Football

Let's get, eh, motional. Your guide to Annual Congress

Cahair O'Kane

Cahair O'Kane

Cahair is a sports reporter and columnist with the Irish News specialising in Gaelic Games.

Annual Congress in Derry in 2013 passed a motion introducing the black card to Gaelic football. Will this year’s meeting in Carlow approve any measures that will stir up as much controversy?
Annual Congress in Derry in 2013 passed a motion introducing the black card to Gaelic football. Will this year’s meeting in Carlow approve any measures that will stir up as much controversy? Annual Congress in Derry in 2013 passed a motion introducing the black card to Gaelic football. Will this year’s meeting in Carlow approve any measures that will stir up as much controversy?

AS a democratic organisation, the GAA has structures in place whereby the ordinary Joe Soap can actually shape the rules and regulations.

Usually, it starts with a gripe. Something isn’t right. Or, usually, something is very, very wrong, and the GAA and everything it stood for will be in ruins if they don’t fix this one (usually insignificant) problem.

What can I do? Put it to the county convention, through your club. If it isn’t too outlandish, it might get a hearing there.

If enough club delegates agree, then you have made a significant step towards getting your idea to the floor of Congress.

Usually, to reach this stage, the proposed change must either be so conservative that no-one really cares if it goes through, or so ridiculous that your neighbouring clubs voted for it for the laugh of seeing it go down with just nine per cent support.

Anything in between (ie sensible) is generally shot down somewhere along the way.

This year’s Congress, for all the chat of restructures to the All-Ireland Senior Football championship, looks very little different.

I would consider myself to have a relatively decent knowledge of the GAA’s rulebook but even my eyes were starting to bleed by the time I got to the bottom of the list of 66 motions that will go before the county delegates in Carlow this weekend.

And, since I’m such a nice lad, I’ve taken out all the gobbledygook from the key motions and broken them down.

Below outlines what it would mean to the ordinary GAA member if some of the key motions were to pass.

Motion 3

What is it? 


Introduce a ‘B’ tier to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, and leave the rest of it pretty much as it is.

What it means if it passes:


The North American Championship will never have been as strong.

Motion 5

What is it?


The U20 football championship to replace the U21 competition and be played in June, July and August.

What it means if it passes:


Billy Club Manager will be seeing as much of his U20 county players as he does of his senior boys. Though it would at least prepare the U20s for the 23:1 training-to-games ratio that awaits them in senior football.

Motion 6

What is it? 


Inter-county players not included on their county’s 26-man panel for games will be available to their clubs that weekend.

What it means if it passes:

The power of county managers will take a slight dent, but ironically they’ll be more likely to hold onto their fringe squad players because they’ll at least be getting football somewhere. I remember an inter-county player telling me he left the county panel a few years ago because he had played four games in six months. He wasn’t allowed to play for his club, and wasn’t getting on for the county.

Motion 7

What is it?


The All-Ireland finals move forward a fortnight.

What it means if it passes:


The calendar will see no true reform. The GAA will give the idea a decade to bed in, by which stage the club season will be played off between September 30 and October 4 (including replays).

Motion 12

What is it?


Footballers and hurlers will sign up to Sport Ireland’s anti-doping rules.

What it means if it passes:


All players would face the possibility of being drug tested, and potentially banned if found to be using any substances not on approved lists. It’s a very fine line the GAA is treading, though. No-one wants to see drugs – in particular performance enhancing ones – become an issue, yet telling amateurs they must follow the strictest professional code is a dangerous move.

Motion 32

What is it?


Lads who go to America and then come home will be eligible to play county football even inside their 30-day window, but not club football.


What it means if it passes:

Probably very little, given that counties whose players head to America tend not to still be in the Championship by the time they come back.

Motion 41

What is it?


The mark.

What it means if it passes:


Even fewer contested kickouts and even more defensive football.

Motion 43

What is it?


All televised inter-county games be available on free-to-air TV.

What it means if it passes: 


Won’t somebody please think of poor Rachel Wyse?

Motion 48

What is it?

Central Council to be given power to authorise the use of county grounds for games other than GAA.

What it means if it passes:


Jamie Carragher will have saved €2,000.

Motion 49

What is it?


Deletion of the rule regarding ‘special eligibility provisions for hurling’ – ie the one that allows Kerry to have the half of Clare and Tipperary playing for them.

What it means if it passes:


A level playing field for those not fortunate enough to be neighbouring counties with the big guns. 

Motion 54

What is it?


Coming from Tyrone and Donegal, they are seeking to delete a rule barring county minors from playing with their clubs until their inter-county campaign is finished.

What it means if it passes:


Club managers can serve their own end by throwing a 17-year-old into senior league games and not letting him concentrate on county minor for a few months.

Motion 56

What is it?


Introduction of an All-Ireland Premier Intermediate club championship, in between senior and intermediate.

What it means if it passes:


Sure why don’t we have another 30 grades so everyone can win? 

Motion 57

What is it?


A different idea for the All-Ireland SFC, one which reintroduces straight knock-out football.

What it means if it passes:


Croke Park officials frantically pulling the rulebook apart and finding a loophole that sees it thrown out despite passing with an 82 per cent majority.

Motion 58

What is it?


Another of the above, only this time with a seeded, knockout All-Ireland while retaining the provincial championships.

What it means if it passes:


We can but dream.