McCarthy admits he does not have backing of Cork hurlers

[Reillers]

Bud Wiser
Sr. Member

Posts: 478


Dessie, Don't forget the Ladies.


    Re: Unwanted GAA Christmas Presents !! What have you got ?
« Reply #5 on: Today at 02:33:18 PM »   

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The Cork footballers got a set of medals for winning the Munster Final but they sent a letter to the Cork County Board on Christmas Eve to say that they were refusing to turn up at the arranged function to accept them.

They say this refusal is a show of solidarity with the hurlers.   Show of stupidity more like it, not alone have they degraded the Hurling, now they are saying to young lads that a Munster Final medal is not worth turning up for.  Talk about bringing the game into disrepute !!  Both the hurlers and the footballers should get a three year ban from all gaa games in senior football and hurling and that would sort the f**kers out.  Where is the respect for the county board now?  As far as I am concerned the GPA are up to their tits in this.

What in the  name of God are you on about. You really have no clue at all do ya..I mean REALLY, not even the foggiest.

Typical response Reillers. When somebody says something negative which usually is the truth about the players, you get the standard Reillers nonsene repsonse - you know F--K ALL, you haven't a clue !!!!!!!    Pure class - please Reillers, think a wee bit - use your brain - and come up with something a wee bit different than this !!   

Atleast I reply to the posts, and don't ignore them.
Negative, (look this is what a reply to an akward post is..not ignoring it.) If it was a good post, negative even, I would give it time, but that is pathetic to say the least.
It's the stupidity of the post, the fact that the facts are wrong. It's not about the medal. It's not about Munster, it's not about that at all. It couldn't be further from the truth. What they are doing is for Cork's future, if they give in Cork GAA will die on it's feet, faster then it is doing now..and you've no idea how fast. You thihk because it's Cork because we've won title after title, that  because we have so many titles and clubs and players, everythings rosey, Cork will always be there. Cork GAA couldn't be in a worse state at the minute and that is ALL down to the CB. No one else is as responsible as they are. They are not doing their jobs and they haven't been for a very long time. And to be honest, if you want a sum up of Cork GAA at the minute, go look at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, the pure state of it represents how poor Cork GAA is run.
If these players surrender their stance against Gerald, they will give the green flag to the county board who are just waiting. If the players loose this one Cork dies, Cork GAA dies. Not just because of the kids that will play instead, but it will give ALL the power back to the CB, and do you know what that is, that pre 2002. The Cork hurlers are the ONLY ones who will stand up to them.
Like this is about McCarthy, what they are doing now, before you have a fit, is about the appointment of McCarthy and should McCarthy walk away or is forced to walk away, the players say they will come back.
But if they loose this one..Cork GAA will die on it's feet. I promise you that.

And the last part of it, respect for the CB..they deserve no ones respect.

You sit there, bitching and moaning and crying about the Cork hurlers saying that they are ungrateful and that they have it all and saying this and that about them, saying what pieces of crap they are (but you've nothing against them..ya right) but when I say you've no idea, you don't really don't. You've no clue what this argument is about, what it stands for. What it will lead to. You have no idea how close Cork is from falling apart, and that has come from the rotting insides, because no one at the top level has been doing their job for a long time. We have the hurlers, we've the players all right, but there are no structures, no youth set up, no nothing.

I could explain it to you for days, months, years, for another 90 plus pages and you still wouldn't get it. You'll come back with some crap response, with stupid questions, but really, this argument is so far above your ahead. You'll never get there, you'll never understand.

Grow up little boy, this isn't about just 30 players who you dislike, it's much, much bigger then them or you or me.

[INDIANA]

by not sitting down reillers nothing will be solved. When you see the likes of Gaza today , you realise this has gone beyond pathetic. If the IRA and the DUP  can sit down i can't see why Cork Gaa can't.

[Tatler Jack]

Even by your standards Reillers your last post is arrogant nonsense.  First Orangeman's contributions to this debate represent a point of view held by a lot of GAA people both in Cork and around the country at last. Just because you do not agree with him is not a reason for petulantly dismissing his views as failing to understand.
Your point that this is all about the future of Cork GAA is a complete exaggeration. There are plenty of things wrong with the GAA in Cork but blaming every shortcoming at the CB is lazy and facile. First the CB is composed of representatives of clubs all of whom are volunteers.  Like any voluntary body you get a mixed bag but all of the people I have known who have served as officers of Cork CB or are club delegates have been by and large decent honourable people that are passionate about Cork GAA and want Cork to win AI's just as much as you Reillers.  And if it was all about the future of Cork hurling and the incompetence of the CB why have not the players walked away long ago.  No Reillers this is not about the players becoming a modern band of James Connollys or Nelson Mandelas though portraying it as such has become an important part of their PR campaign.
I have not time now to go into the background to this dispute but tell me Reillers how can this dispute be solved if the players refuse even to talk?  The CB have made every effort to convene talks but the players just want things their way.  Even if it was all about the future of Cork GAA surely the players are not the only ones who should have a say in this. What about ordinary club members like myself?
Reillers you can build yourself into a frenzy of emotion and self righteousness about all of this and pretend that only people like you have an understanding and insight.  If you tried to listen to others views then you might see that this is not as simple as an incompetent or venal CB. You accuse Orangeman of not getting the point – I suspect your own track record in listening to others is not great either.
By the way did you try submitting a motion to the county convention via your club proposing ways to restructure the CB? Or do you raise it when you attend club meetings.

[INDIANA]

reillers didn't submit a motion because apparently frank is so powerful that even the uprising of 200 clubs wouldn't have any effect on his position. I mean i've never heard such bullshit. If the players won't sit down , Cork Gaa should just forget about them .An unwillingness to even sit down is something similar to Stalinist politics.

[orangeman]

I've been trying to reason with you Reillers, have some sort of sensible debate - I admit and have admitted that I don't know everything that is going on down in Cork but your posts prove that you just don't want to listen.


Tatler Jack - thank you for bringing some perspective to the debate - thanks for pointing out that the nuclear disaster that Reillers predicts won't happen.


The players obviously in their minds think that there won't be life after this current team. Of course there will be - ok it might take a year or two to put together, but it will happen. Cork GAA WILL NOT DIE REILLERS MUCH AS YOU MIGHT PREDICT IT OR WANT TO SEE IT HAPPEN. Away and catch a grip of yourself - you're losing the plot, the battle and the war.


You've been on here saying how if the players lose this one, Cork GAA is finished.


In case you haven't noticed, the players have already lost in the minds of most people.


And it shouldn't be about winning or losing.

[Reillers]

Cork hurling is dying, with or without these players, it's just a question of how fast. The players represent the resistance against the CB. It's not about if these players go Cork will fall to bits because these selective players aren't there on the pitch, but it's what they stand for. Ye think I'm exagerating, ye think that it's bullshit, that's fine, but I guarantee you, it will plumet, Pairc Ui Caoimh is a sign of the running of the Cork GAA. The CB think that they can do whatever they want to do, they want complete control and the only ones standing in the way of that is the players.

They want complete control and I, along with so many people, have said that. Control over success. They would, and I honest to God mean this, have this current bunch of players gone, and these kids at the front and take whatever results come with them, then success with these players.

You don't think that it's a little bit strange that everyone who has gone into the intercounty scene has ran out or stood and fought..Justin McCarthy was chased out with pitch forks by the CB, he said he would NEVER work with the CB again, and that was for a reason, every single players since 2002 has stood and fought, and every manager who's left has never once had a nice word to say about the CB. Why is that, it's not just 15 players, it's everyone for the past 6 years, and you've also since the 70s had problems with the team and the CB. Now what oh what has all of these things in common..what is the common denominator since the 70s..Frank Murphy. The only thing that has changed is the players have become more rebelious, and ya, more modern, and they no longer will put up with being treated like crap and expected to play at the top level as well. They have become more modern, more politicised..and..

"The more politicised players become, the more they're likely to revolt"..

And this is all against a CB that is supposed to work for the players, well work for the players and the Cork GAA public. It's a joke. 

Just for one minute use yere heads and think about it.

[Reillers]

Solicitor Kelleher to chair Cork hurling resolution talks

By Michael Moynihan

CORK city solicitor Olann Kelleher has been nominated as the independent chairman of the committee which has been tasked to resolve the impasse in Cork hurling, but doubts persist as to whether the Cork players themselves will be part of that process.


At the Cork County Board convention on December 13 a motion was passed to appoint a six-man committee to try to hammer out a solution; the committee is to consist of two county board representatives, two player representatives and two representatives of the senior hurling management team.

Crucially, incoming county board president Derry Gowen was asked to nominate an independent chairman, and he has come up with Kelleher, who is a well-known figure in Cork legal circles.

Although the hurlers at the centre of the stand-off are due to meet in the coming days to discuss the committee, their participation in the process remains in doubt.

It is understood that no details of the procedures relating to the operation of this committee have been forthcoming, although the players have been seeking clarification on those matters for the past week. One of their chief concerns is understood to centre on engaging in a process which would be perceived as being weighted in favour of the county board, with two board members and two members of the hurling management team outnumbering player representatives four to two.

It is also unclear whether the players would be willing to be party to a process which involves any members of the current management team.

Olann Kelleher was a founding partner of Comyn Kelleher Tobin in 1982 and worked in litigation and dispute resolution, acting for leading insurers in relation to public liability and employers' liability claims. He retired as a partner with Comyn Kelleher Tobin in 2007.

Kelleher, who is in his early fifties, played rugby to a high level and was a substitute on the famous Munster side which beat New Zealand in 1978.

He was also a legal advisor to Munster rugby player Peter Clohessy in 2002 when the prop was cited by Castres Olympique, and he has also advised former Republic of Ireland and Manchester United star Roy Keane, who recently resigned as manager of Sunderland FC, on various legal matters, as well as representing Cork City FC.

In recent years Kelleher has produced a feature film, Strength and Honour, and has also commentated on Munster rugby matches for local Cork radio station 96FM.

[orangeman]

Cork hurling is dying anyway, with or without these players.

And lads, for all yere whinging and bitching about the players, take a breath, the players are going to sit down, or so I've been told anyway.

No it's not !!!! Great minor team, under 21 team and a senior team who are going to come good next season !!

[Reillers]

Cork hurling is dying anyway, with or without these players.

And lads, for all yere whinging and bitching about the players, take a breath, the players are going to sit down, or so I've been told anyway.

No it's not !!!! Great minor team, under 21 team and a senior team who are going to come good next season !!

You only see the outside.
Tell me when was the last time Minor or the U21s won the AIs..I'd like to believe that they'll come good next season, I've said countless of times that if you've spare money lying around put it on the U21s next year. The players are there but the structure isn't and at the end of the day we'll win nothing with it, and the losses we suffered last season proove that.
And the seniors
The players are there, but not the structures.

AND Cork GAA is NOT JUST ABOUT THE COUNTY TEAMS..

I'm sick of that perception.
It never has been, that's the thing about Cork, because there are so many teams, so many clubs, it's that attitude of "them against us." It's like, it's very what's best for us attitude, look out for ourselves, kinda thing, because there are so many clubs, and the way the CB are running the fixtures (appauling as usual) the players become an inconvience to many, they almost have them at eachothers throats.

A lot of people want this to end, so that we can get back to dealing with the real problems, the fixtures, the lack of youth structures, the pathetic problems with the club. All this is just wasting time, time we shold be spending on our clubs. 

It's about the clubs, the local GAA clubs, which are, like everything else around here collapsing.

[theskull1]

The players said, I've said, the whole bloody country has said that the players said that they will go back if McCarthy goes, you know that. Do I think the real problem is McCarthy..no I think the real problem is Frank Murphy. But it's what the players say.

The whole bloody country ? You're delusional and so are the players if they think Mc Carthy is going to run away from a few lads that have lost the run of themselves and who patently are more interested in a few freebies than pulling on a Cork jersey. 

Everyone knows that the players have said that they will come back if McCarthy is gone. What's the problem there. McCarthy is too stuborn to leave. He's left his egp get in the way, his hurt pride, he's not seeing things clearly. He's staying on princepal now because he's wounded. But every great manager knows when it's time to leave, when they can't bring the club or county or whatever, any further and he's either failed to see that or ignores it. But he's bloody lucky, if he was in a county where the CB did their job he'd have been fired by now. And that's the truth.

You're such a bullshitter like, you say you've no problem with the players, grow a set and tell the truth. They aren't interested in the freebies and you really are just talking through you ass at this stage.

Cork hurling is dying, with or without these players, it's just a question of how fast. The players represent the resistance against the CB. It's not about if these players go Cork will fall to bits because these selective players aren't there on the pitch, but it's what they stand for. Ye think I'm exagerating, ye think that it's bullshit, that's fine, but I guarantee you, it will plumet, Pairc Ui Caoimh is a sign of the running of the Cork GAA. The CB think that they can do whatever they want to do, they want complete control and the only ones standing in the way of that is the players.

They want complete control and I, along with so many people, have said that. Control over success. They would, and I honest to God mean this, have this current bunch of players gone, and these kids at the front and take whatever results come with them, then success with these players.

You don't think that it's a little bit strange that everyone who has gone into the intercounty scene has ran out or fought..Justin McCarthy was chased out with pitch forks by the CB, he said he would NEVER work with the CB again, and that was for a reason, every single players since 2002 has stood and fought, and every manager who's left has never once had a nice word to say about the CB. Why is that, it's not just 15 players, it's everyone for the past 6 years, and you've also since the 70s had problems with the team and the CB. Now what oh what has all of these things in common..what is the common denominator since the 70s..Frank Murphy. The only thing that has changed is the players have become more rebelious, and ya, more modern, and they no longer will put up with being treated like crap and expected to play at the top level as well. They have become more modern, more politicised..and..

"The more politicised players become, the more they're likely to revolt"..

"The sky is falling the sky is falling"

Where are we again Reillers? The Dark Knights otherwise known as the striking players will sell their souls and come back if Ger McCarthy jumps but they really know that the CB is the real problem. WTF? Principles where? What about everyone else they claim to be trying to save? Clarification please

[Bud Wiser]

Reillers, try and stick to the subject instead of attacking me because I have been involved in hurling for over 50 years and an asshole like you has no authority to come along and tell me I don't know what I am talking about.

Why was it allright for Ben O'Connor to go, along with other Cork hurlers, to City West Hotel to the GPA All-Star Awards and accept awards as a Cork Hurler while the Cork Footballers refused to accept their Munster medals?    Why?

Your 'response'   (rant) seems to have one concern that stands out through all your other rants, that being that if the hurlers don't get their way the CB will have total control.  Well I ask you, is this not common procedure based on common respect??  Sure every other county has issues but try and get on the Tyrone or Dublin teams and tell Mickey Harte or the Dublin CB what to do and see what will happen you?  I'll tell you the first thing would happen, you would get a lot more time to do male moddeling, cover shoots and TV documentaries about yourself.

Now, my opinion that I am entitled to is this:  This saga has gone on lkong enough. If Nicky Brennan happens to be in his home of Conaty around this time of year he could do worse than slip out through Urlingford and down the Cork road with a letter for these boys saying that if they want to turn up for training on a given date it is fine but if they don't they are banned from GAA for three years.  I for one would not even let them inside a gate.

As for the Munster football medals, try and get your hands on them, they will be colectors items in a few years because it will be a long time before Cork win another munster football final if the footballers main concern is the Cork hurlers.

[Reillers]

Reillers, try and stick to the subject instead of attacking me because I have been involved in hurling for over 50 years and an asshole like you has no authority to come along and tell me I don't know what I am talking about.

Why was it allright for Ben O'Connor to go, along with other Cork hurlers, to City West Hotel to the GPA All-Star Awards and accept awards as a Cork Hurler while the Cork Footballers refused to accept their Munster medals?    Why?

Your 'response'   (rant) seems to have one concern that stands out through all your other rants, that being that if the hurlers don't get their way the CB will have total control.  Well I ask you, is this not common procedure based on common respect??  Sure every other county has issues but try and get on the Tyrone or Dublin teams and tell Mickey Harte or the Dublin CB what to do and see what will happen you?  I'll tell you the first thing would happen, you would get a lot more time to do male moddeling, cover shoots and TV documentaries about yourself.

Now, my opinion that I am entitled to is this:  This saga has gone on lkong enough. If Nicky Brennan happens to be in his home of Conaty around this time of year he could do worse than slip out through Urlingford and down the Cork road with a letter for these boys saying that if they want to turn up for training on a given date it is fine but if they don't they are banned from GAA for three years.  I for one would not even let them inside a gate.

As for the Munster football medals, try and get your hands on them, they will be colectors items in a few years because it will be a long time before Cork win another munster football final if the footballers main concern is the Cork hurlers.

Who are you now?..I was talking to OM last time I checked.

Ben got both All Stars well before this happened if I remember right, and the hurlers had nothing to do with the footballers not going to the Munster presentation. That was the footballers choice, believe it or not.

There is no respect on either side of the table for this, the players will never respect this cb because they have never once got an ounce of respect shown to them, it's a two way show.

If that "ban" you would give to volunteers, what would you give to the CB who have singlehandedly been destroying Cork for years, what punisment shoulud they get??
THey have been the sole reson for 3 massive bust ups with players from both codes, more then 100, pushing 200 players over the last 6 years (not to mention the years before that, with other incidents). How about a CB that has forced everyone they have dealt with in the last few years either to be chased out or stand up to them?? How come no one, not one single neutral person involved from Cork has come out and said the CB are right, how come not a single person has ever had a single good word to say about them. Justin McCarthy will never work in Cork again because of the Cb. He was never treated as badly, he was ran out of here with pitch forks, why is that. 
Why is it that this CB, which apparently deserves respect, reappointed a man who clearly didn't get a long with the players, they needed a facilitator to finsih the season for heavens sake.
Who would have been fired anywhere else when you look at his loss record, a person who the players made clear that they didn't want to work with again.
McCarthy, he is a legend of a player, but there was no way at all that he deserved toget the job again and he was given it for one reason and one reason only, to get rid of these players..and success..
So does that board deserve respect?? Apparently so.

The last line,well that's true, because like everything else in Cork, the effort being put into the football needs work to say the least.

Now out of curiousity, why don't you think Cork GAA isn't falling apart, what's your reason for this oppinion. What proof have ye that it isn't, I've proof, all you need to do is look around here.
What's the reason, what proof, what facts are there that show that the CB don't want total control, because I'm seeing proof and facts, 6 years of it, but what are yours??

Just curious because ye all seem so sure, I was wondering why, what evidence shows ye otherwise?? I'm going to presume that ye have some because there's no way that any decent GAA fan would just blatantly attack the players again and again and make so many hate posts, with no (REAL OM) proof and not just on opinion.

[Bud Wiser]

Ben got both All Stars well before this happened if I remember right, and the hurlers had nothing to do with the footballers not going to the Munster presentation.

Sweet lantern lamb of....,  "if you remember right???
First of all the Award that Ben O'Connor got was not possible to be won until after the conclusion of the championship 2008 (mind you, I would not have given him one either before, during, or after it because I would have given it to a certain Galway player) wheras the medals won in the Munster Football Final were won before the GPA Award was made.

What did the Munster Council do on the Cork Players that the refusal to accept medals was thrown in their face?  Why refuse to accept them and then send a player to City West AFTER the Munster football final was played to collect a GPA award?    I'll tell you why. Because it sends out a message to Tipp, Limerick, Clare and Kerry that the strikers will be seeking their support when the Munster championship starts and if we don't get it, Munster medals are not worth collecting in 2009 just like they were useless in 2008.



Now, you are right about one thing, I don't know a lot about the row between Cork hurlers and the CB, and the reason ?   I don't want to know.  I could not care less and there are thousands like me.  If the same was happening in Laois I would not want to know either.  Like for example when Micko told a few of the players it was either "My way or the highway" and he dropped players, that, while they do not crave pin up status, were important to the Laois team.  Do you think for one minute that if the players concerned (when Micko threathened to walk) had tried to take on the County Board they would have got the supporters backing?  They would not, because the CB is made up of representatives elected by all clubs.  That is my understanding of the structure nationwide and no group of players should consider themselves to be so authorative as to change them.  The idea that the players even have a say in picking a team, picking a manager is bad enough but now they want to pick the county board as well !!

[realrebel]

reillers
are u saying that 90% of the public are not decent people because they think the players are wrong
what bout the players no decent player would attack their manager in that manner

[Tatler Jack]

what "ban" you would give to volunteers, what would you give to the CB who have singlehandedly been destroying Cork for years,

In many ways the above statement by Reillers gets us to the nub of the problem in having any rational debate about this issue. The current crop of Cork players and their blind followers like Reillers have constructed a reality that suits their argument. In this reality (lets call it Reillersland) you have the hurlers – modern day Cuchullians who if given a fair chance would win every AI and adorn the playing fields with such wondrous feats of skill and athleticism that they would be remembered forever in verse (somewhat like Thady Quill!!). And not alone would their prowess on the hurling field be remembered but also their burning passion for the future of Cork GAA as they try against might and main to restore Cork GAA to its rightful place. Che Guevara cannot hold a candle to these boys in terms of revolutionary zeal. Unfortunately in this parallel universe there is a nasty group – know as the "County Board" whose sole mission in life is to destroy the GAA in Cork. These are warped and twisted individuals who are so intent on destroying the GAA that they give up most of their time to this. They spend their time attending meetings, sorting fixtures, raising finance and can also be seen at most Cork games. You might even have the impression that they are contributing something to the GAA but you could not be further wrong – they are there to preside over the demise of the GAA and in particular to make it impossible for Cork teams to win an AI – especially the senior hurlers.

In Rellersland the players play under conditions imposed by the CB that makes success nigh impossible. Players cycle to matches, tog out behind a hedge, get jam sandwiches after the games and then have to play in wellingtons using roughly hewn ash plants as camáns. They also have to put up with a useless coach who knows nothing about hurling and only won 5 AI medals. If only theses lads got fair play and a bit of oul respect sure we would never lose a game – in Rellersland Cork are never beaten by a better team  - there has to be another reason and the CB are always part of that reason. And in Reillersland everyone knows that all other counties have perfect CBs, unlimited funds and are "light years" (mandatory cliché!!) ahead of their CB.

Unfortunately some like Orangeman, BudWiser and myself do not live in Rellersland but in the real world. IN this world lots of things happen that we do not like such as losing. Also in the real world we sometimes have to accept democratic verdicts even though we know well that "we know best". And part of coping with reality if you are involved in the GAA is realising that you cannot always have perfection. The CB will always fall short of your ideals even if you are part of that CB yourself. You realise that the GAA is composed of people who give up their spare time to do what is largely boring and thankless work so that the Association can continue and that young people will have the joy and thrill of playing what are great games.  Increasingly it is becoming more and more difficult to get people to become involved in administration and to take up any positions at club or divisional level. There are few enough who seek this oft quoted "power" that is supposed to be what officials are interested in.

In the current dispute the players and their supporters need to constantly portray the problem as one that centres around the CB since their argument about selecting the manager has been lost. An agreed process for selecting the manager was in place and was followed and the players did not get what they wanted. Tough but that's democracy. They now realise this and are trying to portray this as a far more nobler fight for the future of Cork hurling – here are the modern equivalent of the West Cork Brigade taking on the might of the empire. And they are doing all of this for the future of Cork hurling that is now dying on its feet and if they do not strike (pardon the pun) the mortal blow now then we will all be subjected to another 700 years of tyranny. The problem for the Reillersland boys is that there are more than a few flaws in their arguments. Lets say Gerald had retired as manager and someone acceptable to the players was installed. Now the CB would still be largely the same, the same structures would be in place, etc. Would the players and all others in Rellersland be up in arms about the demise of Cork hurling and giving us their doomsday forecasts? And if things are so bad why as honourable men did they not walk away a few years back rather than giving legitimacy to this regime that is trying to destroy Cork hurling. Surely that would be the honourable thing to do.

There are lots of shortcomings with the GAA in Cork as in most other counties. Most of these shortcomings arise from the nature of the organisation – volunteer based, a few people trying to do too much and while easy to get a consensus on what is wrong not always easy to get agreement on what to do to put it right. The GAA is increasingly stretched in terms of resources – people to help and financially. At county level the increased focus on county teams has implications both financially and in terms of club competitions – leading to a large fall away in people playing the games after underage level. These challenges face all CBs, Divisional Boards and clubs and are not easily solved. Broader problems also face the GAA in general that make it more difficult to operate an amateur organisation in today's world.  There are indeed some Cork specific problems that the CB executive and players have both contributed to – perhaps not deliberately but nevertheless problems have been created that have damaged the GAA in Cork and will take time to resolve. The CB have been slow to recognise that change is needed in the way one deals and relates with players, The players have been all too petulant each and every time an issue has arisen and have left very little space for sorting out problems. There is also the GPA issue that whether one likes it or not has been part and parcel of all the disputes.

I hope this dispute can be resolved but if the players refuse to even attend talks then I am pessimistic as to what can be done. If the CB force Ger Mac to resign in order to settle the problem then the whole basis of the GAA and what it stands for will have changed. It would be an easy way to solve the problem but the wrong one. If the players enter talks then I suggest that for the future the CB agree that the selection of the manager is left to a sub-committee that does not contain either representative of the executive or of the players. The players would agree that they would take no further action that would inhibit Gerald from carrying out his role as manager – if players are not comfortable to play under him then they opt out on an individual basis.
Reillers your point re the Pairc Ui Caoimh is somewhat tangential to this debate. Yes the Park is desperately in need of renovation and I understand that there are various plans for its development with a lot of different views as to what should be done. Again no simple solution as there is a reluctance to spend money on necessary repair now if in a year or two a major redevelopment takes place.

Im afraid I do not have time or motivation to contribute regularly to this debate. Like most people I have a job to do and a family to look after. Plus from next week I will be doing my bit at club level – meetings, fund raising and training some kids on a Saturday morning. I would gladly swap for the days when I was young and fit enough to play and enjoy the games. Maybe someone should remind the players that this is sport after all.