Liam Mulvihill Retires.

[Bud Wiser]

Was that not all of a slap or was it in the pipeline?

[Armagh Exile]

Mulvihill announces retirement

Liam Mulvihill has brought his 28-year tenure as Director General of the GAA to an end by announcing his retirement.
Mulvihill was the second longest serving occupant of the Association's most senior administrative office and only the fourth incumbent since 1901.

He was a member of the GAA's Central Council for many years prior to his elevation to Director General and oversaw the development of Croke Park.

He will remain at the helm until his successor is appointed early next year.

Mulvihill was an inter-county player with Longford before occupying the position of vice-chairman and chairman of the County Board and subsequently became Director General in 1979.

A statement from the GAA paid tribute to him for overseeing the "evolution of the body's infrastructure countrywide and being the catalyst in the development of the Games, their primary competitive structures and their promotion".
"He also oversaw the era of live television, sponsorship and the commercial mobilisation of the GAA," the statement added.
The organisation also commended Mulvihill for being "the one central and constant dynamic in bringing the massive project of the new Croke Park from genesis to fruition".

BBC Sport

[thebandit]

Mr Liam Mulvihill has announced his retirement as Director General of the G.A.A.

Liam has served in the most senior administrative office in the Association since 1979 making him the second longest serving Director General in its history and only the fourth incumbent of the office since 1901. Only Paddy O Keefe who served from 1929 to 1964 has a longer tenure in office.

A native of Kenagh, Co Longford, Liam is the holder of Leinster and All Ireland senior college's football medals with St Mel's. He played inter county football with Longford at all grades. At the age of 23 he became Vice-Chairman of the Longford County Board and at 24 he became Chairman. He was a member of the GAA's Central Council for many years before his appointment as Director General. Liam was educated at St Patrick's College Drumcondra, U.C.D, Maynooth College and U.C.G. He worked as a primary school teacher and later a School's Inspector before accepting the post of Director General. Mulvihill also filled various roles with State Bodies throughout his career including the R.T.E Authority, Bord na Gaeilge, the Irish Sports Council and he was a member of the board of the Sports Campus Ireland project at Abbottstown.

Liam has guided the GAA through the conflict in the six counties, the evolution of its infrastructure countrywide, and has been the catalyst in the development of the Games, their primary competitive structures and their promotion. He also oversaw the era of Live television, sponsorship and the commercial mobilisation of the G.A.A.

Mulvihill created the concept of the new Croke Park and was the one central and constant dynamic in bringing the massive project from genesis to fruition. He will remain at the helm of the G.A.A until his successor is appointed early next year.

[5 Sams]

Who would be in the frame for this job?

Sean Kelly
Danny Murphy



The man who should get it and who probably wouldnt have time to do it is Peter Quinn.

[Shamrock Shore]

John Delaney may be head hunted 

[Bensars]

Peter quinn..........absolutley, however peter has often commented on how he hates the way croke park administration has exploded. He would sack half of them.


As for sean kelly, is there enough glory in such a role for him 

[The Claw]

A great visionary, the GAA was lucky to have him, tough boots to fill.

[Rossfan]

Wasnt there talk in the papers some time ago that Pádraic Duffy seemed to be getting groomed for the post?
I suppose the question is will it go to a volunteer County Board/Provincial Council type or to one of the Paid Officials in Croke Park.
Mind you with the GAA's track record since 1903 you can be sure they will make the right choice.

[Uladh]

The job is lined up for duffy. Liam's retirement has been planned from a long way out.

[paddypastit]

To add to Uladh's very accurate and concise summary, Mulvihill was due to go a year ago but delayed - all part of the choreography.

Granted Duffy got things done in the committe context and nothing at all against the man but what the GAA don't need is another 'insider' and what they do need at the helm is some serious business nous.

That siad the first guy or gal in there that tries to make the real change that is needed will get slaughtered by the system.  It's a wierd job.  At one level you actually have no power as all authority is vested in labrynthine committe structures and yet the guy at the top of that 'committee' structure - the President - is effectively a puppet with no power.  Boy was Quinn right in his article in the Indo the weekend of Congress. 

Adapt or Die - that's ex-president Quinn's blunt message to GAA's top brass
By Martin Breheny
Saturday April 14 2007

In an interview with the Irish Independent, Quinn claims that there's little strategic planning for the future and warns that unless it's addressed very quickly the GAA's future well-being is under serious threat.

In a wide-ranging analysis of the organisation he served as President in the early 1990s, he claims that the GAA has grown complacent, is over-staffed and is still basking in the glory of the Croke Park redevelopment when it should already have moved on to new challenges.

Quinn has been one of the most influential figures in the GAA since being elected President in 1991. He played a significant role in Croke Park's redevelopment, which was a massive success for the GAA but which he now believes should be consigned to history in favour of new issues.

"We've done the lap of honour around Croke Park. It's time to go outside now and face the serious tests that are presenting themselves in a rapidly-changing sporting world," he said.

He wants the GAA to focus on developing its games rather than simply administering itself: "The GAA has huge strengths and assets, but we're not using them as effectively as we should be.

"We are not well-managed - it's as simple as that. In fact, we wouldn't survive if we were a business so unless we change our management structures we will have big difficulties.

"We're getting poor value from some of our expenditures. We've grown soft and we'll continue to lose market share unless we tighten up on the way we run our business."

He believes that while the GAA has the potential to prosper even against opposition from global sports, it can only achieve that by improving its strategic management structures.

Failure to do so would leave the GAA vulnerable inside 20 years.

"We're in opposition with every other sport and we have to rise to that challenge. We simply cannot ignore the potential for failure that's created by bad management," he states.

Using an analogy with the Quinn Group, of which he is a director, he says that when they take over a business, their first priority is to look at the existing structures.

"If we have to destroy them and start with a clean sheet, we do it straight away.

"I don't believe the GAA is different. We have structures in place but are they good enough? More importantly, will be they be good enough for the years ahead? My view is that they will not," he contends.

"Any business will run into trouble, if it's not strategically managed. That applies to the GAA too.

"It has the great asset of a membership of around 900,000, which is a buffer against collapse, and while it would take longer to run into trouble than a commercial organisation, that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

"The Roman Empire ran the developed world for nearly a century and disappeared in about 20 years."



The said interview in full


GAA has become 'dangerously complacent'

THE GAA has become dangerously complacent, is over-staffed, is failing to plan properly for the many challenges it faces and is under serious risk over the next 20 years unless there's a radical change of attitude at all levels.

Furthermore, the organisation is expending too much energy congratulating itself on the redevelopment of Croke Park while not facing up to the massive problem within miles of the stadium, where the GAA has a penetration level of less than three per cent in some large, sprawling Dublin housing estates. That such a withering assessment has come, not from an enemy of the Association, but from Peter Quinn, one of its most distinguished former presidents, will stun the GAA community and, in particular, the policy-makers who have gathered in Kilkenny for this weekend's annual Congress. He will not be attending Congress, which he describes as a "decision-making body for matters that should be dealt with at lower level", but his comments are certain to resonate around Hotel Kilkenny today.

Quinn, who was GAA president from 1991 to 1994 and who played a major role in the planning and supervision of the Croke Park redevelopment, is a highly successful businessman who currently sits on the board of 12 companies, including the massive Quinn Group, owned by his brother Sean. Peter was recently appointed chairman of TG4.

His business acumen makes his comments on what he perceives as the GAA's lack of vision very interesting, especially as he chaired the Strategic Review Committee (SRC) which reported in early 2002.

"That's over five years ago. We should have a new strategy for the next five years by now but where is it? We're sitting looking and admiring what we did in Croke Park, instead of moving onto the next challenges. There are plenty of them too, mainly in the area of competition, but we're not addressing them. If you're in business and you don't address the challenge of your competitors, you don't survive and it will be the same in sport into the future," he contends.

"Nobody believes the GAA won't survive, but I'd never rule it out as a possibility in any organisation. Get it wrong long enough and you're in serious trouble. If we started to get it wrong now, we would be in serious trouble in 20 years. We could have become a miniscule organisation, incapable of making the impact on Irish society we currently do.

"The Roman Empire ruled the developed world for nearly a century and disappeared in about 20 years."

Quinn's warnings will come as a surprise to the Irish sporting landscape as, outwardly at least, the GAA has never looked healthier as it basks in the glory of its headquarters while huge crowds continue to flock to its games.

"I spent a number of years in the late 1970s working with businesses that got into difficulties. In all cases, the problem started when things were going well and success was mismanaged.

"Every organisation is at its most vulnerable when most successful. And history shows that the management that causes the problem is never good enough to get out of it."

He is extremely concerned by what he regards as a civil service mentality within the GAA and claims that while many administrators are doing a good job they are not necessarily doing the right job.

"There's a civil service attitude in Dublin generally which is in common with most capital cities. When that type of ethos seeps into an organisation like the GAA, you get an administrative structure that's not as effective as it should be. Everybody in Croke Park is working hard, but in terms of effectiveness it should be more streamlined. Strategy is more important than day-to-day administration. We have become an administrative rather than a strategic organisation," he remarks.

He is surprised by the increase in the number of staff in Croke Park, pointing out that it was reduced to under 20 in the late 1980s, but has since increased dramatically.

"When we cut it before, things rolled along fine. Nobody died as a result and the Association kept running. We have a hell of a multiple of 20 there now and that worries me. You can run an organisation on a tight administrative structure but ours is not tight," he says.

So who controls staff numbers? "I don't know. I'm not sure I ever knew, but I certainly don't know who controls it now," he states.

Glass ceiling

He is also concerned that there's a glass ceiling effect within the GAA's ranks and believes that all top posts should be on a seven-year contract basis with nobody serving more than two terms.

"Even then, there should be a major review after the first term. Until we get fixed-term contracts for our senior staff, we're not going to deliver the change and innovation needed. I want people to be always challenging those about them. Smash the glass ceiling because it impedes initiative - anything less is not tolerated in business any more.

"The Quinn Group had one chief executive managing two companies in two different sectors which were big enough to be publicly-quoted PLCs. It was a demanding role, but we appointed him because we knew he could do the job. Under the GAA system, a man of that ability would probably end up as assistant ticketing manager."

Quinn believes that competition from all other sports will present a massive threat to the GAA over the next 20 years, so it's vital for the organisation to be ready to take on the challenge which, he suspects, is not the case at present.

"At one level we're better off than we were 20 years ago but at another I don't believe we're as fighting fit. We would come under pressure more easily now," he reflects.

Like the rest of the GAA community, he felt proud when Croke Park opened its doors to rugby and soccer this spring - a decision he felt was inevitable as it would have been a sporting calamity if 'home' fixtures had to be moved to Britain.

"It would be a disaster for the GAA too because we would get all the blame. Opening Croke Park was the right thing to do, but I don't believe we should waste our energy now on taking pride in our achievements.

"We're still on a lap of honour for Croke Park when we should be working on making the future better," he warns.

He is adamant that the monies generated from renting Croke Park should be kept well clear of administrative matters and instead channelled into vital projects such as expanding the GAA's base in Dublin, where in some areas the penetration level is less than three per cent.

"That's a serious indictment of everybody from the clubs, to the Dublin County Board to Leinster Council to Central Council, but it's not too late to address it. Take some of the millions generated by Croke Park, select neglected areas in Dublin and plough resources - well controlled of course - into starting new clubs.

"Stay with them for as long as it takes to get them up and running and then move on to other areas. That's an effective way to spend money."

Quinn believes that it's vital for the GAA that Dublin win an All-Ireland senior football title every five years at least and says the best possible bonus for hurling would be if Dublin landed the Liam McCarthy Cup.

Dublin area

"There's a population of over 1.3 million in the Dublin area. That's a critical mass where it's vital to make an impact. Dublin are doing wonders for the GAA's finances thanks to the crowds they attract, but are doing nothing by comparison in terms of attracting and enthusing playing members in many areas, due largely to the lack of success at senior level," he reasons.

"Look at the impact Ireland's one win and a draw had on cricket. Now compare that with the effect an All-Ireland football title win by Dublin would have on the vast population in the city and county.

"It's crucial that Dublin start winning titles. You would expect that their strike rate would be better but then when you look at the number of country players on senior Dublin club teams, you wonder what it's all about."

Quinn's concern over the state of play in Dublin and his fears that a lack of planning for the future development of the GAA countrywide provides food for thought at a time when many believe the Association is on a record high. He believes that the SRC report of 2002 charted a vision that provoked a defensive reaction from which the GAA has yet to emerge.

"That's dangerous. Our greatest strength is the weakness of our competitors in real terms. But will it always remain so? I believed prior to 2002 that we had spent the previous 10 years building up a huge level of confidence in the GAA through the redevelopment of Croke Park, but when we suggested some changes, we got defensiveness.

"That's not the hallmark of a progressive organisation or one that's full of confidence and that worries me as we look towards the next 20 years in a rapidly changing world, both locally and globally," he concludes.

-

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

T'is a pity Quinn wouldn't/couldn't be appointed indeed, just the man with the acumen, vision, and experience for the very necessary big choices and decisions that lie ahead.

[magpie seanie]

I'd go along with the comments here. Mulvihill did a great job and gave outstanding service to the GAA. The time is right now for someone like Peter Quinn to take this job and drive it on to another level.

[rrhf]

Peter Quinn.  whatever it takes

[Hardy]

I understand Peter Quinn runs a successful business. I'd say there's zero chance of him giving it up to take a salaried job - especially one where he'd be hidebound by committees and hampered by bureaucracy at every turn, with no chance of sorting the outfit out they way it needs to be done. Anyway, given his criticism of said organisation and bureaucracy, there's also zero chance of the job being offered to him. I'd say you can be certain the GAA don't leave these things to chance and the vagaries of an open selection system and Duffy already has his feet under the table.

[Billys Boots]

Shite, only one Longfordman running the show now - it's all definitely going to fall to sh*te.

For the sake of the children, can someone, anyone from the centre of the universe not take up the cudgels?  Laureleye?  Shamrock Shore?  Crayonman even?