8 hours Ago
The GAA at senior or inter-county level no longer has amateur status. Its approach is highly professional in its use of coaches, managers and backroom staff, including strength and conditioning people. Our county players, who sacrifice so much for their sport in their work and family lives, are not remunerated in the way we see with other professional sports people, in soccer and rugby, for example.
The GAA itself, and those at the top of the organisation, not only rely on sponsorship, but on government grants, gate receipts and other funds to ensure all levels of the game, be it hurling, camogie and football, are well represented and funded. While every person who wears a club or county jersey is excited and honoured to do so, the level of fitness, training, dedication, focus and even diet has now surpassed the status of an “amateur” sport. Figures released last month show the average player at county level gets a players’ grant in the region of €1,471 for male players while female players receive €920.
When one considers the time, effort and dedication spent both on and off the training fields and at competition level, those figures highlight the need for radical reform of a game that has become professional in all but name. We should never forget the many wonderful volunteers who spend so much time at local level enhancing and promoting this wonderful sport and who, out of loyalty and love for the game, do it for the most noble of reasons. They are the backbone of the GAA.
Those at the top tier of the organisation who make decisions and shape policy need to begin remunerating these ‘professional’ players with the financial resources that make up for lost wages, days off for training, taking of annual leave and so on. The world of sport has changed and the GAA, like any other sporting organisation, needs to change with it. Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal Protests like that at Big Ben do nothing to advance message getting across The young man who climbed Big Ben at the weekend and was arrested and charged for his pro-Palestinian protest created a lot of disturbance and inconvenience and endangered himself as well as those who rescued him.
There have been any number of protests over this issue already at ground level. As a person who went on many protests in my youth and took part in union strikes when I was working, I knew that in the long run the message is the important part. Stunts and chaos end up with the media covering them and sensationalising them, rather than talking about the message itself.
Keep spreading your message, but make sure it is heard above the background noise. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne Arts Council has questions to answer over its funding of a convicted con artist I see that serial fraudster Samantha Cookes’ funding applications were considered by the Arts Council on “artistic merit” and she secured €36,250 in Arts Council grants between 2021 and 2022. Does this mean the Arts Council is now supporting con artists? Frank Schnittger, Blessington, Co Wicklow In debate over censorship, we should look no farther than the Catholic Church Mary Stewart asks who decides what is “extreme speech” with regards to online censorship and content moderation (Letters, March 11).
The simple answer to that question is: someone with an agenda. For example, and as outlined in Adrian Weckler’s original article: “Facebook, Instagram and other Meta entities would scrap sections of its content-moderation set-up in favour of a Musk-style ‘Community Notes’ system that allows more extreme speech, particularly from the Musk-Trump end of the political spectrum on issues such as transgender rights.” In a subsequent article, a group of businesses that address women’s health issues has accused Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, along with LinkedIn, Google and Amazon of “systemic bias and discrimination” against women’s health content (‘Tech giants accused of censorship for blocking adverts on women’s health’, Irish Independent March 10).
Perhaps, though, the organisation with the greatest capacity for censorship was the Catholic Church. Whether it was anything to do with sex or women’s reproductive rights or even blasphemy, the church is right up there with Musk, Trump and Zuckerberg. Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry Schools can make a splash if eating fish is as good for children as we’re told it is Reflecting on my time as a school principal, I now realise my mistake.
Instead of Saturday detentions, I should have been serving fish suppers. Research suggests children who eat plenty of fish are not only better behaved but kinder (Children who eat fish regularly more likely to be sociable’, March 11). Just imagine a school running on goodwill powered by omega-3.
If fish is the key to good behaviour, perhaps the Department of Education should scrap detentions in favour of fish counters and supply every school with a deep fryer. It would go down well on a Friday. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh Government needs to start elsewhere before foisting water charges on public Regarding your front page story from yesterday, ‘Water charges on way back as wastage targeted’, I understand householders could face charges for excessive water use this year.
Now that really is “taking the leak”, without using a more apt word. Surely the powers that be can’t be serious after the miserable wet winters we have been drowning in with water, water everywhere. Could the Government please sort out wastage in the pipes underground before targeting householders.
? Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18 Roll up, roll up: new Old Trafford plans feel like the circus has come to town Manchester United’s new stadium plans were the subject of much chat yesterday. Many noted the resemblance of the proposed development to a giant circus tent. Forget about sending in the clowns – they’re already there.
Daniel Callinan, Dublin 20.
