Testing times ahead for Tipperary GAA as operations countrywide continue to expand

Remember the old musical song from the seventies, ‘Money makes the world go round’. Well, it certainly oils the wheels of the GAA machine and has become topical again recently with the Association President, Jarlath Burns, suggesting that county team managers may need to be put on contract and paid an official wage in the future.

His comments have added fuel to an ongoing debate around unofficial payments to managers, not just of inter-county teams but of club sides also. Everyone knows it’s happening and at times you hear wild stories – probably exaggerated - about the sums involved. So far, it’s an issue the association has been either unable or unwilling to properly tackle.

It has become part of a culture within the organisation and cultural practices, as we know, can be notoriously difficult to change.

It was ex-president, Peter Quinn, who famously said that when they tried to address under-the-table payments to managers, they couldn’t even find the table. Peter Quinn’s presidential term ended thirty years ago in 1994, so the problem isn’t new.

Jarlath Burns’ comments are, in a sense, an admission of failure. Something illegal is going on but since we can’t stop it then let’s legalise it, bring it out of the shadows and regularise the process. It’s probably the direction events will take.

Actually introducing contracts and regularising payments to managers is unlikely to fully solve that problem either. You might still have top-up payments being made behind the scenes to entice managers on board. Maybe eventually the culture will change, but in the meantime, we have to live with stories of big payouts to managers at all levels of the association.

Money and money-related matters are topical in Tipperary too. The accounts presented at Convention last year showed a working deficit of over €78,000 for the 2023 year with significant increases in many areas of operation. There will be much interest in the figures that appear at this year’s AGM to see if there’s a lessening or worsening of the situation.

Some of last year’s figures were astounding. Remember 2023 was a barren year for the county at all levels, yet the cost of mileage paid to players increased from 2022 by almost 70%, up to a figure of €296,888.

There was a similar increase under the heading ‘team manager and selectors’, though strangely the senior hurling management was the least expensive of the lot. It cost €41,311 whereas the corresponding figure for football was €56,525.

Actually, the minor and U20 managers and selectors, hurling and football combined, cost €91,489.

The size of backroom teams is often an item of comment so it’s interesting to see how much they cost according to the published accounts. The senior hurling backroom team cost the Board a whopping €121,920 in 2023. The corresponding figure for senior football was €65,963 while the underage panels cost €180,980.

These are eye-watering figures and give some sense of the scale of operation nowadays. Overall team administration in 2023 cost Tipperary County Board almost 2 million, which was an increase of 27% on the 2022 figure.

Apart from the figures themselves, it was the levels of increase which were mindboggling and went entirely without a query from delegates at the meeting.

Clearly the position presented last year is unsustainable, so there will be keen interest in seeing how matters develop in 2024.

Against this background, various fundraising initiatives are being pursued at the moment. The raffle of a house has an ambitious target of 20,000 subscribers, and the proceeds will be ringfenced for training facilities.

Semple Stadium, according to estimates, needs an investment of over 3 million to refurbish and update the facility. Funds will be forthcoming from central and provincial councils but only if there’s a matching local contribution. Development of the centre of excellence at Tipperary Institute also needs major input from the County Board.

There’s no doubt it’s a challenging time financially. The recruiting of Coolmore as sponsors of the County Board App and with naming rights for Dr. Morris Park was a welcome development. It’s a world-renowned brand, which has already contributed generously to other units locally and has now officially endorsed Tipperary GAA with this move.

Still, there are testing times ahead as the sheer scale of GAA operations continues to expand. The players may still be amateur but everything else is drifting more and more towards professionalism.

Meanwhile, the playing pitches continue to buzz with activity as we head towards November. Interesting at the weekend to see St. Thomas’s in Galway surrender their titles to Cappataggle. The winners have never won the Galway senior crown and now face Loughrea in the decider. Goalie, James Skehill, is probably their best-known player.

In Kilkenny too there’s a changed landscape with Thomastown ousting reigning champions O’Loughlin Gaels - and doing it very comprehensively. The winners only won promotion from Intermediate last year, so this rates as rapid expansion. Mind you they did win the All-Ireland intermediate title last season so they came up with strong momentum. John Donnelly, it seems, played a key role in their win, which is the club’s second senior title following their initial win way back in 1946.

There was another notable achievement in Limerick where Doon finally broke their duck. A tough, rugged decider played in poor conditions went right to the edge with Adam English pointing the winner from a free. When he subsequently missed another free shot to make the lead a more secure two points, I feared that extra time would result. Luckily for Doon they held out for a famous win.
Getting over the line for that first win is always torturous. As well as the physical barrier there’s also a psychological one. Remember their last final appearance was four years back in 2020 when they were eviscerated by Na Piarsaigh. They were beaten that day by 27 points, so exorcising the demons can’t have been easy.

They lost four finals previously but they have a strong background of underage achievement, including three-in-a-row county U21 titles in 2019/21. The breakthrough was due, but getting there is never easy. Adam English was their main man, strong especially I thought in that first half when they leaked two goals and had to show great resolve to get back into it. Barry Murphy was another big contributor to the win.

Meanwhile, Cashel K.C. launch their Munster intermediate bid next Sunday with a visit to Newcastle West. Our record in club competitions is poor, so we’ll look for progress here. Lorrha went out to Corofin of Clare last year; Castlelyons of Cork won the Munster title and Thomastown took the All-Ireland.

I don’t know much about the Limerick champions but they obviously showed solid credentials in defeating Garryspillane in the county final last Sunday. I’d associate the West Limerick club more with football. They were senior football champions for three-in-a-row from 2021/23 before losing a semi-final to Adare this time.

That has left them concentrating on hurling, which might mean trouble for Cashel. I often think successful football teams can make for awkward hurling opponents. They bring extra physicality and athleticism to the game, especially at this time of the year when grounds are more challenging. Cashel will need to be ready for the test.

Also, in action this weekend will be Moyle Rovers junior hurling side who take on Kilgarvan of Kerry. Fortunately, the game is billed for Ardfinnan, which will ensure home support for the Tipp champions.

Kilgarvan are the Kerry intermediate champions and they’ve history with Moyle Rovers, losing to the Tipp champions in the 2007 Munster junior semi-final. Rovers went on to win the provincial title that year but lost the All-Ireland to Conahy Shamrocks of Kilkenny.

Good luck to both Tipperary clubs at the weekend.