Clare GAA unhappy with Sunday Game reporting

The county board June meeting was held last Thursday with a smaller than usual attendance, reports Sports Editor Seamus Hayes

 

CLARE GAA is to ask Croke Park to write to RTÉ to complain about The Sunday Game’s handling of Clare’s Munster semi-final against Waterford, specifically in relation to an incident involving the Clare manager, Davy Fitzgerald.
Board chairman Michael O’Neill told last week’s county board meeting, “RTÉ does not have the right to investigate anything in relation to GAA matters. That’s the wording used on The Sunday Game. No other county, that I am aware of, has been subjected to that. Clare should not be subjected to that,” he said when asking for the views of the delegates.
“Our manager was on the sideline doing his job. Something he said was played back twice and viewers were told The Sunday Game was carrying out an investigation. I don’t believe that RTÉ have that right,” he said.
He agreed with Tubber’s Michael Lee who said, “The analysts were brilliant but they are not necessarily employed by RTÉ whereas the host is a full-time employee. He did mention the word investigate twice. Clare GAA will not tolerate that.”
According to Kildysart’s John Meade, “They said they would investigate three incidents but they didn’t. They forgot about the incident that was a lot more serious at the end of the game and the one after the penalty was scored.”
According to chairman O’Neill, “This is not anti-Clare or anti-Waterford. It’s nothing to do with this. RTÉ do not have the right to investigate anything that happens at a match. I wasn’t too far away from that incident. There should be no microphones near any dugout.
“A serious letter should be written to RTÉ,” Munster Council delegate John O’Sullivan told the meeting.
“Win the All-Ireland and shove it up their you know what,” Kilmaley’s Niall Romer added.
“Everyone has the right to put their side. Does anyone know why he used the language? Put the two sides of the argument and then make the final judgement,” county secretary Pat Fitzgerald told the meeting.
The delegates unanimously agreed that Clare GAA should ask the Croke Park authorities to write to RTÉ in relation to this matter.

Unsporting and unfair

WOLFE Tones did not concede a walkover to Coolmeen in the final round of the Division 3 Football League last week. That’s according to their county board delegate John Morris who raised the issue at the meeting.
“Once a fixture is made, it’s up to the clubs to agree within the guidelines that are there,” said board secretary Pat Fitzgerald. The secretary added, “No club can take a walkover and a referee cannot give one. The referees are appointed by the CCC and they send their reports back to the committee who then make a decision”.
“What happened here is unsporting and unfair,” commented Wolfe Tones official Joe Kelly.
Wolfe Tones were due to travel to Coolmeen to play the final round in Division 3 on Saturday week last. The Shannon club sought a postponement, citing the death of club president Paddy Carigg, whose funeral mass and burial was taking place that day, as a reason.
The Shannon club had a letter before the meeting with regard to the fixture, while Kilfenora GAA also had a letter with the board. If the points from that game are awarded to Coolmeen, the North Clare club will be relegated.
Chairman Michael O’Neill refused to allow any further discussion on the issue until the CCC deal with the referee’s report.

Financial matters

TREASURER Bernard Keane presented a breakdown of expenditure up to the end of May.
Pointing out there is nothing of note in the income side to date as the domestic championships hadn’t started, he told the meeting team expenses up to the end of May amounted to €342,730.75, upkeep and maintenance of grounds came to €67,891.56, administration amounted to €115,463.60 and coaching and games development amounted to €95,631.08.
Noting the figures were ‘very large’, Miltown’s Noel Walsh asked, what the income is to which the treasurer replied, “It’s from now on that the bulk of our income will come. We have received €50,000 from Croke Park.
Reminding all present that the first of four draws in the 2012 county board club draw will take place on July 6, the treasurer called for “a major push”. “We invited 17 clubs to a meeting last week about the draw and only seven contacted me. This gives something back to the clubs and if this doesn’t work, something else has to come.”
O’Callaghan’s Mills delegate Noel O’Driscoll told the meeting, “Munster Council isn’t taking cognisance of the current economic climate.” He asked Clare delegates to the council to take the message back. “If they had charged €20, they might have doubled the attendance in Thurles,” he said when noting that “for a change we got good seats”.
John O’Sullivan, one of Clare’s delegates to the provincial body, pointed out, “€30 was the top price. For the Clare v Limerick football game, there were stand seats available for €10 but only three clubs took up the offer. Clare clubs are not interested in packages. You could get into the stands in Thurles for €20 but clubs don’t seem to be pushing this. Only two clubs took up the offer for the hurling game.”
“The last thing we want to do is to levy clubs but it is coming down the line,” warned chairman Michael O’Neill.
Wolfe Tones’ member Joe Kelly, treasurer of the underage football board, asked if the commitment to use the money from the draw for the promotion of underage games still stood, to which the treasurer replied “yes”.
Secretary Pat Fitzgerald noted that €150,000 is spent on underage games each year and that the draw would only raise about half of this.
“Our accounts are published each year. They are given out to about 220 delegates at convention and they are detailed in the media. I am not aware of any other sporting organisation that does that,” noted chairman O’Neill.
According to Tubber’s Michael Lee, “The reality is a lot of people out there don’t have the money they used to have”.
According to Kildysart’s John Meade, “The same knockers are at club level”.
Kilmaley’s Niall Romer asked if the board had received any money from the Clare Supporters’ Club to which the treasurer replied, “They are an independent unit”.

Clare support open draw

THE unanimous message from the June meeting to the Munster council is that Clare support the continuation of the open draw in the Munster Championship.
The subject was raised by Tom Downes who represents Clare on the council. “The subject was mentioned during a discussion on attendances but there was no discussion. The question of the economy, ticket prices, cost of travel and the televising of games were all mentioned and it was only in this context that the open draw was mentioned. We must remember that our clubs have benefited through grants. In Leinster, the club grants are gone.”
Miltown’s Noel Walsh opposed any suggestion to move away from the open draw and he disputed the inference that the open draw was the reason for the fall off in attendances.
Chairman Michael O’Neill said, “The unanimous message from here is that we support the open draw”.

Championship dates

THE dates for the Senior Football Championship will only be changed if they clash with an inter-county fixture. When the matter was raised at last week’s board meeting, Miltown’s Noel Walsh said, “We should only change if there is a clash”. There was unanimous support for this.
Clubs were asked if they would agree to going ahead with the Junior A and B Football Championships before the senior and intermediate competitions commences.
Michael Cusack’s delegate Dominic Conroy suggested, “That might be a problem because of regradings”. Delegates were asked to discuss this suggestion at their clubs and report their decision back to the secretary.

Hurling Tournament

A HURLING tournament is to be played at Clarecastle on July 21 and 22 to commemorate the first Clare championship in 1887. Clubs founded in 1887 are being invited to attend along with the first four winners of the Clare title. The teams participating are Crusheen, Cratloe, Clarecastle, Doora-Barefield, Éire Óg, Kilmaley, Tulla and Smith O’Brien’s.
The application was made by Flan O’Reilly on behalf of the organising committee and the meeting granted the request with the usual stipulation that it won’t interfere with the domestic fixture schedule.