GAELIC GAMES: Paudie Butler admits he likes to dream, and to dream out loud; realising those dreams will be a key part of his new position as the GAA's national hurling co-ordinator. The Tipperary native, who has over 30 years coaching experience at county, club and schools levels, was confirmed for the role in Croke Park yesterday by GAA president SeáKelly, the last appointment and official duty of his three-year term.
It will be late summer before Butler starts his job, a full-time position partly funded through the Government's grant aid for hurling development. He will be leaving his current job as principal at Drom-Inch primary school, and then the fun begins.
It had been rumoured this was going to be one of best-paid jobs in the GAA, and while that was scaled right back, the challenge facing Butler remains daunting.
"This is a dream for me to be able to work in hurling in the way that I hope to do in the coming years," he said. "I'm thrilled by the fact that hurling is getting this recognition, although you would be slightly overawed by the size of the task in hand.
"There is a fantastic number of people working seven days a week for hurling, and it's about putting all their efforts together and letting them see they are part of a bigger picture and to draw in new people, new parents. That's just one of my ambitions.
"It's not outside influences which may have damaged the game. Hurling people themselves have become so competitive in the last few years - like, those involved in the county scene are only concerned about their own patch. The bigger picture is absolutely vital now, and that everyone sees that hurling is their responsibility and that they belong to the hurling community.
"It does not matter to me where people come from once they are drawn together and provide that energy and strength."
Butler clearly brings the necessary experience to the job; he coached the Tipperary minors to three Munster titles, later managed Laois and is currently involved with Kerry.
"There is no other game in the world as a spectacle that can compare like with like as the game of hurling. That is the fierce attractiveness of hurling, but it could also be the millstone that cuts us off from our base. And club hurling is the base of the whole thing and the 99 per cent that play club hurling.
"And if I was to do anything in this job, it would be to provide a summer season of club hurling, and I think the hurling community would be very grateful to anyone that could provide summer hurling for those club hurlers between the ages of 20 and 30, when they are serious hurling people."
He's also concerned about the overuse of players between the ages of 17 and 19. "Some of these players are tired of the game by the time they are 20 or 21, and washed up when they should only be beginning to enjoy themselves. One solution might be not to allow these young players to play in as many grades as they are.
"But the bigger concern is that all the adults are denied because of fixture pile-ups, because of this 17-year-old, who may be gifted, but is still 17 and only developing and needs time with his family and so forth. So these are vital issues and problems which we will need to tackle and which I would hope to be working on during my term in this job."
He has his dreams as well, though, such as Dublin finally making the breakthrough and competing for an All-Ireland, or the great hurling tradition in Antrim making a similar impact.
Whatever happens over the three years, Kelly is convinced Butler is the right man for the position, which he describes as the final piece in the jigsaw of the Hurling Development Committee.
"Paudie comes from the home of hurling and we are happy that he is the man to bring about a fresh momentum to the game," said Kelly. "He also has the organisational ability, which will be very important in doing this job, and hopefully hurling will thrive again, especially in areas where it might have lapsed in the last decade or more."
