Could Ireland be better at world sports if it wasn't for GAA?

Pilotdude5

I do think GAA sports are highly skilled but my interests lie elsewhere. As a Kerryman though I sometimes feel alienated.

A taxidriver asked me if I had seen the Donegal match the other day and when I said no, I might as well have said I kick kittens for fun with the look he gave me.

Luckily its not all football down here, I grew up competing at a national level in rowing and Mountain-biking. Played a bit of Golf too. Also funding has been secured for a World-Cup standard downhill track down the road from me! Now that will be a spectacle.:D

O and while you may not be "forced" to play GAA, there is a certain amount of peer pressure to do so.

Pilotdude5

O and Croke Park used to be a public cycle track..

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,716466,735905,7,9

Sykk

Genghis Khan. wrote: »

The GAA is not about sport but about expressing and forcing a culture upon the Irish people. It is a nationalistic organisation and nothing else. Irish kids should take up proper sports which they can earn a living from.

Your ignorance and IQ is amusing.

My name is URL

books4sale wrote: »

Taking a look down through the Olympic medals table and you might be surprised with some of the countries that have secured a few medals. Ireland still has diddly squat. Pathetically sad for a developed country.

Ignoring the fact that Ireland is guaranteed at least 4 medals, what have you done to help fix that? I find it amusing and yet a little bit sad that so many people here are ridiculing those that chose to be involved in GAA.

I'm no fan of it myself, or the parochial nature of the association at grass-roots level, but to lambaste people for partaking in a sport, while you presumably just sit on your fat hole moaning about the lack of interest in other sports.. well, that's what's really pathetic.

swimming in a sea

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

That's nice you were able to get all that off your chest but it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Which is complete nonsense anyway.

Not a very bright comment from you there, think before you type, there's a good lad.

Its simple, way to much funding goes into a sport like gaa which in truth is not all that popular.

Boxing not my cup of tea, but its funding is getting results in the olympics, but that doesn't mean we should over fund it, as outside of the olympics there is no interest.

Fund sports people want to watch and play, not because of the need to get on the medal table or nationalistic ideas.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Pilotdude5 wrote: »

O and Croke Park used to be a public cycle track..

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,716466,735905,7,9

Jones Road was originally an Athletics venue. In pictures of Croker before its redevelopment you'll notice the bowel design where the cycling/running track was once a feature.

Sykk

Cienciano wrote: »

I notice bermuda is on the list. My mate plays rugby at his local club who are pretty rubbish. He moved to bermuda and made the national team. He was injured and he said the guy to replace him was a 44 year old who had no cartilage in his knee.
This is a team that's in the top 50.

And? Epitomizes how little you know about the sport.

2ndcoming

books4sale wrote: »

I would say yes, Ireland could be better on the international stage only for GAA. I think it takes talented kids away from international sports from an early age, international sports that they could make a career out of later in life.

Playing at the top level in the GAA is not a sports career, its a lifestyle.

If you want to compete in sport then the world stage is the place to do it, competing against the best.

Taking a look down through the Olympic medals table and you might be surprised with some of the countries that have secured a few medals. Ireland still has diddly squat. Pathetically sad for a developed country.

Agree with your post to the last paragraph, but really it applies to soccer/ team sports more than anything. The GAA doesn't prevent track athletes/ swimmers or long distance runners from excelling, it's the lack of funding and facilities that is the major setback.

You only have to look at the amount of Irish surnames on the Australian, American and British Olympic teams to see that Irish athletes can excel given the right training. Our best runners over the years have all gone through the American collegiate system, and it's a sad fact to have a chance of competing at the top level that's what aspiring young athletes would still have to do.

It wasn't me!

foxyboxer wrote: »

I think the point the OP is trying to make is how we are not competitive in the central sports. The gun goes off, you run or swim a prescribed distance as fast as possible then you stop. Not exactly rocket science is it?

You can argue that some sports in the Olympics are niche events and wouldn't get sufficient funding or indeed sufficient interest. (sailing, bmx, archery etc)

But take the central sports in the olympics. Track and Field and Swimming. We are not competitive at all in those sports with no realistic medal prospects. They are not exactly complex sports that require huge investment.

You couldn't be more wrong if your life depended on it. There's absolutely massive money in those sports to support huge physio costs, regular training camps and the requirement to build and maintain world class facilities.

Defiler Of The Coffin

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Not a very bright comment from you there, think before you type, there's a good lad.

I could kindly ask the same of you before typing something like this:

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Its simple, way to much funding goes into a sport like gaa which in truth is not all that popular.

Gaelic football is the most played sport in Ireland. Proportionally it doesn't receive a huge amount of money for the amount of people that play it. It's mostly self-funding.

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Boxing not my cup of tea, but its funding is getting results in the olympics, but that doesn't mean we should over fund it, as outside of the olympics there is no interest.

No need to over-fund it of course but there certainly is interest in it outside of the olympics, there is no shortage of amateur boxing-clubs up and down the country. Katie Taylor honed her skills in a shack, proper facilities for the people of Bray shouldn't be too much to ask for.

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Fund sports people want to watch and play, not because of the need to get on the medal table or nationalistic ideas.

Olympic success in a certain sport can engender more success in the sport. If there are promising athletes willing to put the work in they should be somewhat funded. It doesn't have to cost a bomb. A healthy interest in and success in sport is very beneficial to a nation in lots of ways.

yohan the great

The problem here is that people think that top level Gaa players are naturally talented. I have known a few brilliant hurlers and I can tell you one thing that they arent naturally talented. They are brilliant at hurling because of all the hours of practice they put in as children because of their love for the sport while most people their age sat on the couch and watched telly. There is no guarantee that if the gaa wasnt around that these people would have grown to love another sport as much

Cienciano

Sykk wrote: »

And? Epitomizes how little you know about the sport.

How does stating a fact like that mean I know little about the sport? A pool of about 100 expat insurance salesmen/bankers can make the top 50.

Ush1

kincsem wrote: »

No, they do not. If you watched the Eamonn Coughlan program last night on RTE1 it was stated by one of the former top Kenyan runners that there is more similarity between some Kenyans and Europeans, than between Kenyans and other Kenyans.
He said the difference was "high expectations". A Kenyan getting to an olympic final is not feted. Only winning gold is respected. High expectations produce high performance.

Yeah, I'd say it's more to do with the altitude they train and live at. Plus the culture of running there.

Sauve

yohan the great wrote: »

The problem here is that people think that top level Gaa players are naturally talented. I have known a few brilliant hurlers and I can tell you one thing that they arent naturally talented. They are brilliant at hurling because of all the hours of practice they put in as children because of their love for the sport while most people their age sat on the couch and watched telly. There is no guarantee that if the gaa wasnt around that these people would have grown to love another sport as much

I see six year old young lads on a weekly basis that are naturally talented with and know how to handle a hurl.
They naturally have good coordination, and pick up the skills that are being taught to them more quickly than their peers.
Sure, the hundreds of hours spent taking frees, sideline cuts, soloing up and down a pitch help a heck of a lot, but it's the kids that have a natural flair for it that get to the top. Generally.

awec

Training in any sport can only get you to the top level if you have a level of natural ability yourself. It can only build on what you already have.

Dothehustle

Xavi6 wrote: »

Rather than being defensive like the Gah heads here, I'll look at the OP's point objectively.

Take thousands of people playing indigenous sports, have them play other sports that are in the Olympics, increase the chances of being more successful at them.

Yep, the probability is sound even if the realism isn't.

1+ this
it would be the same if football disappeard whould gaa and rugby be better
probably yes!!!

ormond lad

Pride Fighter wrote: »

The GAA is the only properly run sporting organisation in Ireland. Most of the other ones have a big jobs for the boys, spending their money on salaries for themselves rather than grassroots development in their sports. Some of it would go on in the GAA, but nowhere near as much as other sports and the grassroots gets well funded in the GAA.

Would Ireland be better if the GAA was not there?

I think we should be better, even with the GAA. New Zealand which has an equivalent population (also about 80% of the population are genetically identical) has won hundreds of olympic medals. That country has its own sporting passion comparable with the GAA in the form of Rugby Union.

The answer is not to scapegoat on of Irelands best sporting organisations. The answer is to weed out cronyism and corruption in most of the sports governing bodies and plough money into infrastructure and coaching.

The GAA is certainly not the only properly run sporting organisation in Ireland. What a ridiculous statement.
I i was still playing GAA i would regularly go 4-5 weeks and on occassion much longer without matches as matches are put off for trivial reasons.
The GAA is a great organisation but like all the major sporting bodies here is nowhere near run as well as it could be
Yes your main point is correct that the GAA cannot be scapegoated for our poor performance over the years at summer olympics and that the management of many of our sporting bodies needs to improve

It wasn't me!

awec wrote: »

Training in any sport can only get you to the top level if you have a level of natural ability yourself. It can only build on what you already have.

That is not the determining factor in the vast majority of sports. There are a lot of Olympic champions who didn't start out talented.

foxyboxer

It wasn't me! wrote: »

You couldn't be more wrong if your life depended on it. There's absolutely massive money in those sports to support huge physio costs, regular training camps and the requirement to build and maintain world class facilities.

I don't quite follow?

karma_

Dothehustle wrote: »

1+ this
it would be the same if football disappeard whould gaa and rugby be better
probably yes!!!

It's not +1 at all, the post you quoted is just completely wrong on many levels.

We should be proud of the GAA, it's a fine sporting institution, one that many countries would love to have.

I really cannot understand the self loathing that goes on in AH. ditch an indigenous sport to win a few more Olympic medals? I've heard it fúckin all now.

swimming in a sea

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

Olympic success in a certain sport can engender more success in the sport. If there are promising athletes willing to put the work in they should be somewhat funded. It doesn't have to cost a bomb. A healthy interest in and success in sport is very beneficial to a nation in lots of ways.

Oh dear there you go again, why can't sport be just enjoyed why does it have to be about success. As for beneficial to the nation, the communist countries where the most successful countries for decades in the Olympics and now it's China who are churning out robot like sports people, profiling children to see what sport they would be best at, never asking what they would like to do.

Benefits to the nation should be not even on the list of good things about sport.

It wasn't me!

foxyboxer wrote: »

I don't quite follow?

You were saying it's neither complicated nor expensive to invest in athletics to bring Irish athletes in line with their contemporaries abroad. You are quite, quite wrong.

CucaFace

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

But that goes back to what sports people do in school or at that age and since GAA, rubgy and soccer are so popular thats what most schools focus on to the exclusion of most other sports and spend money on the required facilities and equip for these. It's self perpetuating too, you grow up with certain sports as the popular ones you are in turn more likely to play these to the exclusions of others and these others are less and less catered for and through the generations these sports simply fall off the general radar of people.

And what would you prefer?

That more people play all these individual (and boring IMO) sports that really only capture the Irish and worlds imangination for a few weeks every 4 years???

Seriolulsy the 3 teams sports you meantioned above give so many people YEAR round enjoyment.

The other sports would be a waste and would cost far more resourses realy and deliver at best a tiny fraction of the joy and entertainment the likes of GAA bring to this country.

I think that the people who make comments like this are only slightly interested in sport to start with.

karma_

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Oh dear there you go again, why can't sport be just enjoyed why does it have to be about success. As for beneficial to the nation, the communist countries where the most successful countries for decades in the Olympics and now it's China who are churning out robot like sports people, profiling children to see what sport they would be best at, never asking what they would like to do.

Benefits to the nation should be not even on the list of good things about sport.

Nailed it!

pablohoney87

awec wrote: »

Training in any sport can only get you to the top level if you have a level of natural ability yourself. It can only build on what you already have.

This is only true for purely physical sports like sprinting distance running etc.
Its bullsh1t to claim this for the likes of Judo, wrestling, boxing, table tennis, golf etc.
Funny thing about "natural ability", those with it seem to train the hardest :rolleyes:

It wasn't me!

pablohoney87 wrote: »

Funny thing about "natural ability", those with it seem to train the hardest :rolleyes:

Bullseye!

"It's funnier, the harder I train, the luckier I seem to get!"

bluecode

GAA has had a negative effect on other sports in Ireland. That's a fact. It's too dominant particularly away from bigger towns where there is less choice. If you live in Ballydehob, the chances are there will be a GAA club locally and nothing else.

You might argue that this is an accident but in fact it isn't. Some of you seem to have forgotten about the ban which only finished back in the early seventies. This not only banned playing other games but even attending and watching a game. Even a President of Ireland were banned after attending a soccer match. Also Liam Brady for example.

This provided a stranglehold. You either played GAA or nothing else. We still have the effects of that with us.

That's the reason the GAA is so well organised throughout the country. They had the monopoly and they are a nationalist organisation and unapologetically so.

I personally don't rate GAA sports very highly in terms of skill. Neither hurling or football. In fact as I see the only reason the watch it all is to see your team beat your rival county. I'm not a particular fan of rugby either. I should add. Without being a fan either, I do think soccer is a skillful game. As for it being a 'garrison game'. Well tell that to the Brazillians, Russians, Germans, French etc etc.:rolleyes:

Yes Ireland would be better at world sports without the GAA. It has had a negative effect on our general sporting standards. Worse though, the kind of parochialism it encourages is also detrimental to the development of the country as a whole. We should be encouraging kids to think of their country as a whole not just their village, town, parish or county.

Feisar

Who here had access to any of the following in school:

Discus
Shot Putt
Hammer
Javelin
Pole Vault
Long Jump sand pit

Who had PE cancelled for some silly reason? Where are the coaching facilities for these sports. I'm only picking track and field as an example. Strength programs are non existent in this country as well. I'm not just talking about for the specific weightlifting events but for general physical preparedness for other sports to.

WallyGUFC

Cienciano wrote: »

I'm not a GAA fan, but if I could get rid of one sport in ireland, it would be horse racing. It's more an excuse for gambling than a sport. If gambling was banned, our race tracks would look like the Duff Brewery in the simpsons when alcohol was banned.

This is the stupidest post I think I've ever seen on Boards and that says a lot.

karma_

Feisar wrote: »

Who here had access to any of the following in school:

Discus
Shot Putt
Hammer
Javelin
Pole Vault
Long Jump sand pit

Who had PE cancelled for some silly reason? Where are the coaching facilities for these sports. I'm only picking track and field as an example. Strength programs are none existent in this country as well. I'm not just talking about for the specific weightlifting events but for general physical preparedness for other sports to.

Who's going to fund it? I'm sure more schools would offer these programs if they could afford to.

CucaFace

dyl10 wrote: »

The answer is fairly straight forward - yes, we probably would.
It's like asking if all our soccer and rugby players played GAA instead. would the standard of GAA be higher - yes it would.

If soccer had the GAA's organisation and player we would really be flying, especially in terms of domestic teams competing in Europe.
It is a pity that GAA is not an international sport but having indigenous games is of great cultural value in itself.

Couldn't agree more.

I love both football and GAA equally, andi have always wondered for arguments sake (as i wouldn't want it to be reality) if the GAA never started what kind of football teams would we have?

Because for the most part this where most of those that play GAA would have ended up.

The likes of Peter Canavan, The Gooch, Maurice Fitzgerald (i think he would have been the Irish Matt Le Tisser) would all have been good/great footballers IMO.

Their skills that made them so good at GAA would also have made them top footballers IMO.

Plus i think we would have a decent pro league here and would not have been losing most of our youngsters to the English leagues.

The reason why we not so great in any of the international sports is becuase you cannot divide a small population like ours between 4 different field sports and expect to comepete with other countrie with populations 10/15 times bigger who only play 1 or 2 at most team sports.

northernpower

NIMAN wrote: »

I agree that we do punch above our weight, but of all those successes you mention I'd say that few of them played GAA sports. Imagine if the hundred of thousands of kids that concentrate on GAA each and every year put their sporting attention into other sports, how much better we'd compete.

Thats my point.

Actually its the GAA and its volunteers that concentrate on the hundred thousand kids, giving up their time to make sure kids have an outlet that doesn't involve staring at a computer game or tv screen, no one came to my house and dragged me up the road to play, and there was soccer and rugby in my area, the soccer league was farcical and training was a joke, I had no chance of playing rugby because I went to the wrong school, yes the GAA might have had the foreign sports rule in writing but it was years later before the 'no catholic' mindset disappeared in parts of the north.

Theres a reason hundreds of thousands of children play GAA, its because the GAA invest time in them.

qwertyuiopa

bluecode wrote: »

GAA has had a negative effect on other sports in Ireland. That's a fact. It's too dominant particularly away from bigger towns where there is less choice. If you live in Ballydehob, the chances are there will be a GAA club locally and nothing else.

You might argue that this is an accident but in fact it isn't. Some of you seem to have forgotten about the ban which only finished back in the early seventies. This not only banned playing other games but even attending and watching a game. Even a President of Ireland were banned after attending a soccer match. Also Liam Brady for example.

This provided a stranglehold. You either played GAA or nothing else. We still have the effects of that with us.

That's the reason the GAA is so well organised throughout the country. They had the monopoly and they are a nationalist organisation and unapologetically so.

I personally don't rate GAA sports very highly in terms of skill. Neither hurling or football. In fact as I see the only reason the watch it all is to see your team beat your rival county. I'm not a particular fan of rugby either. I should add. Without being a fan either, I do think soccer is a skillful game. As for it being a 'garrison game'. Well tell that to the Brazillians, Russians, Germans, French etc etc.:rolleyes:

Yes Ireland would be better at world sports without the GAA. It has had a negative effect on our general sporting standards. Worse though, the kind of parochialism it encourages is also detrimental to the development of the country as a whole. We should be encouraging kids to think of their country as a whole not just their village, town, parish or county.

The ban is gone over forty years!Time for people who werent even born at that time to get over it surely

As for the rest of your post-pure nonsense...irish people are proud of their country,their county and their locality-you'd swear there was something wrong with that!

foxyboxer

It wasn't me! wrote: »

You were saying it's neither complicated nor expensive to invest in athletics to bring Irish athletes in line with their contemporaries abroad. You are quite, quite wrong.

I mean it's neither complicated nor expensive to do those activities not invest in them. I can go for a run or swim tonight I want. You couldn't go sailing or do a trampolining or kayaking or the more niche Olympic events. They take planning to do them.

CucaFace

bluecode wrote: »

GAA has had a negative effect on other sports in Ireland. That's a fact. It's too dominant particularly away from bigger towns where there is less choice. If you live in Ballydehob, the chances are there will be a GAA club locally and nothing else.

You might argue that this is an accident but in fact it isn't. Some of you seem to have forgotten about the ban which only finished back in the early seventies. This not only banned playing other games but even attending and watching a game. Even a President of Ireland were banned after attending a soccer match. Also Liam Brady for example.

This provided a stranglehold. You either played GAA or nothing else. We still have the effects of that with us.

That's the reason the GAA is so well organised throughout the country. They had the monopoly and they are a nationalist organisation and unapologetically so.

I personally don't rate GAA sports very highly in terms of skill. Neither hurling or football. In fact as I see the only reason the watch it all is to see your team beat your rival county. I'm not a particular fan of rugby either. I should add. Without being a fan either, I do think soccer is a skillful game. As for it being a 'garrison game'. Well tell that to the Brazillians, Russians, Germans, French etc etc.:rolleyes:

Yes Ireland would be better at world sports without the GAA. It has had a negative effect on our general sporting standards. Worse though, the kind of parochialism it encourages is also detrimental to the development of the country as a whole. We should be encouraging kids to think of their country as a whole not just their village, town, parish or county.

Blue code sorry but thats a load of rubbish.

I came from Kerry ( GAA stronghold) and lived in the coutryside outside a town and I had the choice of not 1 but 2 soccer clubs to play for.

This old ban on foreign games just does not fly as an excuse for anything and is just a typical stupid comment from those who have an irrational and ignorant view of GAA.

The problem is there are extreme fans in both the GAA and the football world (like you bluecode as is evident in your post) that just cannot look at the other sport in an open mind and appreaciate the good in the other.

Because there are a huge number of people like me who love both games and have played both games all their lives and can see that both are great games and give this country a lot and exist for the benefit of those who play and watch these games.

Inishowen lady

Was speaking to a German friend yesterday about our performance the Olympics, I really liked her observation about Irish sport. "In sport Ireland values culture over commercialism, Gaelic Games are unique and be proud of them"

token101

I'd reckon we'd be better at soccer & rugby if it wasn't for the GAA. That's not a knock on the GAA, the opposite in fact. I reckon there's sh*tloads of lads and girls in the GAA who would excel at any sport but probably just grew up with hurling and football and stuck with it. If GAA didn't exist they'd probably have drifted into soccer or rugby, meaning we'd have a bigger pool of talent and most likely a better team.

It wasn't me!

foxyboxer wrote: »

I mean it's neither complicated nor expensive to do those activities not invest in them. I can go for a run or swim tonight I want. You couldn't go sailing or do a trampolining or kayaking or the more niche Olympic events. They take planning to do them.

Yeah, you can go for a run tonight, but if you're going to train for running with the Olympics as a goal, how are you going to pay a coach? Going to pay for biometric analysis and such? Physio, massage, regular trips to high altitude training camps and such? Time off work for all of the above? I'm a shooter. I can go down to the range once a week and run through a couple of boxes of ammo, and I'm still a shooter, but if I want to be an Olympian, I'm going to run through a thousand rounds a week down the road, train five or six hours a day and work part time, commute a hundred and fifty miles to and from the range probably four days a week, drag my huge pile of kit around the world six or seven times a year, at astronomical cost. I probably pay out more than a runner in terms of physical acquisitions, but in terms of training costs, there's probably a lot less in it than you might imagine. There's a rather giant gulf between Johnny/Joanna who goes for a leisurely jog a few evenings a week and the likes of Ciaran Lionard. That's where the money is required to bridge that.

foxyboxer

During Primary School, we went swimming every Thursday morning until 6th class. We participated in an annual Gala swimming event.

We trained from February to May for the City Sports in Pairc ui Caoimh twice a week after school on Sprinting and practicing the Relay.

We competed in the Sciath na Scoil Football every year and we played soccer during the lunchbreak when the weather was good on our own accord.

All organised and supervised.

Then I went to Secondary School. No swimming, no running only the Hurling team.

It's funny how our timetable at the beginning of every year stated that Wednesday afternoon (we got a half day) was scheduled for 'Sports'. In 5 years we never had any 'Sports'.

Defiler Of The Coffin

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

Olympic success in a certain sport can engender more success in the sport. If there are promising athletes willing to put the work in they should be somewhat funded. It doesn't have to cost a bomb. A healthy interest in and success in sport is very beneficial to a nation in lots of ways.

Oh dear there you go again, why can't sport be just enjoyed why does it have to be about success. As for beneficial to the nation, the communist countries where the most successful countries for decades in the Olympics and now it's China who are churning out robot like sports people, profiling children to see what sport they would be best at, never asking what they would like to do.

Benefits to the nation should be not even on the list of good things about sport.

I'm not entirely sure what you are on about but the feelgood factor when a national team or an individual succeeds in a sport on the world stage is a nice benefit to have no?

foxyboxer

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Yeah, you can go for a run tonight, but if you're going to train for running with the Olympics as a goal, how are you going to pay a coach? Going to pay for biometric analysis and such? Physio, massage, regular trips to high altitude training camps and such? Time off work for all of the above? I'm a shooter. I can go down to the range once a week and run through a couple of boxes of ammo, and I'm still a shooter, but if I want to be an Olympian, I'm going to run through a thousand rounds a week down the road, train five or six hours a day and work part time, commute a hundred and fifty miles to and from the range probably four days a week, drag my huge pile of kit around the world six or seven times a year, at astronomical cost. I probably pay out more than a runner in terms of physical acquisitions, but in terms of training costs, there's probably a lot less in it than you might imagine. There's a rather giant gulf between Johnny/Joanna who goes for a leisurely jog a few evenings a week and the likes of Ciaran Lionard. That's where the money is required to bridge that.

I'll re-iterate a point I made in the Olympics thread.

If you take some of the 430,000 euro that John Delaney* gets a year in the FAI for example, give funding with tax breaks to promising prospects ,give them an Athletes Visa and a subsistence to go to America (look at Mo Farah working with Alberto Salazar for example), get the coaching, access the facilities etc, then I'm sure we could have a few Ciaran Lionards ready to compete in Rio.


* or take from the millions in Trappatoni's contract.

It wasn't me!

foxyboxer wrote: »

I'll re-iterate a point I made in the Olympics thread.

If you take some of the 430,000 euro that John Delaney* gets a year in the FAI for example, give funding with tax breaks to promising prospects ,give them an Athletes Visa and a subsistence to go to America (look at Mo Farah working with Alberto Salazar for example), get the coaching, access the facilities etc, then I'm sure we could have a few Ciaran Lionards ready to compete in Rio.


* or take from the millions in Trappatoni's contract.

Absolutely no argument from me! In fact, building up our athletes using facilities available abroad is a much easier pill to swallow than trying to build world class facilities here. A lot are already doing so, but just making a system that works and involves constant engagement with athletes would be a nice change.

foxyboxer

swimming in a sea wrote: »

Oh dear there you go again, why can't sport be just enjoyed why does it have to be about success. As for beneficial to the nation, the communist countries where the most successful countries for decades in the Olympics and now it's China who are churning out robot like sports people, profiling children to see what sport they would be best at, never asking what they would like to do.

Benefits to the nation should be not even on the list of good things about sport.

I really enjoyed finishing watching us finish last at Euro 2012.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2cynbmcOtnA/TPPw0zwaCTI/AAAAAAAABsQ/CgSIXKSFRjA/s1600/sarcasm_detector.jpg

Ash.J.Williams

How much would it cost to build a velodrome? We should target a few medals such as that. I believe we had a site and actually ordered the wood...but it was canceled.

byhookorbycrook

Sea Filly wrote: »

It's not forced upon people but in a lot of primary schools that and soccer are all that is offered.

No loonger true. PE curriculum now has strands on dance, aquatics,gymnastics and so on. Soccer/rugby/gaelic football tend ot be the team sports, because they require very little outlay and equipment.

breffni666

If anything the GAA should be allowed to do more. Athletics used to be one of the core elements of the Association but was sublet to other organisations. Imagine if every GAA ground had an athletics track, or a velodrome, and was charged with running athletics on the GAA model. We would defo have more world class athletes/ cyclists. Rather than kicking this organisation we should be commending it. Yes it has its troubles as any large organisation would but on the whole it really does deliver for our young people in the form of physical activity, the physical activity our government don't do anything about except sublet it out to schoolteachers in their spare time. They will laud over Katie Taylor but her gym only got a refit this year because we all knew she was certain for gold and the shame of the local politicians in not providing facilities until now led them to act. We are only any good at individual sports that rely on the human will of the individual, boxing, running etc. as our athletes don't get enough support form our government. Katie Taylor should immediately retire from boxing on winning gold and be put on €200k a year from the Irish government to promote women's boxing and women's sport in general. The payback would be immense. The same for Henry Shefflin, Damian Duff etc

foxyboxer

breffni666 wrote: »

If anything the GAA should be allowed to do more. Athletics used to be one of the core elements of the Association but was sublet to other organisations. Imagine if every GAA ground had an athletics track, or a velodrome, and was charged with running athletics on the GAA model. We would defo have more world class athletes/ cyclists. Rather than kicking this organisation we should be commending it. Yes it has its troubles as any large organisation would but on the whole it really does deliver for our young people in the form of physical activity, the physical activity our government don't do anything about except sublet it out to schoolteachers in their spare time. They will laud over Katie Taylor but her gym only got a refit this year because we all knew she was certain for gold and the shame of the local politicians in not providing facilities until now led them to act. We are only any good at individual sports that rely on the human will of the individual, boxing, running etc. as our athletes don't get enough support form our government. Katie Taylor should immediately retire from boxing on winning gold and be put on €200k a year from the Irish government to promote women's boxing and women's sport in general. The payback would be immense. The same for Henry Shefflin, Damian Duff etc

Very True. Sure isn't it Gaelic Athletics Association after all.

Discostuy

I've never played GAA myself...was born in a soccer household and only got into watching GAA a few years back.

It's one of the few things done right in this country. The setup from the grass roots through to the top level is phenomenal.

If the GAA was put in charge of sports in schools tomorrow, I think we'd produce more Olympic winning athletes within a few years.

What they achieve as an "Amateur" organisation certainly puts that shambles of an FAI to shame.
The passion, pride and dedication from junior club level to top county level is unmatched and something money can't buy.

I know a top county player personally, and the training these lads put in is incredible and I would safely bet that some of them would equal top Premiership footballers in terms of physical fitness....on top of working 9-5 jobs.

I'd watch a Man U game over Dublin 9/10 times...but I wouldn't hesitate for a second about getting my kids into the GAA ahead of soccer or rugby in Ireland.

bob the bob

Yeah I hated having to play that gaa ****e in school.

Then once a year on sports day would we do athletics and nobody had a clue about how to properly do e.g. the long jump, some doddery old science teacher would be smoking away watching the jump line :rolleyes

karma_

bob the bob wrote: »

Yeah I hated having to play that gaa ****e in school.

Then once a year on sports day would we do athletics and nobody had a clue about how to properly do e.g. the long jump, some doddery old science teacher would be smoking away watching the jump line :rolleyes

Don't blame your school, they have a budget to spend in order to facilitate your education as well as see you had some kind of sporting access. Tell me, did you ever think to join a local athletic club at all?