Knock Knock
County board: “Who’s there?”
Joe Public: “It’s the clubs, the players and all the general GAA public, can we get in?”
County board: “There’s a meeting going on in here, can you not leave us alone?”
Joe Public: “Please let us in, we want to discuss the motions for this Saturday’s convention, we have a few questions?”
County board: “There’s no need, we have got dispensation at last years special congress to sort it ourselves”
Joe Public: “That’s not fair is it, surely we should have an input into this?”
County board: “Go home now, we have the power.”
There was no answer at the virtual door of the county board meeting on Wednesday the 17th of February. I think anyone who follows the HOTD will have a clear outline of the anger that is around in the background in the club scene in there lack of input they received.
The future of the divisions is not fully decided yet which will be clarified in this piece. It was rightly pointed out that they are not a fully dead duck and there may be a number of alternatives to keep them relevant. The county board have landed a big dent in their ultimate goal of a “streamlined” county championship.
There is no doubt that the county board have had aspirations in ending the divisional link for some time. In comparison, the majority of clubs and club players want the link to remain. It has left both parties at logger heads. I don’t think anyone has a problem if the divisional link was attempted to be broken through the proper channels at the county convention, but this has not been the case.
A decision of such magnitude should involve all of the relevant parties discussing, debating and analysing the issue in depth. I get the sense that if the county board brought a motion to a convention at the end of the year they might garner support from a few more clubs than the previous attempt at the end of 2018.I’d still doubt it would get through. The question is how did we get here? Put the kettle on…
Phase one: The Fixtures task force
47 motions were proposed by the GAA for the 2021 GAA congress including Motion 13 which was designed by the Fixtures task force to limit the amount of teams in senior and intermediate championships to 16. The members of the fixtures task force are:
Eddie Sullivan (Chairman, Dublin)
Michael Martin (Wexford)
Kevin O’Donovan (Cork)
Stephen Barker (Derry)
John Costello (Dublin)
John Prenty (Mayo)
Ronan Sheehan (Down)
Michael Hyland (Galway)
Seamus Woods (Tyrone)
Conor O Donoghue (Meath)
Feargal Mc Gill (Secretary)
This was a ridiculous motion as each county differs in size, codes and sport. You cannot compare Leitrim with 24 clubs and no hurling to Cork which has over 250 clubs, many of which are dual clubs. The motion should have been focused on proper enforcement and fines if counties failed to meet provincial club deadlines.
It is slightly ironic that of the counties that spoke out against this motion (Galway, Tyrone, Dublin and Wicklow) had 3 members on the above fixtures task force. You would have to wonder was there any collaboration with the likes of Michael Hyland (Galway) and his own county board who were the most critical county of this motion in the weeks gone by. Dublin CEO John Costello is another name on the fixtures task force that stands out, yet his own county spoke against the motion.
The rebel county
The fact that Kevin O’Donovan was on the committee was very relevant. O’Donovan holds one of the most powerful positions in the organisation as the secretary of Cork GAA. With almost twice as many clubs as any other county, Cork hold huge clout at congress. The motions that the rebel county support and oppose can tip the balance at congress and this was once again the case last weekend.
Since O’Donovan took the reins, Cork don’t appear to “rebelling” any more. In the past, Frank Murphy would have been one of the most resistant to change and would have always put his own county first and foremost. Murphy also had an encyclopedic knowledge of the GAA rule book and often used it to his counties benefit down through the years in all GAA departments.
Cork spent the last half decade streamlining their own championships into 12 team championships for the top 5 grades. This has been one of O’Donovan’s main achievements since he took the reins. Despite this, I doubt whether Frank Murphy would allow any future changes to the Cork championship be limited because of some fixtures task force from Croke park. For a county the size of Cork, they should be aiming to have 20 senior teams at the top level. If that is achieved in the coming years when their much talked about development squads bear fruit then why should be pigeon holed from Croke park on the make up of their championships? The decisions on Cork GAA would have usually been made in Pairc Ui Caoimh via Frank Murphy’s living room. Is O’Donovan simply a yes man to the establishment compared to his predecessor? Where is the “Corkness” gone? Maybe the huge debts owed in the redevelopment of Pairc Ui Caoimh leaves O’Donovan caught behind the eight ball?
All 37 motions were passed through Congress with none of them being successfully opposed.You would wonder where the virtual platform was a handicap for those attempting to oppose motions. I have doubt if that would be the case if Mr.Murphy was at the helm, sometimes you don’t appreciate what you had until it was gone.
To be fair to our own county board, we have missed the Football deadline on a number of occasions which must have been a frustration to them at Munster and Central council. The question is are the clubs in Tipperary overly bothered that they may miss this deadline. I would say they are not if it means they get to play their divisional championships in its current manner. Obviously Clonmel Commercials would not hold that opinion as they aim for provincial Football glory.
Phase two: Our own counties decision
There was confusion is some parts when new county chairman Joe Kennedy was interviewed by Eoghan Cormican of the Irish examiner on Tuesday the 23rd of February. He noted that Tipperary would “support the motion”. This came as a surprise to many Tipperary people on the ground as they asked for clarity on how or why this decision was made.
After some panic, there was eventually some type of clarity received on Thursday night the 25th when an email was sent to the clubs detailing how the decisions were made.
Tuesday 16th of February:
Clubs were sent an email at 10:50pm with details of the motions to be discussed at the county board meeting the following night. In most level headed people’s opinion, it is hardly an acceptable time frame for clubs to discuss any motions never mind motion 13 which would greatly affect the Tipperary club championships. Most clubs meet on Monday or Tuesday nights, if that particular email had been sent at lunch time Monday for example it would have allowed clubs time to discuss the motions and give recommendations to their divisional chairman that Wednesday night.
Had the email been sent in time I would have suspected that a number of clubs would have asked for an open discussion on the matter via Microsoft teams or Zoom.
Wednesday 17th of February, County board meeting:
“The county board meeting took place via Teams with the following members present: Chairman Joe Kennedy presided and also present were Tim Floyd (Secretary), Ml Power (Treasurer), Jimmy Minogue (vice-chairman), Jonathan Cullen (PRO), Ml Tierney, Seamie Mullins, Joe O Sullivan, Ml Ryan (C) (divisional chairmen), Ml Bourke,Sean Nugent, John Doyle, Conor O Dwyer (Football chairman), Tommy Landers, Tom Dawson & Mark McLoughlin”
It is significant to note that all four divisional chairmen were present at the meeting. It is also significant that 3 out of the 4 divisional chairmen were attending their first county board meeting after only recently being elected at the end of 2020 at their divisional conventions. With no mandate from their clubs who had not received an email on the motions in time and attending their first meeting via virtual means it could be presumed that it was almost impossible to articulate an opinion on the motions.
“The Committee discussed the different candidates and eventually decided that the eight “would be” voters if it were a normal Congress, stay back after the meeting and make a decision. These were the five top-table plus the Football Chairman, Central Council Delegate and the Mid Chairman (whose division were due to attend in 2021 as per the rota system in).
Motions
With 47 motions on the original Clár, 10 of these have now been deferred to a Special Congress later int he year. Of the 37 remaining motions, committee briefly discussed each and directed delegates to vote as follows on the main ones affecting our county;
- Motion 2: Change end of Financial Year to Sept 30 th -Agreed to support.
- Motion 7: Joint captains not permitted to accept trophies -Agreed to support.
- Motion 13: Maximum number of teams in adult county championship = 16 – Agreed to support.
- Motion 20: Fouling goal scoring opportunities inside 20m = Penalty -Agreed not to support
- Motion 23: No Maor Foirne or Team Official enter the field -Agreed not to support
- Motion 25: Team starting both halves with 13 players.full game-time played officially -Agreed to support
- Motion 39-40: Dealt with amendments to the club constitution which committee were supportive of.
Delegates confirmed they would follow the direction of the Management Committee when voting.”
It is well known that the majority of the county board executive has been very vocal in their hope to rid the divisional link, especially chairman Joe Kennedy and secretary Tim Floyd. The only divisional chairman represented was recently elected Joe O’Sullivan. I am not privy to O’Sullivan’s own opinion on the divisions but as Mid chairman I hope he would he would have provided some form of resistance.
Technically speaking, the County board have been granted dispensation through the GAA special congress of June 2020 to make such decisions with emergency powers granted from headquarters. The West and North divisions have been far more vocal in their support of the current structures.
Once again, the main reason I would have presumed that the county board would have opposed the motion was:
1: The county board, CCC and clubs know our club structure the best and should decide county championship structures.
2: Decisions of such magnitude should be discussed in an open forum with all relevant parties given an input, as happened in 2018 when players, clubs, divisions and county board were all given the floor in local media and most importantly at the county convention.
It is also disappointing to note in the minutes that the “committee briefly discussed” each motion. Although the majority of my secret circle would have similar views, there are some who would oppose the current divisional link. If 8 of us sat down to trash out such a motion, we would spend hours in deep and considerate discussion. In the end we would conclude that we should ask the whole population of Tipperary hurling.
Tuesday 23rd of February. Joe Kennedy interview with Eoghan Cormican.
There also seemed to be a severe lack of clarity. For all intensive purposes it appears that most club delegates found about Tipperary’s voting patterns via Cormican’s piece in the Irish Examiner. The minutes of the meeting were not circled to clubs until the 25th of February, 8 days after the meeting. This was after Cormican’s piece and a stinging article by the HOTD on the 24th of February.
Tipperary are sponsored by Teneo, supposed world leaders in PR and communications, yet there is major confusion that surrounded the whole process. It made the whole situation even more unjust to clubs and delayed any real chance of a possible emergency general meeting being granted. You would also have to wonder if it wasn’t for some investigative journalism by Cormican and further probing by the HOTD would Tipperary have went to Congress without any communication to the clubs on their voting protocols at Congress.
Phase three: Congress 2021 Saturday 27th February
The HOTD only logged onto the Microsoft teams congress for a few minutes when the above motion 13 was discussed but was keeping an eye on John Fogarty’s tweets and the GAA’s own updates, which were of a very high quality.
There were a number of counties who spoke up against the motion. Galway were always going to speak against the motion with their 24 team senior championship comprising of two separate layers of 12 still being the flavour of the month in the western county.
Paul Bellew of the Galway hurling board is a young administrator that has come out of this really well. He noted that he would prefer to have less than 24 teams in their own championship but also outlined that after consultation with the clubs they would prefer to keep the status quo. Critically, he outlined that if they were going to make changes to their championship it should be decided in Pearse stadium.
The Galway football board are currently reducing their championship to 16 but they also noted that they opposed the motion. They would prefer to do it on their own terms.
Despite having 16 team championships, Tyrone and Dublin also spoke out against the motion. Tyrone are one of the few counties left that play knockout championship football all concluded over four pulsating rounds. Despite this, they recognise that they may wish to expand this in the future. A good few Tyrone clubs have won the intermediate before the senior championship which shows how even clubs football is in the county.
In response, John Prenty (secretary of Connacht GAA/Mayo) spoke for the motion and defended its merits. I wonder if the motion was to control how Connacht GAA runs its competitions from Croke Park would Prenty have been as keen for Croke park to take charge. From the outside looking in, it seems that streamlining of competitions has been a priority for the GAA for the last decade but in the midst of all of this the provincial championships remain a constant. As a normal club member wanting to run our own championship in our county the way we sit fit. It seems slightly unusual that we have provincial secretaries calling for centralised methods in club championships yet still wanting to keep provincial championships in check. If you want to reach the real top of the GAA pyramid, it’s a case of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours and don’t dare question the provinces.
The streamlining of competitions means an easier job for the fixture makers. One of the biggest disasters in the history of the GAA has been the change of underage grades from even ages and Under 21 to odd ages and Under 20. The new minor and under 20 championships are shadows of their former selves.
The complete separation of Under 20 inter county hurling and senior hurling was completed on Saturday. Its a fixture makers dream not to have to worry about some lad on twitter bemoaning player burnout of a very small minority of players. This is going to impact the smaller counties like Waterford, Clare, Laois and Offaly who cannot wait until a prodigy is 21 before getting him out on the inter county pitch.
In the past five years they have ruined underage competitions. I cannot fathom how if a 19 or 20 year old is good enough that he is not entitled to play both Under 20 and senior championship. Oisin McConville of Armagh made a very amusing yet relevant comment on this charade when he noted that young players these days are bombarded with S&C, recovery, diet plans, skills sessions and every other gimmick under the sun yet the amount of games they actually play seems to be reduced year on year. If you ask a young Eoin Cody or a Jake Morris or a David Clifford would they rather play an Under 20 Munster semi final or go training you know the answer you would get. Once again a product of some sports science nerds in DCU analysing players like racehorses rather than simply letting the players play the game they love to the highest standard they can as much as possible.
I must say that the split season which has fallen upon the GAA due to covid has been one of the best things to happen the organisation in recent times. Certainty for club and county players was needed. Although there is a perceived rush to have the year completed within the calender one change that would ease pressure on all counties is to play the All Ireland club semi finals in January. There are only 24 clubs involved in these competitions, none of which will complain to having to prepare for such a prestigious tournament. At the same time, thousands of clubs throughout the country would have another two weeks to play county championships thus supplying at least one more championship game for club players. Interprovincial club championships take up too much of the current 12 month calender for too few teams.
Media coverage
It was interesting to not that David Connors of the Tuam Herald gave ample coverage of the motion via his Twitter platform. Other than the HOTD, there was no member of the Tipperary GAA media that even mentioned the motion on Twitter until Saturday. The Nenagh Gaurdians Shane Brophy did mention it that he would have preferred to see counties with their own autonomy regarding championships but the focus of his piece was on the new sin bin rule. I would have loved to see him add to this on Twitter where with over 7,000 followers as his opinion carries serious weight.
Noel Dundon has no problem is spreading the word of the HOTD but once again a highly regarded journalist like himself might have been better to give his own opinion on the farcical Motion 13 before the vote was completed on Saturday.
Tipp fm’s Stephen Gleeson tweeted an old interview with Paddy Stapleton on the importance of the divisions after Borris-ileighs 2017 North championship win. This was posted after Motion 13 passed. This was a case of acting after the horse had bolted.
Shane Stapleton (Borrisileigh) and Damien Lawlor (Kilruane McDonaghs) have both witnessed the joy of divisional glory in their own clubs in recent years. I know they do most of their work on a more national scale but still it’s their job to make a story, they have it here yet it goes without mention. One of the biggest stories in GAA at the moment is in Clare and although the last two weekends Dermot Crowe and Michael Foley have done some excellent pieces it happened weeks and weeks after the local media in Clare and the HOTD had their say. Most people who read GAA pieces want news from all over the country, its not like Rugby or Soccer where you have the Munster and Livepool choir boys that wouldn’t watch a AIL or League of Ireland game if it was on in the back garden.
We have a host of other GAA pundits in the premier county who are brilliant at tweeting about Irelands fittest family, Irish rugby or generic GAA matters such as the split season but when push came to shove they were all very silent last week.
I get the sense that many in Tipperary GAA are more than happy for the HOTD to promote the game in the county when it’s positive but not as greeting when some questions are asked. I appreciate that they are volunteers and are in thankless positions but Tipperary GAA is bigger than any one individual or group of individuals and any decision on the future of GAA in our county should be weighed up appropriately.
In the end the vote passed quiet comfortably and it was always likely with the GAA executive supporting as well as the Cork and Tipperary county board’s behind it. Despite not opposing motions any more, the power of Cork’s numbers still told when Larry McCarthy (New York) and formerly of Cork won the race to be the next GAA president. Jarlath Burns seemed like the best candidate but was up against the might of Cork, who usually join up with Munster, who usually have lots of members on the GAA executive, who usually….. You see where this is going.
Phase four: The aftermath
Dejected and enraged with the result, the hurler on the ditch tweeted that this was the end of the link. Technically it’s not. It will all depend on what happens in the coming months as the clubs and divisions recuperate from this blow. There are a number of possible ways this can go down the line. No matter what the case, the 16 team structure is likely to remain for the short and medium term future. I think everyone is agreement that this was necessary to establish and maintain into the future.
Monday the 1st of March. Eoin Carroll (Tipp fm) interview with Joe Kennedy
There was fuel added to the fire of confusion yesterday when a interview was released by young North Tipperary journalist Eoin Carroll of Tipp fm with Joe Kennedy. The link for the interview is available on the Tipp fm sport channels with the first five minutes directly related to motion 13.
Kennedy tried to articulate to Carroll that the clubs had been given adequate time to seek council and give an opinion on all motions which were forwarded to their divisional chairman.
Carroll asked: “When was notice (of motions) sent out?”
Kennedy replied: “Sent out prior to the executive meeting, a couple of days to a week before the executive meeting.”
As mentioned previously, it appears that the only correspondence the clubs officially received was an email sent on Tuesday the 16th of February at 10:50pm. The meeting in question took place at evening of 17-2-21.
This leaves more questions for the county board as either he is not aware of when emails were sent to the club or is confused on the matter, there was not a fiercely convincing tone when asked for certainty on the matter, make of that what you will.
Kennedy did point out that the motions were freely available for all club delegates to view via media channels. The two counties who were affected by this motion most severely are Tipperary and Galway. The approaches from the respective county boards could not be more stark. In Galway, the board was given a clear mandate by the clubs through appropriate lines of communication that they wanted the status quo to remain. In Tipperary it was somehow presumed that clubs would speak up without appropriate communication lines on the matter.
Common practice for such motions would be clubs would be notified of the upcoming motions with a suitable timescale that would allow for proper debate within the clubs before recommendations are forwarded to the divisional chairman but also a chance for clubs to speak out in favour or against the motion at county level.
Given the parties involved own personal preference of a “streamlined” county championship it makes clubs all the more suspicious in the way in which this whole situation has been dealt. Question marks must also lie at the door of secretary Tim Floyds communication with the vested parties. When making such a decision the clubs and divisions should have been hounded to have their opinion known. Added to that, three of our new divisional chairman are new to their post adds to the sense that this was the perfect opportunity for the board to strike. Of the divisional chairman, I know that one of them in particular will have been kicking himself with the happenings of the last few weeks. Once again, it goes back to the point that the motion should have been opposed to allow proper deliberation at a later point. The next board meeting is not expected to be an easy night for the county board executive as all of the points mentioned in this piece will be laid at the door. Even if a club supported the motion, they cannot be best pleased with the method of enquiry.
Where do our championship structure go from here?
There are a number of possible options
- End of the link:
This has already been muted by once again in an interview chairman Joe Kennedy did with Eoin Carroll of Tipp fm. He stated:
“We have to wait for clarification on whether Croke Park would define the Divisional Championships as a completely separate entity and can’t lead to the County Championship.”
He added “But if they did I think all the four Divisional Championships are strong enough to stand on their own. Over the years anyone who has won a county final has won it by coming through the county rounds and not by coming in the back door via a preliminary quarter final.”
From all of the happenings and statements over the last few years, it is difficult to see our board pleading with Croke park to use our divisions as annex’s to the county championship. It raises questions about our colleagues in Cork who are using their college/divisional section as part of their championship which means it will also exceed 16 clubs. If Cork can exceed 16 on a technicality then why can’t we?
I would disagree wholeheartedly with his prediction that Divisional championships are strong enough to stand on their own. The dogs on the street know that if the link is gone it will diminish the championship. Last year we had a case of players playing an internal training game rather than play knockout divisional hurling three weeks out from championship. Maybe I am old school but I would consider a knockout divisional club game as far better preparation for knockout championship hurling than a challenge game in training. As I have said, it’s totally against the ethos of our games but the inter county ship set sail long ago and will never be reined in hence the need for the split season.
If you look at the divisional football championships which have lost their link, the once coveted South senior football championship hasn’t been played off in a good few years. Out West, there have been problems while the mid has struggled to garner any interest in their championship since the link was removed. The sad reality is that unless senior inter county players are 100% guaranteed to be available for ALL divisional championship games then Joe Kennedys prediction is as useful as a man shoveling manure with a spoon. It may happen for a year or two but you can pretty much guarantee that at some point it will budge to the demands of the 12 month calendar or some inter county training camp.
Kerry are the only county that have managed to keep their divisional championships going to some degree. Their divisional finals are often played late in the year at a time when we attempt to conclude our under 21 championships. Hurling at that time of the year is not as compatible as the big ball. There was some problems with the coveted O’Donoghue cup (East Kerry Championship) when Dr.Crokes pulled out in recent years.
2. Senior A/Senior B Championship divisions:
This could be seen as a sort of a compromise with the current championship being played out with separate divisional championships played at Senior A and B. In the north for example it would mean 6 Senior A teams and 8 senior B teams competing for two separate championships. The imbalance is magnified in the West (2 senior A, 2 senior B) and South (1 senior A, 3 senior B).
It will reduce a full round of fixtures but I don’t think the county board want it and I cannot see a watered down version of the divisional championships washing with the clubs.
3. Something different
After spending the last decade coming to the point where we have 3 grades of 16 it is impossible to see divergence from this. Some have mentioned 12 senior teams along with the 4 divisional winners. That would likely mean 4 grades of 12. I don’t think anyone wants to see another grade added so quickly after the Seamus O’Riann (Senior B) begins to settle.
Others have said use the group games as a seeding for a knockout championship guaranteeing every club 5 championship games. I am personally against a team winning all their group games getting knocked out by a team who did the opposite in the knockout stages. I know it is the method used in Kilkenny but their league phase also has the opportunity to win the league and shield title while also grabbing immunity from a possible relegation. For a team to win all three league games and then have the possibility of getting relegated seems unfair in my book.
A spin off of that would see seed 1v2 and seed 3v4 in the championship first round but such a championship would actually take 8 rounds to complete which is what the county board currently are attempting to avoid.
4. Lets try and bend the rules, lets keep the status quo
The HOTD would be a strong supporter that the current championship is pretty much the best option albeit has obvious inadequacies in the divisional numbers. If the clubs want to keep it then it is time to fight for it.
The motion was to limit the senior and intermediate championships at 16 teams. Cork decided to support the motion despite the fact more than 17 teams can win the Cork senior Hurling and Football championships.
There are the 12 senior teams along with UCC, CIT and possibly a number of other participants from divisions like Duhallow, Avondhu, Imokilly, Beara, Carrighdoun and Carberry partaking most years. That exceeds the number of 16 but apparently Cork will be given dispensation as the Cork colleges/divisions section is apparently a qualifier for the real championship. I find it hard to get my head around that.
Kerry also have a similar conundrum as there are 8 senior clubs in the county and 9 divisions that take part in the Kerry SFC. If the cute hoor’s in Kerry and Cork can bend the rules what is there to stop Galway hurling using their league stages of their championship as a “qualifier”. In Tipperary, why could we not use our groups and divisions as “qualifiers” for a new 12 team county championship comprising of 8 group qualifiers and a maximum of 4 divisional champions.
If our county board are properly doing their job then the questioning of Cork and Kerry must be brought up for sharp focus to the Fixtures review task force and Croke park. Our clubs and divisions need to keep asking the county board the same questions. It’s doubtful how persistent our county board will be in fighting our case after basically voting off on the divisional links.
Phase five: The relationship between the board and the club people on the ground
The HOTD has noted in recent pieces how there has been cracks of discontent on the ground for a while now. In a county the size of Tipperary it is almost impossible to keep everyone happy but this has the potential to push it over the edge. The county board is the clubs.
There are two types of Tipperary supporter. Firstly, there is the casual lad will be seen with his new Teneo jersey, his hat and his 212-T-27 number plate coming out of the stadium the Monday after Tipp win an All-Ireland. He doesn’t really see too far past the county team and is the kind of fella who wouldn’t know if Paul Flynn is from Kiladangan or Killenaule. When it comes to club hurling, if Joe Kennedy told him that the best thing for Tipperary hurling was to play an 8 team senior hurling championship off in three weeks so the county team could start training, he wouldn’t bat too much of an eyelid because he doesn’t understand or follow the club game. At the same time, he is needed and is still a vital part of Tipperary GAA especially for the profits he brings in from buying his Tipperary merchandise and a number plate every few years.
Then there’s the club lad. County board draws, he has a ticket. Tipperary supporters club, he’s a member. Tipperary Football board, he’s a member. Tipperary club yearly ticket, he has one for the past 35 years. This is the type of fella that keeps the foundations of Tipperary GAA steady. He is a huge Tipperary supporter but he as a club man first and foremost. The happenings of the last week are another kick in the you know what for his bread and butter, club hurling and the club divisional championships. Imagine the amount of club members from Upperchurch, Ballina, Newport, JK Brackens, Templederry, Burgess, Lorrha, St.Marys, Sean Treacys and Cashel King Cormacs to name but a few who would only dream of a divisional senior crown. If you give these club volunteer the option of a senior divisional title or another five all Irelands for Tipperary in the next decade there will be only answer.
At a time when the Tipperary supporters club membership is dropping, it is the salt of the earth club people that will be asked to join up and pay for the 25 man backroom team assembled by our senior hurlers. When I saw the drop in numbers of the Supporters club I was startled but then I wondered, there is only so much giving people can take if they feel they are being bled in response. It can be difficult for a genuine club devotee to see any benefits to continue to support the inter county team, which is considered to be of greater importance than his beloved club.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Hurler on the ditch 