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Dublin divided? GAA committee says yes

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Mark Jones

DUBLIN — The division of Dublin into two separate football teams was the most radical proposal to emerge from last weekend’s launch of a wide-ranging report by the GAA’s Strategic Review Committee.

The report recommends that Dublin football be split into North and South, with the River Liffey as a boundary, in a clear message that the current structure is unwieldy and difficult to manage. The SRC is also proposing that two distinct county boards be established and that the two teams be entered into the 2005 All-Ireland football championship.

Prior to that, the SRC recommends, two minor teams would compete in the 2003 Leinster championship, with the two new senior sides taking their places in the 2004 National League. However, hurling in the county would remain unchanged.

While the future of Dublin football is the key talking point of the SRC’s report, which took 20 months to compile and which involved consultation with more than 3,800 interested parties, Dublin delegates will not have the casting vote on this historic initiative when the report is discussed at a Special Congress in early summer. With its traditional emphasis on democracy, the other 31 counties and other groups, such as the North American Board, will have an important say in the destiny of Gaelic football in the Irish capital.

“We don’t want to override Dublin, but this is a national issue,” said SRC chairman Peter Quinn, “and Dublin isn’t just a Dublin problem. It accounts for 30 percent of the state’s population and for 25 percent of the people living on the island. It can’t be considered the preserve of 90 clubs and one county executive. The county may want to vary the proposals, but we do want progress in Dublin.”

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In response to Quinn, there have already been suggestions that Dublin’s lack of success at championship level will hardly be alleviated by splitting the county’s resources down the middle.

“The division is just part of a package,” Quinn said. “We are recommending sizable investment in terms of finance and personnel. We recognize that Dublin needs special attention. It’s a key strategic matter.”

Interestingly, the SRC subcommittee that examined the Dublin issue was chaired by the chairman of the Munster Council, Christy Cooney.

“You must remember that there are 1.4 million people in the region and 2 million will be there in 20 years’ time,” Cooney said. “There is no way one county board is going to manage that. Improvements are necessary and that’s not the fault of the board or clubs.”

The concern that resources in the county are hopelessly insufficient for such a large area is not a new one and the current Dublin football manager, Tommy Lyons, was philosophical about the SRC’s initiative.

“There’s no doubt that Dublin is in crisis because we have one committee trying to run a city with a population of 1.2 million,” he said. “We shouldn’t be frightened of change, and if it ends up as Dublin North and Dublin South, then so be it.”

Quinn was quick to point out that if Dublin South comes into being for the 2004 League and for the following year’s championship, it will have access to Croke Park, which, of course, is on the northside of the city. While the GAA’s democratic procedures will have to come into play, it seems unlikely that any Special Congress would reject the controversial proposal.

“We have already met with the Dublin officers and they were positive,” Quinn said. “That’s not to say they agreed with everything, but they committed themselves to adopting a positive approach in taking it to their clubs. People must remember that even if it is split, Dublin will still be the biggest two counties in terms of population.”

Not surprisingly, the opening of Croke Park to other sports also figured in the SRC’s report. However, while the committee cautiously recommends that Central Council decides on the availability of the stadium for major soccer and rugby games, it doesn’t go as far as backing a repeal of Rule 42.

Equally, having received euro 76 million to date from the Irish government for the redevelopment of Croke Park, the SRC gives a not too subtle thumbs-up to the proposed Stadium Ireland project by stating that a second GAA stadium, “possibly government sponsored,” is needed in Dublin to cater to the expanded All-Ireland championship format.

Meanwhile, on a weekend when former Kerry great and current Kildare manager Mick O’Dwyer called for leading GAA players to be paid, there was little shift on the time-honored amateur status of the association. The issue of players’ earnings is addressed, but there is only the recommendation that they should benefit from commercial endorsements. Also, with player congestion in football a hot topic, the SRC has suggested that a 13-a-side format be introduced for the National Leagues in 2003 and 2004.

The Strategic Review Committee was set up by GAA president Sean McCague when he took office in 2000. The SRC comprised two former presidents in Joe McDonagh and Quinn, along with the four council secretaries as well as several leading business people.

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