The Tipperary county convention was on Friday, and out of twenty-three motions discussed, one proved particularly contentious. Unsurprisingly, it involved the topic of the GAA dual player.
It's a hot subject in Tipperary, where the minor hurling manager in 2016, Liam Cahill, credited the ultimatum he issued to players at the start of the season - forcing them to choose between playing hurling or football - as being a key factor in their All-Ireland victory. The previous year, the county had lost both the All-Ireland hurling and football titles at the final stage.
The Tipperary minor footballers were less successful this year. Bereft of several of their best players (who had chosen to play hurling), they exited the championship at the first round against Cork.
At the convention Conor O'Dwyer, the delegate from the Upperchurch-Drombane club, put forward a proposal to prevent county managers taking the step Cahill did in forcing players to choose one code or the other.
According to quotes carried by the Tipperary Star, O'Dwyer's proposal expressed a wish that the convention delegates would support the "GAA ethos as regards being a multi-sport organisation". O'Dwyer made what Brian McDonnell of the Star describes as a "passionate speech" in which he said he didn't want to see "the death knell for football" in the county being sounded and stated that he comes from a club "that prides itself on giving kids a chance to play and enjoy both codes". He went on:
One of the things that sets this county apart is that every child gets a chance to excel at both codes. We are unique in that regard.
Tipperary football board chairman Joe Hannigan was one of those in favour of the motion, but Tipperary chairman Michael Bourke refused to let the motion go to the floor, saying that he "sought advice from the chairman of the advisory committee on rules in Croke Park" (the current incumbent is Proinnsias Ó Murchú from Cork). Despite further protestations from O'Dwyer - which were reportedly followed by applause from the delegates - Bourke maintained his stance and ruled the motion out of order.
Bourke argued at the convention that he "would not wish to be sitting down with any of our managers and tell(ing) them who they must play and who they must pick". This is reasoning that seems to slightly miss the point. Ruling that managers cannot force players to choose one code over the other would not take any power away from the managers. They would still retain the power of selection over players under their stewardship.
But the most interesting aspect of all of this is the fact that Bourke claims he spoke to Croke Park before making his decision not to let the motion go to the floor. The fact that Bourke would not even let the motion go to the floor seems to have caused agitation among delegates; the possibility that he was acting under advice from Croke Park could suggest a certain view currently being held at Headquarters on the future of dual players. One senior Tipperary official told Balls.ie that he was in the dark over what exactly had been said to Bourke in his conversation with Croke Park.
When contacted by Balls.ie, Michael Bourke confirmed that he had indeed spoken with Ó Murchú but refused to comment on any advice he may have received from Croke Park with regards to the motion tabled by Conor O'Dwyer.
