Fogarty Forum: Debt of gratitude owed to Eugene McGee
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Before “Amhrán na bhFiann” marked the end of last Saturday’s Special Congress, GAA president Jarlath Burns requested the present Football Review Committee (FRC) members come to the top of the conference hall in the Hogan Stand and called for a round of applause.
“I’m going to ask them all to come up now and stand – we have never done this before – so we can pay tribute to each one of them,” said Burns, before reading out all of members’ names. “To those of you still in the building, I think it’s important that we all demonstrate our gratitude to you for the work that you have done.”
After a Congress where all 18 votes covering the 49 motions passed, 14 of them receiving over 90% support, Burns’ call was understandable. He noted some of them were shy to come up but as some of them pointed out afterwards they would be more inclined to accept praise in 11 or 12 months’ time when there are votes to make rule changes permanent.
Next year will the fourth Special Congress in six years. Not so special as it is made out but that aside and the fact other gatherings like that in Cork in 2019 backed the entire suite of motions (just five on that occasion) Saturday was an extraordinary day.
FRC chairman Jim Gavin gave a masterful presentation before each vote. He had his obair bhaile done and perhaps has given the top table ideas about how to articulate centrally-devised motions in the future. Opening it up to the floor, he said he was happy to answer delegates’ questions. Not that he was gagging dissenters, but the way he framed the debate, he was not anticipating opposition, merely queries.
In the press conference afterwards, Burns was keen to allow Gavin and his fellow members take centre stage – “This is the day belonging to FRC, not me. They are the people who deserve the questions as opposed to me” – but Gavin too would appreciate there were many fathers of this interim success.
The solo-and-go was a Dessie Farrell idea over 10 years ago. FRC member Éamonn Fitzmaurice has for some time now espoused the merits of confining three outfield players from each team to a part of the field. The clock/hooter was twice put forward by Wexford club Clonard and passed yet never implemented.
The original FRC, led by the late Eugene McGee of which Gavin’s old Dublin team-mate and selector Declan Darcy was a member, also recommended the clock/hooter 11 years ago.
Returning to their report, it’s obvious just how influential they were on the present body. It was they who first called for the ball be brought forward more than 13 metres for delaying or dissent. On Saturday, Special Congress agreed to the 50m advancement put forward by Gavin’s body although London chairman John Doyle suggested it was “punitive”. McGee’s committee proposed 30m.
From next year’s Allianz Leagues, a player who has fouled must hand the ball over to their opponent. The first FRC laid the groundwork for that measure. “The FRC also proposes that, in addition to the existing rules, if the player who commits a foul has the ball he must place the ball on the ground immediately and retreat the required distance,” their document read.
"Failure to do so should attract a 30m sanction.” McGee’s group never got around to devising a 40m scoring arc as their successors have. That’s not to say they didn’t consider it.
“It was suggested by some focus group attendees and a minority of stakeholders that a zone be created 35 to 40 metres from goal, so that points kicked from outside this zone would be doubly rewarded, i.e. a ball kicked over the bar from outside that distance would be worth two points rather than one.”
It was also McGee’s FRC that recommended a referees’ recruitment drive among recently-retired players “be pursued with some urgency”. As the need for independent linesmen or line umpires as they are to be known has escalated because of the new FRC’s rule changes, such pleas will be repeated by counties.
As for public clock/hooter, they envisioned them in all grounds where provincial and All-Ireland games were played in 2013 “and rolled out thereafter as practicable”. That wiggle room seems a lot more realistic than the current plan for every club ground to have a public clock and hooter system installed before March 31.
At the weekend, the black card in Gaelic football was extended to punish a player who holds up an opponent. Its absence had been an anomaly in the prescribed list of sin bin offences, although McGee’s FRC had initially proposed all yellow card offences warrant mandatory substitutions.
It was appropriate that former GAA president Liam O’Neill who appointed McGee 12 years ago endorsed the new FRC’s work on Saturday. McGee, who passed away five years ago, would have been proud too.
What an opportunity the GAA’s Higher Education Committee seem to have missed in not adopting the new rules for the Sigerson and Trench Cups in January and February.
The curiosity about them being played before the Allianz Football League especially when there are no pre-season competitions would have considerable. Instead, there will be awkward scenarios for footballers having to operate under two sets of rules within days of each other.
There remains a strong market for pre-league matches bearing the likes of the two-point score and the new advantage rule. As the “Irish Examiner” reported last week, some counties want to exploit it by making challenge games open to the public.
Managers, though, could be the flies in the ointment. As Football Review Committee (FRC) chairman Jim Gavin noted on Saturday, “I think that would be fantastic, wouldn't it? We'd all love to see it. As a former inter-county manager, I'm not sure if I'd be well into that, but I think that would be great.” FRC member and former Clare manager Colm Collins spoke of how the rules will persuade supporters from the west of the county to go to Cusack Park from early next year.
“It was quite obvious that people were voting with their feet. Where traditionally, at the start of the year, it was the signal for get the warm clothes on and off we go up to Ennis. People weren't going. So that was the thing. Can we get people to want to go to this because it was something to enjoy.” This past year, the GAA estimated their gate receipts for the Allianz Leagues were down approximately 7% from 2023 when their total was just over €7 million, €4.82m of which were provided by the football fixtures. The novelty of these new rules coupled with the most competitive season in years should reverse that in 2025 but the sooner supporters are exposed to the changes, the better.
Some may describe as cynical the launch of the GAA-commissioned economic impact and social value report one day before a General Election. We would consider it timely.
When the FAI have commendably upped their game in terms of lobbying the various political parties so much so that the development of soccer is a tenet in The Labour Party’s manifesto, the GAA were only right to promote the fact they are worth €2.87 billion to the Irish economy.
The criteria and parameters for coming to that figure are clearly and logically set out in the report that was independently supervised by Sheffield Hallam University. In 2023, it was announced the League of Ireland contributed over €164 million to it and that figure is rising.
On Saturday, GAA president Jarlath Burns spoke of that €2.87bn figure and how useful it will be in the Association seeking future funding from the State. “We are now serious influencers with a proper metric to back that up, and I will give you the guarantee that myself and the Ard Stiúrthóir (Tom Ryan) and Coiste Bainisti (Management Committee) will use that to influence decisions that are made around our country and Irish society.
“When a new government is formed, I promise that the GAA will be right at the heart of the decision-making where we belong.” As more ministers look with a fair degree of sense to municipal facilities as solutions in Irish sport, the worth of the GAA’s cohesion powers and revenue-generating clout shouldn’t be underestimated or taken for granted. Thanks to last week’s report, they shouldn’t be.