Sean Og wants pay for play

[Milltown Row2]

well, if it ever comes in then I'll walk away from the sport. spent too many nights and weekends knocking my pan in for the club for some 'c**k' to want his share of the money. I've been out of pocket for years playing taking players and trips away with th club. never asked for a penny (well i did get a referee outfit) have never got any money refereeing as well!!

he has been trained and given a free 'professional' training plan sincethe started to play for their local clubs

i would not entertain them and not watch them play. 

[Tatler Jack]

IS there not a counter argument that players should pay to play!!  Think of all the enjoyment they get, faciltiies provided, training since they were kids and the chance to play in front of big crowds and in stadia like Croker. Outside of playing there are lots of other benefits - free drink, swooning women, etc.

Maybe we are looking at the pay for play the wrong way around!!

[Logan]

IS there not a counter argument that players should pay to play!!  Think of all the enjoyment they get, faciltiies provided, training since they were kids and the chance to play in front of big crowds and in stadia like Croker. Outside of playing there are lots of other benefits - free drink, swooning women, etc.

Maybe we are looking at the pay for play the wrong way around!!

If you were mean you might say Mayo people have a strong case there! 
(Sorry! Couldn't resist)

[Zulu]

Dual code would work fine.

I don't think it would because you're asking the same fans to support both 'teams', for example if you had an Ulster team in hurling and two Ulster teams in football, who support the Ulster hurling team that will be weak enough or populated by Kilkenny, tipp and Cork men? The same would be true of a Connacht or North Leinster hurling team, as would be the case down South in football, If Tipp were a stand alone hurling team why would many Tipp supporters follow a Munster or midlans football team? It is expensive and time consuming following a team, especially a professional one, which would have to play 15 to 20 games a year to fund itself, who is going to go to 40 games between hurling and football? Even just to get all the games in a calander year they'd have to play both codes on many weekends, so people wouldn't be able to get to both even if they wanted to.

Rugby works because they play foreign teams so we can all get behind them and they have a huge potential support base. Imagine the scenario if the IRFU were trying to promote both rugby league and union and were asking the same people to support both? It wouldn't work and nor would a professional football and hurling league/championship. The only possible way to have a professional GAA would be to do it for football and retain the county structures as much as possible. Allow 2-4 transfers and maybe have almagamation teams for the smaller midland counties. and even then I'm kind of shelving a few realities that would make that unrealistic also but it would at least give you a chance of retaining the fan base.

[theskull1]

well, if it ever comes in then I'll walk away from the sport. spent too many nights and weekends knocking my pan in for the club for some 'c**k' to want his share of the money. I've been out of pocket for years playing taking players and trips away with th club. never asked for a penny (well i did get a referee outfit) have never got any money refereeing as well!!

he has been trained and given a free 'professional' training plan sincethe started to play for their local clubs

i would not entertain them and not watch them play.

+1
People who make clubs tick would have nothing to do with it. And theres your house of cards right there.

[longrunsthefox]

Would you pay Antrim for that performance last week? a decent club team would have beaten them.

[Milltown Row2]

Is a bloody crazy situation that we have so called Gaels on here wanting to give inflated egos money to run around a pitch and play a sport which is a amateur sport.

no one makes any real money. if you want a job in Gaa then become a coach for the Gaa. teach school kids and work for the clubs to keep this tradition alive, but to claim that  your the one thats bring 80 thousand people to Croke, and you deserve money for that is ridiculous, that something that people have been doing for over 100 years!!!! and hopefully for an other 100 years

[Reillers]

It's been said 100 times over by many, many people, that the GAA is professional in everything but name. Everytime this debate comes up there's a knocking of heads. Why? Because there will always be resistance because work at clubs is just as important as what happened in IC level and it would make the sport in ways more elite.

What the point of talking about going down this road is, I don't know. It will never happen, the money isn't there.

Do I want it to happen, GAA go pro?? No.
But I don't think that's what he meant. And this isn't the Premiership it could never be, and I'd hate it to be like that.

And to be fair, if you asked any GAA player, club to IC level, anyone, would they like to get paid for playing GAA, of course they would. It'd make their life a hell of a lot easier, you've so many IC and club players out of work. And I guarantee you that Sean Og is not alone out there in saying what he did, and fair play for Sean Og for his honesty.

I think what he meant and what people are taking he meant are two different things.
We're not talking about it turning into the Premiership. That'd be sickening to say the least, and it would never happen, and that's the truth of it.


Semi professional, would be something, like Donal Og said on the interview on the Late Late a few months ago, that the AI final between Tipp and KK, you wouldn't see a greater spectacle this year, you wouldn't find many people who'd have a problem giving 5%, about €3.75 of a ticket that cost €75, to an organisation that helps those players if they get into difficulty, medically, financially, psychologically, help with school, injuries etc. I'm not sure you'd have found many people in there that would have a problem with that.

Would ye?

Ya it's different to professional system, and getting paid for play, but the point stands. At the end of the day, just a simple question, taking out everything else, the clubs, the volunteer attitude, everything. Would people have a problem seeing a certain amount of gate money going to the players or a players association?


The GAA in many ways in outdated, a lot of things need to be changed, the treatment of the clubs, CBs, the way things are run in many counties, the underage set up, the schedules of the games. A lot of things. A lot of things need changing, but paying for play isn't one of those things, treatment of players needs to be looked at, I mean the lists go on and on, but not pay for play.

Don't pay them, don't make it pro, it'd take away from the GAA, what it is, what it stands for.

They wont and I don't think that's what he meant either, but I could be wrong, but it'd go a long way if the GAA worked out a way to treat everyone IC players and clubs included, a hell of a lot better. Make life just a little bit easier.

And while you've guys dedicating their lives to clubs and putting in so much time and hours and sacrifices into the club, the GAA wouldn't run without them, without the volunteers putting in the time they do the GAA couldn't function and I'm not questioning that for a second.

But the IC players weren't treated well for a long time, they were treated with very little to no respect by the GAA, and that needed to change and it has a bit, and for me while I wouldn't want to see pay for play, I wouldn't have a problem seeing a few bob go to the players, and because of that players like Eoin Cadogan or Joe Canning a little extra help with be it financial/medical/education/psychological help..etc.

I don't think many people would deny them that. If they did, well, it'd just show me a lot of people with a lot of biterness.

[Minder]

I remember there was a programme about Sean Og and the brothers a couple of years ago and he was always banging on about being stuck "in da benk" all week while the other two were in Australia as professional athletes.

[Reillers]

Is a bloody crazy situation that we have so called Gaels on here wanting to give inflated egos money to run around a pitch and play a sport which is a amateur sport.

no one makes any real money. if you want a job in Gaa then become a coach for the Gaa. teach school kids and work for the clubs to keep this tradition alive, but to claim that  your the one thats bring 80 thousand people to Croke, and you deserve money for that is ridiculous, that something that people have been doing for over 100 years!!!! and hopefully for an other 100 years

Would you have a problem of, say €3.75 of a 75 euro ticket for the AI final going to a player who put in that type of performance?
Would you have a problem with €3.75 going to Henry Shefflin after playing like that in an AI final?

[Reillers]

I remember there was a programme about Sean Og and the brothers a couple of years ago and he was always banging on about being stuck "in da benk" all week while the other two were in Australia as professional athletes.

Would you not think of only if you were in his situation, but stuck "in da benk" all week, while 2 of your brothers were living it up in Australia as pro athletes.

[INDIANA]

Is a bloody crazy situation that we have so called Gaels on here wanting to give inflated egos money to run around a pitch and play a sport which is a amateur sport.

no one makes any real money. if you want a job in Gaa then become a coach for the Gaa. teach school kids and work for the clubs to keep this tradition alive, but to claim that  your the one thats bring 80 thousand people to Croke, and you deserve money for that is ridiculous, that something that people have been doing for over 100 years!!!! and hopefully for an other 100 years

Would you have a problem of, say €3.75 of a 75 euro ticket for the AI final going to a player who put in that type of performance?
Would you have a problem with €3.75 going to Henry Shefflin after playing like that in an AI final?

Yep I would. Reward the elite Reillers. Forget about the poor sods in Carlow and these places. Then again thats the GPA and the Cork hurlers all over isn't it? At least if you're going to promote professionlism Donal at least do it properly.

[Reillers]

Is a bloody crazy situation that we have so called Gaels on here wanting to give inflated egos money to run around a pitch and play a sport which is a amateur sport.

no one makes any real money. if you want a job in Gaa then become a coach for the Gaa. teach school kids and work for the clubs to keep this tradition alive, but to claim that  your the one thats bring 80 thousand people to Croke, and you deserve money for that is ridiculous, that something that people have been doing for over 100 years!!!! and hopefully for an other 100 years

Would you have a problem of, say €3.75 of a 75 euro ticket for the AI final going to a player who put in that type of performance?
Would you have a problem with €3.75 going to Henry Shefflin after playing like that in an AI final?

Yep I would. Reward the elite Reillers. Forget about the poor sods in Carlow and these places. Then again thats the GPA and the Cork hurlers all over isn't it? At least if you're going to promote professionlism Donal at least do it properly.

I said ignore everything else. Forget about all of that, would you have a problem seeing  about €4 of your money of that €75 ticket going towards the players or something that helped out the players, players that include IC players, Carlow included.
But like I said, it'd take a bitter person to deny them that.

[theskull1]

I wouldn't go Reillers and I wouldn't watch it ont telly either

Forget everything else.....the GPA love to live in this intercounty bubble don't they

[Tatler Jack]

would you have a problem seeing  about €4 of your money of that €75 ticket going towards the players

I would Reillers because I don't support professionalism. But maybe you don't understand professionalism in the same way as you did not understand veto.

I have no problem in players being well treated as they mostly are but the day IC players are paid is the day I finish my association with the GAA - and I have been involved for well over 40 years.