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GAA is primarily about identity. Without that sense of place, it’s just another sports organization.
Identity is the cultural engine behind everything. We rejoice when we beat certain counties by what we think it says about us and by how we feel about them.
We are proud of the accomplishments of the people where we are from, who wear the colors we have worn and supported.
Few experiences in life elicit the same extremes of emotion as supporting your county. Few in my life can compare to playing for Dublin.
And when we come together to celebrate, commiserate, or discuss, it’s not just like fans of a soccer or hurling team. It’s about our county, our club. Our people.
Rightly or wrongly, we see ourselves differently when we win and feel that pang of failure, frustration, or pain when we don’t.
We harbor ridiculous preconceptions about players or fans or people from different countries because it suits our own narrative and the stories we like to tell ourselves.
‘Such or such crowd is windy’ or ‘those guys are full of themselves’ or whatever.
The day that dynamic is removed from the GAA, whether by dividing one county or merging others, will be the day the GAA effectively sacrifices its soul.
Shortly after Pat Gilroy took over as manager in 2009, he took us to the Poolbeg Lighthouse on Sandymount Strand.
It was a clear day and in one direction, you could see as far as Dalkey on the deep south side of town. To the north, you could see the coast and the town of Sutton.
It might sound a bit silly, but Pat wanted to remember who we were, the Dublin football team, the place and the people we represented every time we played and coached. And it resonated with many guys.
It is a privilege to play for Dublin. You happily give him your life while you can.
I represented Dublin, the county. Not on Navan Road, where my club is. Or Castleknock, where I live.
But all of Dublin. North side. South side. Inner city. The plot.
And I can guarantee you that wearing that jersey meant as much to me as any player who ever wore his county colors.
No one has the right to take that privilege away from this generation or any future generation of Dublin footballers or pitchers.
So what is the problem here? If the main problem is the victory of the Dublin footballers, stop playing all your games at Croke Park. End your obsession with the provincial system at championships and turn it into an open draw or group / knockout competition without geographical stipulations.
Have a competition where they are likely to play at Omagh or Killarney or Castlebar in the first round than at Croke Park.
And it funds counties that are struggling to make ends meet.
I saw Kevin McStay’s proposal that Croke Park should cover the travel and food expenses of county teams and I couldn’t agree more – no county board should be forced to cut those kinds of costs or dip into their budgets development so your players are properly fed and reimbursed.
But what practical effect would the division of Dublin have?
Who would benefit? Let’s be honest about this. The answer is Kerry and Mayo. It would do nothing for the weaker counties. Nothing.
Will Division 2, 3 and 4 teams suddenly rise up just because Dublin doesn’t exist in their competitions?
And what value would an All-Ireland without Dublin have for Mayo or Kerry? Not quite a lot, I imagine.
So what is the point? I accept that people will find it difficult to see right now, but Dublin will be defeated.
It may not happen next week. But it will happen. I am absolutely convinced of that.
I have no doubt that they will continue to compete against All-Irelands for the next decade due to the quality of the players, the management and the system, but it is highly unlikely that they will remain undefeated for the next three or four years.
And I understand that there is a sense of injustice right now, that people feel that Dublin is being given an unfair advantage.
But the question of financing is infinitely complex and, at the moment, it is presented as simplistic.
If you took all the money Dublin receives from Croke Park and divided it among the rest of the country, all it would do is stop the growth of gambling numbers in the largest population center and leave many county boards with money that doesn’t. would receive. know where to invest properly.
That will not happen. It’s an incredibly narrow way of looking at GAA. Central intervention is required. No doubt.
If that means appointing full-time CEOs in five or six counties with the structural potential to take the next step, well, let’s start with that.
Establish systems, a path for the elite players, a general training plan for the county, so that they can create a culture that sustains them. Because that’s what it takes, not dividing Dublin.
That will never happen in my life. It would be a disaster for the GAA, the beginning of the end of the inter-county game, and toxic contamination of the way we define ourselves as GAA people.
Proponents must be careful what they wish for.
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