Even from his outpost in the Far East, Donegal's Jim McGuinness is determined to address the ills afflicting Gaelic football.
Writing in his Irish Times column today, McGuinness turned his attention toward the growing concern of Dublin's dominance over the All-Ireland Football Championship.
Seeking to claim the first three-in-a-row since Kerry managed the feat in 1986, RTÉ's Colm O'Rourke was amongst one of the first to vocalise his concerns on this recurring issue.
Well, while McGuinness does believe that something must be done to address what may become an increasingly daunting separation in power, he feels that creating 'two distinct entities' would be wrong:
The entire tradition of Gaelic games is based on an emotional attachment to place as much as to the team. It doesn't make sense to effectively punish Dublin for doing what was demanded of them for years.
Yet, McGuinness is not one who can be easily accused of genuflecting to the status quo. Something of a managerial rebel in his own right, Donegal's two All-Ireland titles hardly put them amongst Gaelic football's elite, and, as is to be expected, the Glenties man believes there is a correct way to address the issue.
Highlighting the population differentials between Leitrim (25,000) and Dublin (1.4 million), McGuinness is aware that Leitrim's 'sponsorship budget is probably worth as much as a single sponsored car' in the Dublin alternative.
As so often is the case with developing counties that have little or no experience of winning championships (or even matches), McGuinness believes that 'hope' is an essential precursor to change:
You need to give them the belief that there is the potential to achieve something. This idea of: We are developing. We are getting better. We are moving forward.
Irrespective of claims that it would be tantamount to outright professionalism, McGuinness feels that the only opportunity for progress will come when each young Gaelic footballer has access to the same quality of training and education - regardless of whether they come from a strong, heavily funded county, or the forgotten other.
Seeking to adjust some of the responsibilities for growth and development attached to the various county boards, a GAA led incentive to ensure equal opportunity for young players could presumably override these interior decisions.
Destablising the power of capricious county board members, or those simply too stretched to do much more, McGuinness' detailed plan has at its core a degree of concern that seems both genuine and revolutionary.
