THE MAN BEHIND THE WIRE: Review of Parish Rule welcome but need for 'independent chairperson' questionable

KINNITTY GAA Club have done the right thing by asking the County Board to set up a committee to review the parish rule.

The parish rule has come onto the table as a source of discussion lately with a few players Drumcullen parish seeking permission to play with Kinnitty while Tullamore have been engaged in a similar tug of war over players in the Cappincur area – a Tullamore appeal was postponed last week and is due to be heard this week.

Some clubs in Offaly have breached the parish rule in recent decades and it is an issue that is not going to go away.

A review of the parish rule is very welcome, though they have also asked that the committee be put in place with an “independent chairperson”. The need for an independent chairperson is questionable and it is something that Offaly GAA has to sort out internally – their proposal for a review committee will be dealt with at a County Board meeting on April 11 as the officers want to give clubs an opportunity to discuss it.

It is not clear yet exactly what Kinnitty have in mind with an independent chairperson. Do they want someone from outside the county or do they want someone from within Offaly but who is not a member of a GAA Club or the County Board? Either way, there are no real grounds for an independent chairperson. A strong, very capable chairperson not weighed under with work in a club or the County Board would be a very good thing but he or she would have to be from the GAA family, fully aware of the landscape in the county. Ultimately, however, the decision will rest with clubs.

The latest issues have created plenty of hassle between Kinnitty and Drumcullen, and Tullamore and Cappincur GAA Clubs and there are very human considerations at play on both sides of the coin here.

An “independent chairperson”, however, suggests the need for a mediator type and there is not a clear requirement for this on a county level.

There is a lot of merit in a parish rule change and adding a parentage amendment, which would allow children to play with the club of a parent, even if in another parish. Other counties have this and it would certainly solve some of the most recent cases involving Cappincur, Tullamore, Kinnitty and Drumcullen – whether it would then stop clubs trying to claim players from outside their parish and honouring the parish rule fully would be its big test.

The parish rule is being tested in all sort of ways at the moment. One club attempted to pull in players from well outside their area, by claiming it applied to Protestant parish boundaries – it clearly relates to the Catholic boundaries. Another club has attempted to secure a transfer of a young player from outside the county on very questionable grounds – it has been turned down by Leinster Council and Croke Park – and you can be sure other tests are imminent. Those cases are very different than most of the recent ones but it shows the way clubs can behave.

The GAA has had such success in Offaly and gained such a sporting foothold in most of its area at least partly because of the parish rule and the strong community ethos this has built up in every area. Any weakening of this is not to be taken lightly but a parentage rule is certainly worth considering. The big fear with a major change is that it will do severe damage to smaller clubs with their best players going to big clubs to further their careers – and they will certainly resist that.

That rule can be added without a review committee and it can certainly be done without an independent chairperson – though it is possible to see some of where Kinnitty are coming from and any committee would have to be chaired by a person outside of them, Drumcullen, Tullamore and Cappincur.

It would be good to have a look at the demographics of clubs in Offaly and this would be an essential part of any review – the population in each area, the number of children in each age group, the possible problems that lie ahead for the smaller clubs. As Offaly and Ireland becomes increasingly urbanised, there are huge challenges for small clubs and many of these would benefit from a parentage type rule.

It may even become necessary in the coming years for some. As population declines in some areas, amalgamations will come onto the table for discussion and the GAA scene in Offaly could be very different in fifty years time than now. The bottom line, however, is that the clubs will decide what happens the parish rule and if any changes will be made. Every club has the right to put in a motion for change to Convention and irrespective of what any committee comes up with, clubs have the say.