Seán Moran asks the GAA's Director General Interview Liam Mulvihill about all the main issues facing the organisation - from litigation to Lansdowne Road, and from flood-lit matches to fixture congestion
What are your memories of 2004?
"In terms of highlights, Fermanagh and Westmeath coming through has to be up there for anyone who has been worried about the lack of success of the weaker counties and counties of smaller population. It was great to see two of them make such an impact in the same year.
"In a normal year, the achievements of Limerick would have been highlighted more, as they were very, very unlucky to lose to the All-Ireland champions over two games. The challenge for these teams is to keep that plane of achievement going forward.
"In hurling, it wasn't as good a year as we've had in the last few, but the Munster final was outstanding and there were a few other very good games. The final was a classic confrontation between two very traditional counties. Without being a great final, it was a very good final and I thought hurling needed a better final to cap the year. Overall, it was slightly disappointing and I thought the football surpassed it.
"Another major factor in the year was the death of Cormac McAnallen. It impacted in all sorts of different ways. It was a huge factor in Tyrone's season; it had to take the heart out of the team, as it would out of any team. It was a terrible blow to his family, the team and anyone who had come into contact with him because he was one of those individuals who just oozed charisma and leadership.
"His legacy will be a much greater examination of the whole issue of heart-related sudden deaths in young, fit athletes. There have been a few cases in other sports throughout the year as well. It's an item we'll have to examine very carefully."
The Government money outstanding on the Croke Park redevelopment was paid. Were you confident that it would be?
"We always knew that it was a matter of time. We had faith in the Government, the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach. We knew that there were difficulties. Firstly, they had to address the problem of what they were going to do with Abbotstown and when that was out of the way and they decided on a package, which related to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road, Croke Park was tidied up very quickly afterwards."
What's the GAA's view of the Lansdowne Road development?
"We're interested observers and are well aware through our own experience that this is a huge project, even bigger than ours, which was done over a long period so that we had time to research as we went along and learn to come to terms with the various decisions we needed to make.
"At least, we had only one master in the GAA Central Council, but trying to meet the needs of the IRFU, the FAI and the Government will be very difficult. One aspect that no one has focused on at all is why can they not do what we did - spread the project over a slightly longer period and continue to play games? I can't see any reason why this couldn't be done. With the 2007 World Cup target gone, I'm not aware of any other target date, which rules out a longer development time span."
What lessons have been learned from the number of GAA disciplinary cases that ended up in litigation?
"The court cases during the year were a factor we would have preferred to do without. That's three years that we have had people visiting the High Court, seeking injunctions for one reason or another.
"I feel that there's a strong mood at present for having a fairly major review of our whole discipline procedures and having appeals taken out of the hands of the normal bodies and having them seen as what they are, a quasi-legal area and having people with some degree of legal and administrative experience sit on these panels at county, provincial and national level. The experience in other sports is that when you set up these sort of procedures, the courts don't intervene as much.
"The International Olympic Committee was the first to do this with the Court for Arbitration in Sport, which was set up in Switzerland - although it says something about the organisation that it mainly deals with drug-related cases or commercial cases. In some countries this type of arbitration system has been set up by the local sports council and that's the way it is in Britain.
"We did suggest that to the Sports Council here, but they didn't take it on. They said that they'd enough under their remit. That's why we're recommending going ahead ourselves."
Why don't the GAA defend their decisions more aggressively by appealing injunctions to the Supreme Court?
"There probably has been a reluctance to appeal these injunctions. Unless we are prepared to spend a lot of money - and even if we do, to some extent it's going to be a pyrrhic victory - the person who has played has got what they want so the losing of the case to them is only going to be a matter of money.
"And, to some extent, it won't be seen as fair for the big boys to be coming with a sledgehammer against the little guy. But there is a feeling all right that it is time we fought back."
The court cases went hand-in-hand with a number of disciplinary controversies. Are you confident that the initiatives of last year can make inroads on what has become a bit of a disaster area for the GAA?
"It's been a bad year, discipline wise, and I have been raising that as an issue for the last three or four years. I saw signs that worried me - some people said that I was making too much noise about it. It's an attitude that needs to be changed and that's why I spoke out about it. Too many people don't see it as an issue or at best see it as an academic matter rather than as an important factor in how members see us and how parents see us. It's vital to have good discipline and to protect players."
Do you think that the prospect of Irish national teams having to play home fixtures overseas will have an impact on the Rule 42 debate about opening Croke Park?
"I don't think it would make any difference at all. In fairness, about 90 per cent of the people who are against the opening of GAA property are against it for reasons of conviction. I don't think that anyone's going to change that conviction for a one-off. You either change your policy or you don't.
"We've had very hot and heated debates in the past on issues, but when a decision is taken eventually - as long as it's taken democratically and everyone has their say - the GAA has a very good record of healing the wounds and coming together.
"There will be counties very strongly in favour of change, counties very strongly against change and counties that will be very evenly split. Those in favour of change are coming from all sorts of different angles. I don't mean that as a derogatory comment, but they have different reasons: the association could do with the money; some feel that it's just outdated and removal would help modernise the association by getting rid of the last vestiges of the ban; others see it as a gesture to help other sports organisations in trouble and others as - if this isn't putting it too strongly - in the national interest."
Isn't there also a significant view that the GAA should reciprocate given the accommodation that local units get from other sports clubs?
"That would have been part of the general neighbourliness argument. But it's true. At various levels we have done well out of that. There's no doubt about that.
"Those against change are harder to quantify in that they tend not to get the same profile and as a result it's very much a one-way debate, particularly in the media. As such, it's hard to analyse and look at dispassionately."
A new round of media rights is currently under negotiation. How do you see that panning out?
"By media rights I assume you mean television, as there isn't much in radio or press. In the absence of a real competitive environment there hasn't been any major finance available to the GAA and I don't see that changing. The decision of the Government to protectmajor events has copper-fastened the situation. Anyway, I wouldn't have seen the GAA breaking the traces and going over to an outside organisation as happened with rugby and soccer.
"I don't think it would have been in the GAA ethos to do that. We don't have the games coming in from abroad that other organisations have so we depend very much on television to promote ourselves.
"So that's number one: exposure. We're not going to go to a broadcaster that only gives you 25 per cent of exposure by contrast with one that gives you 98 per cent - unless there were a huge financial offer, and there's no sign of that. All things being equal, we're going to be in bed with a terrestrial Irish broadcaster going forward and money isn't going to be the major issue. For me, the bigger issues relate to the quality of the coverage and its modernising.
"I was very much in favour of what RTÉ did last season with regard to the Sunday Game. I know some people felt that getting rid of the old signature tune was a break with the past, but you have to move on and I felt that they did a lot of good things that maybe were overlooked. And good quality coverage is for me the most important aspect of the rights package."
Isn't there growing revenue potential in the non-domestic rights area, such as new media?
"We came from a position where the international rights were tiny money to one where they became more lucrative than domestic rights. Then, two years ago, RTÉ did the deal with Sky and RTÉ programmes went on Sky Digital. As a result, that killed the sale of our rights in Europe.
"I think it's accepted that if you move from England to Spain or France all you have to do is bring your viewing card and your machinery and you can set them up anywhere in Western Europe and continue to receive the programmes.
"Although they're all supposed to be encrypted and it's not supposed to be possible to access the pictures, people are showing our games in resorts all over Europe and not paying us for it.
"As a result, our international rights holders lost a lot of money and our income has dropped substantially because of that.
"So what we may make up on the new contracts going forward and in the new media we're losing on the international rights. There's no pot of gold there."
The Gaelic Players' Association has been vocal about securing a slice of the media rights. What's your position on that?
"There's nothing in the players' end of it in terms of their own rights. We've been very careful about that in deference to their individual rights. I don't want to negotiate in the newspapers about this beyond saying that there's no pot of gold there."
Is it in your view a matter for negotiation with the GPA?
"The GPA was set up to look after the interests of players and my understanding was that it was very much concerned with the welfare of players and that players would be treated better by their counties.
"Over the past year the focus seems to have changed and to be more and more on commercial issues. That's my observation as an outsider. Our concern is to ensure going forward that the players are well looked after.
"During the period of Jarlath Burns' Players Committee, a lot of initiatives were taken and a number of counties are now squealing about the cost of those.
"What I am saying is that we can talk away to the GPA about welfare issues, but when they stray into the commercial area, it's a different thing."
There have been growing reservations about the effect on club fixtures of the growing number of championship fixtures on television.
"It concerns me that television doesn't interfere too much with the club scene. In the last few years when we've had two or three matches a weekend, it's very hard for people to schedule the local semi-finals and finals that county boards depend on for the revenue that is their lifeblood.
"So, ironically, getting a very good shop window is no good if we don't focus on the warehouse and what's down in the stores as well. In fairness to the current Uachtarán, he has set up a task force to monitor closely the number of matches being played in each county.
"If there are problems we're going to have to revise the inter-county programme and maybe take steps that we wouldn't like to take.
"Even if it means losing finance in terms of curtailing the inter-county programme, we may have to do it. I'm not saying we will have to do it, but I am saying that's how important it is. One aspect of this is the problems thrown up by the qualifiers relating to Saturday fixtures and Saturday evening fixtures, which are unsocial times for people to be travelling and getting out of grounds at night."
Yet the upcoming National League features an expanded programme of evening matches with Fridays being used as well as Saturdays.
"I'm happy that where we have developed floodlit facilities to date we're able to cope. We're hoping to have four more grounds brought up to television standards for next season. I think that's an exciting development and not just for league games. I think you'll see more and more qualifier matches on Friday nights over the next year or two.
"There are still issues involved with floodlighting. Whereas some of the grounds may have floodlights the hinterland whole also needs to be upgraded.
"You want the environment to be safe for people coming out of games an hour after they've ended. You don't want them in dark alleyways.
"That's something we have to bear in mind about Saturday or Friday night championship games as well as the traffic through market towns, which is a huge issue on Saturdays."
There does appear to be a growing militancy among players in relation to media coverage. Are you concerned about the implications for the GAA's ability to promote itself?
"They're amateur players and have rights as individuals. They're free individuals, not contracted to us, or their counties. The annoying thing is that they're good communicators, who aren't a bit shy in putting forward their point of view.
"It's a pity that this ethos seems to have been picked up by some managers and they are reluctant to let players talk at all. We don't condone it, but there's not a whole lot we can do.
"It makes promotion more difficult and doesn't help from that point of view. To be frank about it, there have been rumours about players looking for a fee for talking to media. It's not contrary to our regulations, but it would be an unwelcome development were it to restrict the amount of publicity with regard to our players.
"I think it's also fair to say that this will impact on their own saleability and marketability. It's an issue that some of our own players haven't really focused on sufficiently: status confers certain demands and they aren't always the easiest."
What do you expect to be major developments in the GAA in 2005?
"It's not generally recognised, but the limitations on club and county officers holding office means that there's going to be a huge changeover in personnel, over the next couple of years. There's going to be a far greater need to come to terms with the training of, and giving guidance to, new people and hoping that they will continue the type of emphases we see as important going forward.
"The second one is competition. The national competition structure is close to overflowing in the sense that it can't be taken in isolation and is going to put huge pressure on club activities. Over the next two years we're going to have to make sure not to take the eye off the ball in terms of the organisation of games at club level. If we do we're not going to last very long. It's a critical one for us.
"Thirdly, discipline. We have to get ourselves focused on that. It's an area I see as critical. Obviously the Rule 42 debate is going to take up a lot of time but it's not something that's going to impact on me on a day-to-day basis the way that discipline will.
"Lastly, there's the playing rules. This is the last opportunity to revise them for five years. I'm always interested in experimentation. But, as a general comment, I'd say the playing rules element of the experiment is going to be overshadowed by the disciplinary issue."
What about your own plans? Do you still intend to retire on theexpiry of your current contract next year?
"As you know, when I did an interview last year it was after a long period in hospital and a long period out of work. When major sickness visits you it does tend to focus you on thinking of items like that, but, thankfully, I'm back to full health now so it hasn't been an issue I've given any thought to.
"My contract will be up in 2006. It's not unknown for people to look for an extension of contract or to be given an extension of contract, but to be quite honest I haven't even thought about it. As of now I'm just working away and not thinking of retirement."
Free to Access: Read the full, extended text of Seán Moran's interview with Liam Mulvihill at www.ireland.com/sports