Sport

Antrim GAA chief calls for end to Dublin receiving lion's share of funding

Dublin have won three All-Ireland Championships in the last five years while Antrim have endured familiar heartbreak in the earlier stages of the competition 
Dublin have won three All-Ireland Championships in the last five years while Antrim have endured familiar heartbreak in the earlier stages of the competition  Dublin have won three All-Ireland Championships in the last five years while Antrim have endured familiar heartbreak in the earlier stages of the competition 

ANTRIM county board chairman Collie Donnelly has called on the GAA to ensure it doesn’t become "elitist" in the wake of the organisation’s financial report.

Figures revealed in the report that Dublin received 47 per cent of the direct distribution available to all 32 counties for games development - a total of €1,460,400. Antrim, who come second only to Dublin in terms of population, were awarded just €47,400 by comparison and the Saffrons chief says if that discrepancy in funding continues, his county and others will continue to suffer.

“Obviously, we’re acknowledged as the second city and I think it’s important that the GAA doesn’t become an elitist sport. In reality, everyone wants their county to win an All-Ireland, so it’s important that the money is equally distributed,” says Donnelly.

“It’s like everything else - you’ve got to have a plan and I think, if we can come up with a plan and go to Croke Park and central council with that plan, we would hope to get a fair hearing. We would think we’d have a strong enough case looking at some of those numbers that have come out.”

Donnelly admits more money is needed to develop Gaelic games in the county and he can already see signs of suffering: “Certainly in the city, hurling is falling off at an alarming rate. Unless we can get enough proper funding to go into the primary schools and build it over a period of time, there really is nothing and clubs are under pressure.

“There’s no point complaining. We have to come up with a plan and go to Croke Park and it’s going to take over the next four or five years to achieve something tangible,” said Donnelly, who feels there is absolutely no doubt that the huge influx of funds into the Dublin coffers has a significant effect.

“I’m only new into the post, but I don’t believe we’re getting large sponsorship money via the Ulster Council for the development of hurling and football in Antrim. Every county in Ulster pretty much has to row their own boat. There’s no doubt about it that, when you see the amount of money being invested in Dublin, why would they not be at the top of the tree? You can see the strides they’ve made even in hurling over the course of this last four or five years,” he said.

“We’re not saying that money solves everything of course, but certainly, if we’re serious about it, unless we get proper funding over a sustained period, things won’t change. The fact that Casement Park hasn’t been there for two or three years has had a very negative effect on the city as well. We need to try and get things going in a positive direction.

“As a county committee, we have to try and put our presentation together and go and speak to the powers that be about some long-term investment. The figures are there for everyone to see and they speak for themselves. The cake doesn’t appear to be fairly divided out.”