I’m into hypotheses here as I know Dublin will never be split into 8. Maybe two as a last resort but by then thye GAA will have suffered irreplaceable damage as Stephen Cluxton will have climbed the Hogan steps for the 20th time in a row and the only spectators, two small boys and a dog, will be wrestling in the mud out of sheer boredom.
The chance to bring about meaningful change was in the aftermath of the SRC report when one of the recommendations was that Dubliin be split into Northside and Southside. At first, the initial reaction was pretty positive and it seemed the Dublin county boards were agreeable to the split.
In anticipation of the split going through, the decision, in principle anyway, was made to provide the DCB with additional funds to pay for the setting up of autonomous boards and club structures etc.
Then the county board rejected the proposal and the report was shelved- never to surface again. But the gravy train kept rolling. Huge clubs mean huge overheads but no necessarily huge involvement of the local communities.
The cost of building in the Dublin region is astronomical so there isn’t a hope in hell that enough pitches can be developed to meet the needs of 8, or even 4 separate counties.The GAA in any shape or form could afford to buy the grounds needed and the chance of the regional authorities providing the public pitches need in the modest of a housing crisis isn’t feasible either.
I’m pretty cynical about the chances of the present Games Development Initiative going anywhere except into debt- glorious debt. Clubs can’t find the grounds to accommodate and significant increase in juvenile playing numbers and that’s only for starters. Talking about enthusiastic young coaches going into primary schools and recruiting disciples for the cause is pie in the sky.
It just won’t happen.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation along with the Christiamn Brothers have been attempting to do this with a spectacular lack of success since the foundation of the state.. I was one of the teachers involved for more than 30 years and I doubt if I got more than a half dozen kids to take up the GAA as their primary sport.
I love to see kids playing football for the sheer fun of it, regardless of county or club allegiances but with the decline in teaching numbers, the chances of bringing football to the masses gets more unlikely every passing day.
