The Man Behind the Wire: Offaly GAA Parish Rule needs to be examined but real responsibility lies with clubs

OFFALY GAA Clubs would want to be very wary about making any big changes to one of the county's longest standing laws, the parish rule. It is doubtful if there is any appetite by the majority of them for major changes to a rule that has been the cornerstone of the way Offaly GAA runs it affairs since it was introduced in 1909.

The rule needs to be examined, as Kinnitty GAA chairman Ger Coughlan said last week, tweaks may be both necessary and fair but any fundamental overhaul of the rule would not be in the best interests of many of its clubs and the county as a whole.

Times may have changed drastically since the Parish Rule was instigated in 1909; people in their prime back then would not recognise the Ireland of today. There is some merit in the argument that the parish rule has outlived its usefulness and an alternative needs to be found.

The fabric of Ireland has changed as people pile into big urban centres and rural areas suffer from depopulation. Strict planning guidelines in addition to the desire of people to live in urban settings has created big challenges for the GAA and many of its clubs, especially the small ones.

It also creates challenges for the clubs in the big urban centres to maximise the resources at their disposal

There is, however, no obvious alternative and abolition of the parish rule would lead to trouble for a lot of small clubs. In fact, it could lead to the destruction of some of them and small clubs will not back any big changes to the parish rule – there may be some that will support it and may benefit in the short term from a change but the long term picture has to remain to the forefront. To allow a fundamental overhaul of the parish rule would be like turkeys voting for Christmas with many clubs and it could also lead to problems and issues for many of the bigger clubs.

It is too long there, too long enshrined in Offaly GAA for any big changes to happen at this stage. The parish rule has, however, become a hot topic in recent months and it is not going to go away. More issues are going to come up and they will have to be dealt with. The parish rule needs examination, it may need an addition such as a parentage rule but it also needs to be retained and honoured – and the responsibility for that lies with clubs and the people running them.

It has erupted as a source of debate in recent months thanks to two separate conflicts over eligibility of young players.

It has led to a major standoff between Cappincur and Tullamore GAA Clubs. Things came to a head there when Cappincur queried the status of seven young players living in their catchment area. The Offaly GAA County Board ruled that the parish rule is in force in Offaly, that these seven young players must be registered with Cappincur and that they could not play with Tullamore. This is issue is still ongoing with appeals.

More recently, there has been a big confrontation between Kinnitty and Drumcullen over young players in the Knockbarron and Droughtville townslands – the townslands are in Drumcullen parish but located close to Kinnitty village, where their parents are from and where they go to school. The three young players have been suspended for playing illegally last year and the parents went public last week, expressing their anger and looking for them to be allowed to play with Kinnitty.

There is a very human element involved at the heart of this. The parents at the centre of the Kinnitty-Drumcullen row have very strong links with Kinnitty GAA Club and their children have played there since a young age.

At least some of the parents at the centre of the Cappincur-Tullamore dispute have very strong links with Tullamore and clearly want their children to play there – there is no school in Cappincur with the majority from the area going to Tullamore while some, in the Clonmore-Springfield end go to Ballinagar.

It is very emotional stuff for some of the people involved. They are upset and angry, and they are very sincere in their desire to have their children play where they want.

Their desires and their feelings are legitimate but it is not as simple as giving people what they want. Offaly GAA has no option but to enforce the rules as they are and they also have to look at the entire situation rather than just a handful of individual cases.

It is very tricky stuff, it is taking up huge time and energy for the people at the coalface of the disputes. It is creating a lot of upset for the parents and their children, the clubs they want to go to and the clubs they don't want to play with. It really needs to be put to bed but this can only be done with a change to the rule and this won't happen overnight.

The parish rule has often been more honoured in its breach than its observance. Every single club in Offaly has played illegal players and seen players from their area play illegally with other neighbouring clubs. And this is at the real essence of the problems. The clubs are the root cause of everything that is going on. Lets be clear on this. Accidental breaches of the parish rule don't happen. Every club knows exactly where they boundaries are, they know when they play players from outside these and they know when players in their area play elsewhere.

A wink and a nod method has long been the way of dealing with these. Every club has turned a blind eye to players playing illegally and it has allowed the parish rule stay under the radar as a source of dispute.

This is not happening now and there are going to be more and more cases. The County Board have been accused of “discrimination” in the way they are applying the parish rule, of punishing some players and allowing others to continue to play illegally with impunity. It is a charge that doesn't hold water. Both Cappincur and Drumcullen sought investigations into players in their area playing elsewhere and the County Board have applied the rules. They will do the same in every case they are asked to investigate and they have no other option.

The responsibility lies with clubs to look for investigations, not for the County Board to mount them unsolicited - – a club beaten by a team with an illegal player also has the right to object but this is not a road travelled by any in a long time. In the most recent cases, Cappincur and Drumcullen felt they had to draw a line in the sand, that they needed to protect their borders and there are others not far away from this. Cappincur are a particularly small club and while Drumcullen is a much bigger area, population is a big issue for them – as it is for many clubs in the south of the county in particular.

Some of the people breaking the parish rule are well known. There have been high profile cases down the years. Kinnitty have made no bones about highlighting their willingness to allow players play where they want – they have named the Dooley brothers, Joe, Billy, Johnny, Seamus and Kieran and Joe and Barry Bergin who live in their parish but have hurled with Seir Kieran. The Dooley's admitted themselves that they lived in Kinnitty parish in their recent book, the Dooley Family Memoir but there are many more.

There are others with a reasonably high profile – some have played at county level, others are well established senior players. Most people with their hand on the Offaly GAA pulse could easily name ten illegal players, some would know of many more. It is a major problem and it is all coming to a head now.

The Offaly GAA County Board must bring it to a conclusion and the outcome may not be to everyone's liking. Some parents may be told that their children can't play where they want to and that is no easy thing. It is not to be taken lightly.

Tullamore GAA submitted and then withdrew a motion at Convention last year, seeking an addendum to the parish rule which would have solved at least some of the cases that have recently emerged.

It was a pity that they didn't leave it on the agenda. Their motion wouldn't have passed but at least it would have resulted in a debate. It would also have shown what way the wind is blowing with clubs on the parish rule. The debate needs to happen but in a structured, rational way. Firing misiles at people in whatever form won't solve anything.

It is easy for people outside the wider GAA family to criticise the suspension of young players for playing the games they love where they want to; to champion people's right to choose where they play.

However, you won't see many club officers, outside the affected ones, commenting on the latest cases. You won't find the rank and file GAA foot soldier saying a whole lot as there is a much broader picture, much more at stake.

The GAA is often guilty of exaggerating their influence. GAA president Larry McCarthy was certainly in that territory when he told the Shinrone GAA dinner dance a few weeks ago: “No matter where you are, our contribution to our communities is huge. Not only are we the greatest sports organisation in the world, we are also the greatest inter-generational sports organisation in the world. You look at any field any weekend and you will see children from 8 to 80. That is our ethos and long may it continue because that is what we are, the greatest community sports organisation in the world.”

The GAA, however, has been the heartbeat of many communities in Ireland. It has given counties a sense of identity, uniting them, including Offaly. It has been the main source of recreation, the main sporting outlet for vast parts of rural Ireland. It has brought joy and a sense of community to parishes, villages, isolated areas. It has given their area a sense of identity and has been a great source of unity.

The rights of people to choose is one aspect but the right of clubs to exist and survive is another. The parish rule has been an essential part of this in Offaly – it states that a player must play with a club in the parish that he lives in or was born in and there is no room for ambiguity in the rule as it is worded.

Tullamore's motion asked that a person be allowed play with a club if it could be shown that thety had a strong family connection with it through their parents/guardians. There is a lot of merit in that, as there is in the Laois model. The Laois model allows for a parentage rule but also permits players to play with a club if he goes to primary school in that area – this does not apply to people going to primary school in a designated urban club.

In the Laois case, Portlaoise is the only designated urban club and every other club is classed as rural. In Offaly, Tullamore would be a designated urban club and there would be a case for also classifying the second most populous town, Edenderry – Birr would be a grey area but would have to be examined.

A parentage rule and a primary school one would certainly solve a lot of the problems but the school one is fraught with danger for some clubs. There are a few clubs with no school in their catchment area and their existence would be in immediate danger. There are other schools drawing in children from well outside their club's catchment area and a primary school rule should certainly not be the first solution for Offaly GAA. The bottom line is that full freedom of movement is not in the interest of many clubs and Offaly GAA.

The Laois motion goes much further. Anyone living in Portlaoise can transfer to any rural club without meeting any other transfer criteria such as residence or the parentage rule but this is very much a one way road – it does not apply in reverse. Again, there is a strong case to be made for this in Offaly and here it would apply only to Tullamore. It would be very surprising if Tullamore GAA did not have major objections to this, and their concerns would be understandable.

Tullamore is at the epi-centre of the parish rule debate. There has been plenty of cases with sons of former players living outside the parish but playing with them over several years. This is still going on but as their chairman Paul Dillane said last year, they have a long list of pl;ayers living in the town and playing elsewhere. That list is probably bigger than the other one.

There is a natural desire with some parents for their children to play with them but there is also many more who fully immerse themselves in the community they move into. Their children go to the local club, their parents get involved as officers and coaches and this has been one of the great strengths of the GAA – it has been a pivotal part in newcomers getting to know their neighbours, of becoming part of their new community.

Not everyone chooses this path and they also have a right to be heard. It would be good for Offaly GAA to examine the parish rule fully, to set up a committee to do it. This should be a strong committee with good people on it and it would entail a comprehensive examination of the coiunty as a whole and every club. It would be a very big job and would probably need people not currently overloaded with work in clubs and teams but who fully understand the GAA and appreciate what it is about. There are very capable people out there who could serve on such a committee.

A parentage type rule may be the answer but this will only work if clubs adhere to it, are honest and fulfill their most basic duty which is to implement the GAA's rules. It will firstly require clubs to refuse to play people they know are outside their area; and it also requires club to take action when their borders are breached.

In all of this, you have the dozens of players playing illegally all across Offaly. Going after them would not be in anyone's interest. It would create too much friction, too much angst, too much heartbreak and anxiety for individuals and families. As part of bringing the current cases to a head, of ensuring that the parish rule is observed, of catering for some genuinely aggrieved people, some sort of amnesty would have to be provided for people who have been playing illegally for a period of time.

If clubs haven't objected before now, it is best to let these players stay where they are – if this can be done by rule. Drumcullen did offer to cede the three young players at the centre of the current controversy to Kinnitty but this was not accepted. There are more players in the Knockbarron area that want to play with Kinnitty and Ger Coughlan is right – an isolated agreement between two clubs will not solve the wider crux and it needs to be done in its totality.

Clubs have a right to exist, their borders are there for a good reason and creating open season, allowing free movement by abolishing the parish rule could open up a whole different can of worms for some.

Deal with the problems, address the issue, make a parentage rule if you want. Go with the Laois model if that is what people want or dip your toes in the water with a clearly defined parentage rule. Some alteration may be a good thing but whatever it is, let that be the line in the sand that is no longer crossed. If people want to be members of the GAA and play its games, abide by its rules – if not, most other sports don't have a parish rule. But whatever the decision is, abide by it, enforce it and the responsibility for this lies fully with clubs.