Drumcullen GAA offered to cede young children to Kinnitty – Toni Ryan

DRUMCULLEN GAA offered to cede the three children at the centre of a parish rule row with Kinnitty and will put this offer on the table again if it will solve the impasse, their chairman Toni Ryan said this week.

He was speaking about a stand-off between Drumcullen and Kinnitty GAA Clubs over the legality of young players in the Knockbarron and Droughtville townslands – the townslands are in Drumcullen parish but the three young hurlers, two of them U-13 and one U-17, at the centre of the current dispute want to play with Kinnitty.

They have been suspended for three months by the Offaly GAA County Board for playing illegally for Kinnitty-Lusmagh last year.

A mediation process has taken place between the clubs over the past couple of years but agreement could not be reached. Drumcullen offered to cede those players during the mediation process and again at the January Competitions Control Committee meeting where the players were suspended. Stating that this offer would have to be sanctioned at a full Drumcullen GAA meeting, Mr Ryan said they would put it back on the table if it solved things but he stressed that they would not agree to lose any other players or families in this area.

“We just want a line drawn in the sand on this. This has been going on since 1989. I thought our offer was fair. Let them hurl where they have started. Kinnitty turned it down and I couldn't believe that. I was very surprised.”

He spoke about the decline in population in their parish and their desire to cater for every hurler in their catchment area. “The heartbeat of a rural community is the GAA club. If you move into a parish you should be supporting the parish and in much of rural Offaly, that is supporting the GAA. You will have other families saying they want to hurl with Kinnitty as well. The pressure is on rural clubs. With new planning guidelines, there is less and less young lads.”

Mr Ryan also stressed the importance of Knockbarron to them and the cherished role it holds in Drumcullen and Eglish parish. “Knockbarron is the most densely populated part of the parish. It has 50-odd houses. Drumcullen means hill of holly, that name comes from Knockbarron. I understand that Kinnitty don't want to turn Kinnitty people away but we had a member inside Birr parish who wanted his son to play with us. We said no. I lived in Tullamore for a few years and fully accepted that my sons would play there. We were lucky enough to get a site and move back out to Drumcullen.”

He pointed out the extent of the Drumcullen-Eglish parish border with it running into Lidl on the Birr town side and also bordering Kilcormac-Killoughey and Seir Kieran. “We have never had any issue, only with Kinnitty. Either it is a rule or it is not a rule, let the GAA make a call on it. If it is not a rule, we will go hunting then for any lad with a Drumcullen past,” he remarked.

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Mr Ryan also spoke in favour of the parish rule and the protection it offers small rural clubs. “Rules are rules and we have to get on with it. Those three players were offered to Kinnitty and Kinnitty turned it down. We tried to get the County Board to mediate. I don't want to see young lads not hurling. This has to stop. We just don't have the numbers. What happens when these lads grow up and build in that area. They will want their lads playing with Kinnitty and it continues on down the line.

“They didn't accept what we offered. I thought it was a fair response. We would have to ratify it but we probably would to get peace. We need to find common ground and everyone has to give a little bit. We tried mediation and held a number of meetings but couldn't find a solution. I have had a number of phone calls from people who were not aware we offered to allow those three kids to continue playing with Kinnitty.

“We don't have enough people living in our parish to compete. If the parish rule goes, rural clubs will die away eventually. All the better hurlers will go to the Birrs, St Rynagh's, Kilcormac-Killougheys and all rural clubs will be junior clubs. You should give your lot to the community you are in. If that is not for you, I suggest you don't build in that community. We want common sense to prevail.

“Knockbarron is a special place for us. We got our name from there and it has 52 houses. There are players there who went to school in Kinnitty and hurled with Drumcullen.

“This needs to close, we just want closure. Rural clubs have enough to be doing without squabbling over stuff like this. We want to be putting our time into kids and leave it at that. Once that is done, we can draw a line in the sand over it and get on with what we should be doing which is hurling.”