This has been a bad, bad week for sport in Ireland. The sordid manner in which a tribute match was dragged through the back alleys of the Irish media for so long did no-one any favours. I’m a soccer man, as they say, and have always been waitin’ in the long grass, as they also say, to have a pop at the GAA for what I see as outdated parochial insular activity on a regular basis, but even I had some sympathy with them by the end of the affair. Neither side of the debate came out well, but I’d like to offer a different view – one from neither side and both – one that actually refuses to take a side, no matter how old fashioned and 20th Century such a nuanced approach might sound.
First and foremost, this was about Liam Miller, or rather it should have been. I remember standing on the old South Terrace back in 2006 when he unleashed a belter against Sweden in Steve Staunton’s first game in charge of Ireland. I was in the perfect position, right behind him and I’d say I was the first one in Lansdowne to know it was a goal. It was in as soon as it left his foot and was one of the better goals scored by an Irishman in the old ground (or the new one). His first and only goal for Ireland and a memorable one. Go to 2:25 on the clip below.
He made 21 appearances for Ireland and his club career would be fairly described as that of a journeyman, but one which took in Ireland, Scotland, England, Denmark, Australia and the United States – some journey. He achieved the stuff of Irish boy’s dreams in lining out for both Celtic and Manchester United, but made his biggest mark in terms of appearances and goals for Hibernian. His biggest mark overall, however, was made on his home city of Cork, and this is where we found ourselves last week.
Having sold out 7,000 tickets for the tribute match in Turners Cross in minutes, a request was made to the GAA to allow more tickets to be sold and more money to be raised for Liam’s family and charities by moving the match to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with a 45,000 capacity. What followed was an absolute disgrace of a spat that shamed almost everyone involved, including maybe some of you readers who may have commented online where you shouldn’t have, or said something over coffee break that maybe you regretted or should regret. I could not believe the vitriol directed at the GAA, and then aimed straight back at the soccer community.
First of all, technically, legally and from all other cold, rational perspectives, the GAA were under no obligation to allow this match to be moved. I have no doubt whatsoever that they should have let it go ahead, and were right to do so in the end, but they needed to come to that conclusion themselves, but to do so required their arcane and archaic structures of committees and councils and whatever yer having yerself, to kick into gear and call whatever meetings were required and make one of their famous tortuous decisions. In a summer where a County was refusing to tog out for a Championship game unless it was moved to where it always should have been in the first place, right up to a few days before the game, were we really expecting this fundamental shift to happen quickly?
No, they had a meeting with the organisers, then had a meeting with themselves at which they made a classic committee (pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable obviously) decision. They would go away and consider it. Days later they agreed to it.
Now other sporting organisations, including the FAI and IRFU may very well have dragged out a decision like this, but if the senior managerial moves of both bodies is anything to go by, these decisions are made in a classic una duce una voce manner. Twice John Delaney has extended contracts out of the feckin blue in 2012 and 2016 on the eve of major tournaments – they may have defied logic as decisions go, but they were made swiftly and without fanfare, but recall there was much faffing around the latest extension.
No decision by the GAA is ever made without fanfare and without a row. This applies to the abolition of Rule 42, the black card, the Newbridge or Nowhere fiasco, suspensions, fixtures what have ya. All designed to maximise exposure for the organisation and to further instil this deeply wrongheaded notion that they are the big dogs of Irish sport who no-one comes close to touching, and they are intrinsically front-page news for the Irish media, belonging as much in current affairs as sport.
None of the above, however, should lead to the anger and rage among the media and wider social media commentariat that emerged and completely overshadowed the event and the life of Liam Miller. Damien Duff in particular should have kept schtum. This guy togged out for Ireland and by extension the FAI over 100 times; he’s coaching for a club that was teetering on the edge not long ago due to bad management; in a league that had 2 squads ready to walk out when this fiasco was unfolding last week, and which regularly falls victim to the dinosaur thinking he was accusing the GAA of when it comes to investing in facilities. Granted it has been turning around in recent years, but for every Drogheda plan or Shamrock Rovers development, there’s another Monaghan waiting in the wings, and it’s proven every year. Irish soccer is still run on the basis of an inferiority complex; a reliance on Britain to mould our kids; and a “sure it’s grand we’re only a small country” mentality – a dinosaur one, in other words. One that is changing, but not at a pace much faster than that of the GAA.
The abuse meted out on the comments pages by the general public – mainly anonymous as these things normally are, but some were not – was disgraceful and we ended up in a massive GAA vs Soccer tribal war across the airwaves, in print, and online. The usual cliches came out again – how can those bastards get public money for that stadium and not open it up? It’s clear the Gah don’t care about the Cork community!!! Fuck Soccer, let the FAI develop a 45,000 seater stadium in Cork! It’s only a dregs game for knackers anyway, and on it went ad nauseum. The only people who seem to have handled this situation well were Liam Miller’s family, who said nothing at all to the best of my knowledge, and Michael O’Flynn chair of the organising committee.
But where does this rage develop? Is it merely that social media exaggerates and then spreads this attitude quicker than before. If those anonymous posters met and had a pint to discuss this would it be ok? Maybe some already have. I dunno. It seemed to me as it was developing that the GAA were concerned about total and absolute dilution of what they see as their unique position in Ireland. Which is reasonable if you still believe they are unique. And I don’t believe they are. All of the attributes ascribed exclusively to the GAA – community, volunteerism, super-human dedication etc. etc. – apply to all other sports in Ireland. The only difference is we judge the rest against the greatest on the planet. We judge Gaelic footballers and hurlers against the best in their province and in Ireland.
Putting myself in their shoes, I would have felt maybe those delusions were under serious threat. They’ve survived through the rise of soccer through the Charlton era and the (mainly made-up by south Dublin media) rise of Rugby more lately, but they must have worried when they saw higher viewing figures for a recent England soccer match than any GAA match. They must be worried how long Gaelic Football may last if the Dubs aren’t caught on more than one occasion in the next 5 years. They must be worried that player-power and County-power as exemplified by Kildare threatens their control. And fundamentally, they must be worried that amateurism, in whatever form it still exists, is in dire straits, particularly if the demands on players keep increasing. There is a looming existential crisis in the GAA and this event, and their reaction, will not have helped.
Yes, organisations need to be accountable; they need to explain their actions to their members and they need to show empathy to others, but they don’t need the entire public to whip themselves into a frenzy over each and every decision. I’ve had enough rabble rousing; I’ve had enough of Dunphy, Brolly, Hook and Yates; enough lies and anger going viral at 100 times the rate that the truth and compassion do. This was a poxy week for Irish football of the Gaelic and Association codes and one I hope we never see the like of again.
Liam Miller was 4 years younger than I am now when he died. He left a wife and 3 kids behind. He was a good professional who represented his community, his city and his country with dignity. He deserves to be honoured with that same dignity in that town he called his home. Leave the anger at the turnstile, or better still leave it behind now and pay your respects.
A Yard of Grass 