GAA president Larry McCarthy and director general Tom Ryan probably knew they would have to cope with the unexorcised ghost of the All-Ireland club football final when they trooped in for the weekend’s post-congress media conference.
There had been no shortage of immediate business to process but given that the Kilmacud-Glen match had been raised on the floor of congress on Friday night, its currency was still buoyant.
Asked what were the lessons of the whole sorry episode, McCarthy was clear about the steps needed to address how Kilmacud had a 16th player on the field after an injury-time substitution.
“Don’t let players on until players come off. Enforce it. The rule is there so enforce it. It was an unfortunate error so that would be the most basic thing, I think.”
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An equally fundamental point was the circumstance of Kilmacud’s title. Had it been awarded in the committee room or does the 1-11 to 1-9 result stand?
“The result stands,” said Ryan. “That’s where the competition ended. It was regrettable, the whole thing. It wasn’t good from any angle.”
Had any part of the episode angered him?
“No, and even if it did that doesn’t really have any bearing but it didn’t, no. The one thing, and I said it on Friday, [is] after all the things we had to do in the previous two years with people getting sick and shutting down grounds and dressingrooms – that was difficult; that was a stretch and uncharted territory.
“For a lot of the times, we were learning as we went along. I don’t mean that we were glad to be back in these kinds of situations but we’re able to manage these things.
“Sometimes they take a bit longer to play out, sometimes they’re messy and none of them are comfortable but you always knew irrespective of what the outcome was going to be, there was going to be an outcome. So it didn’t anger me, no.”
On congress matters, it was confirmed that Galway had been admitted to the Leinster minor hurling championship, starting this year, which necessitated a re-draw of the provincial competition.
When asked which victory in the motions on discipline had been the most pleasing , the president preferred not to deal in specifics.
“I wouldn’t describe them as victories but I’m quite happy that the discipline stuff came through because we have been pounding this drum for quite a while in terms of respect. This is part of that, elevating discipline and helping referees essentially.”
The matter of the two motions that hadn’t gone through was raised. Both impinged on GAA officials. Motion 46 provided for the suspension of chairs and secretaries in the event of their manager breaching the terms of a suspension.
Motion 48 was an interesting attempt to cut down on vexatious applications for hearings by players with no real defence other than technicalities. In such a case with no substantive grounds to argue against a suspension, such as mistaken identity, the proposed penalty would be doubled.
Brian Rennick, chair of CHC, who proposed the disciplinary motions, patiently explained that “to seek to get off on a technicality is unsportsmanlike”. It was, he said, “not intended to impact on a player’s right to challenge a suspension”.
Notwithstanding, it failed to get the necessary vote.
Ryan didn’t believe that the defeat of the proposal was a major setback.
“Oddly enough, there was a lot of deliberation about that before we even went forward with it. There is an argument for natural justice and the penalty should fit the crime for want of a word rather than how you’ve observed the process.
“I don’t think it would have been used all that much. It would have been a nice thing to have in the armoury. It would have been a good signal. The fact it isn’t there, I don’t think is really going to effect things too adversely. There was good support for it.”
Motion 46 sought to penalise senior officers in a club or unit if a suspended manager or team official didn’t observe the terms of his ban. Needless to say, a hall full of senior officers rejected the idea.
A case surely of turkeys voting against Christmas? The president disagreed.
“I don’t know whether there was. I think people took it to an extreme in terms of its implementation about lifting fellas out of dressingrooms and parents out of dressingrooms, whose son was playing. Brian explained it well but it just didn’t pass.”
Earlier in the day there was much relief among senior officials at the failure of a motion to abandon the under-17 age grade for the intercounty minor championship and revert to under-18.
The debate had been the most intense of the day. In the end it was well defeated by more than two to one (32-68%).
Congress 2023: The main decisions
There were 62 motions on the clár of the weekend’s 2023 annual congress in Croke Park. The main blocks concerned discipline and the structure of under-age games.. Here are the main decisions, votes given in percentages – required weighted majority 60 per cent.
Discipline – motions 15 and 38 to 56
Wexford’s motion 15 to abolish maximum penalties for serious misbehaviour towards match official was accepted by 91-9. This superseded motion 44, brought forward by the GAA’s Central Council as part of a raft of measures drawn up by the GAA’s disciplinary committees.
Included are these penalties for team officials’ misbehaviour at matches
Motion 38 to raise minimum penalty for physical interference with an opposing team’s officials or players from eight weeks to 12 weeks. 97-3
41 suspended team officials banned from managing, directing, assisting or communicating with teams 84-16
45 any suspension for misbehaviour at an underage game will be doubled. 95-5
46 any breach of suspension terms by team official will result in a 12-week penalty for the chair and secretary of relevant club or county. Defeated 21-79
47 hearings for some Category V or Category V1 infractions will be heard nationally by CCCC. 96-4
48 minimum suspensions may be doubled by a hearings committee unless they are not satisfied that it is “not frivolous or vexatious and/or is not solely based on procedural or technical arguments” Failed to reach required majority 51-49
50 a hearings committee stating that an infraction is “not proven” must provide its reasons. 95-5
Age grades – motions 2 to 10
Only one of the nine motions were accepted.
7 to revert the minor grade at intercounty to under-18 from under-17, proposed by Tyrone, Parnells (Kerry) and Clonguish (Longford). Defeated 32-68
10 to water down the restriction on young senior players participating at the under-20 intercounty grade from prohibition to a window of seven days within matches at either level, proposed by Wexford. 82-18
Other proposals
11 to oblige all clubs to establish hurling teams from under-7 to -10 proposed by Liam Griffin’s club Defeated 35-65
14 to allow Galway to participate at minor level in Leinster, as is the case with the county’s seniors and under-20s. This was confirmed later as applicable for this year, with the Leinster championship to be redrawn. 73-27
19 to allow Kerry hurlers compete in the Munster championship should they win the Joe McDonagh Cup. Previously they would have been obliged in those circumstances to play off against the bottom team in the Munster round robin. Automatic relegation to apply to the province that has six teams. This was proposed by Kerry and the Munster Council. 98-2
21 increases the penalty for racist abuse from two matches to a year, which will be reduced if the suspended individual undertakes appropriate training or education. Proposed by the GAA of Britain. 91-9
57 requires players to be behind the 45-metre line for a hurling throw-in and not as at present behind the 65-metre line. Proposed by the Standing Committee on Playing Rules to avoid crowding at the start of matches. 90-10
58 provides for a free or lineball to be retaken if an opposing player interferes with the goalposts. A referee may award a point from play in the same event if it is believed that the kick would have been otherwise successful. This addresses a situation that arose in last year’s All-Ireland football semi-final when Dublin goalkeeper Evan Comerford shook the posts – to no avail, as Kerry’s Seán O’Shea pointed the winner. Proposed by the Standing Committee on Playing Rules after subsequent queries from referees. 97-3
