I also find it noteworty that he never mentioned the Tyrone Hurlers, given that his most famous quote on the GPA is 'Ciaran Mc Geeney doesn't give a shit about the Mayo Hurlers'!  He made a great deal of the fact that the Tyrone footballers went to Jamaica with £3,000 spending money each, the impresson given being that it was paid for by the County Board or Club Tyrone. Is there not a players' fund? Does Bank of Ireland not make a large contribution to it? Is it not intended to provide a holiday for the squad in such circumstances? Furthermore, I always find it curious that it is fine to send a player on an exotic holiday or give him money in lieu, is this not a form of payment? As I have said in another topic, cases like Brian Mc Guigan and Ritchie Keely prove there is still a need for a players representative body! The 'pay for play' argument is a distraction, the GPA know it isn't going to happen and would lose all goodwill and influence, both inside and outside the organisation, if they were to pursue it! I have to admire Joe's ability to use an instance to back up his point. I would have thought the fact that the Derry GPA representative laboured for free on his Club's development project should have been an opportunity for good press for the GPA!
Finally, there has been a lot made of Joe not being interested in money. Joe is in a very fortunate position in this regard. Through his own hard work and a God given talent! In addition, football has served Joe well! He is one of a  minority whose football career has actually enhanced his earning potential. There is one part of his media work that I cannot accept, his association with the Daily Mail 'family'! If anyone were ever to bring one of those newspapers into my house I would ask them to leave, and I really cannot understand Joe Brolly taking employment from that quarter!

[LaurelEye]

He is one of a minority whose football career has actually enhanced his earning potential.

Less of the poor mouth, please.

I'd say most of us are well aware of inter-county players who have been fixed up by sponsors, managers, etc. with nice soft jobs that their abilities would never have gotten them in a million years.

[bigpaul]

He is one of a minority whose football career has actually enhanced his earning potential.

Less of the poor mouth, please.

I'd say most of us are well aware of inter-county players who have been fixed up by sponsors, managers, etc. with nice soft jobs that their abilities would never have gotten them in a million years.

I can't understand your use of the phrase 'poor mouth'. On the core point, can you honestly say that the players who have been looked after in this manner are in the majority?

[LaurelEye]

He is one of a minority whose football career has actually enhanced his earning potential.

Less of the poor mouth, please.

I can't understand your use of the phrase 'poor mouth'.

The implication of your statement is that the majority of players are suffering financially from playing inter-county football, or are at best deriving no benefit from it. I heard the same refrain often enough last year from GPA spokesbods, and it gets tiresome.

I don't believe the statement is true from what I see around me.

It strikes me that most county footballers get pretty well looked after now by county boards in terms of kit, expenses, holidays, etc., and there are none that I'm aware of that are on the breadline. The celebrity of being a county footballer can take you a long way in business in terms of contacts, etc. Once you've gotten on the first step of the ladder, things can work out very well for you.

On the core point, can you honestly say that the players who have been looked after in this manner are in the majority?

To be fair, I think the majority of players wouldn't need to be looked after in that manner. They can get by under their own steam.

But I can think off the top of my head of fellas who were working as labourers or butcher's apprentices and who were miraculously transformed into sales reps with company cars once the county team started winning a few matches. I don't believe they'd have had those cars under their arses without their having been county footballers. As I said, I can think of none on the breadline.

[bigpaul]

I never mentioned anyone being on the breadline. I did say that Joe Brolly was in a minority, in that his football career actually enhanced his earning potential. I also know county players who obtained jobs beyond their expectations, however I don't think they are in the majority. It is very easy to focus on successful  players with successful teams. The vast majority of players aren't members of successful teams. The players who could expect to gain in this regard are probably playing for the top ten teams in football and the top eight teams in hurling. Even in those teams, many of the players could not expect preferential treatment in this regard. One of  the most common compaints aired about the GPA is that of elitism. The fact is, we are all naturally elitist when it comes to the point! We automatically think of the Tyrone,Kerry, Armagh, Dublin or Mayo footballers and their equivalent in hurling when we talk about 'county-players', we never give a thought to the last ten on the squad or the members of the 'also ran' teams! I think it is safe to say that the latter group would make up the majority of county players!