Grant announcement 'a major success', says McGeeney
Gaelic Players Association secretary Kieran McGeeney has described the announcement by the Government and the GAA to make €3.5m available to inter-county players as grants as "a landmark decision".
The former Armagh captain and Irish Sports Council employee is delighted that after five years of campaigning for grants, significant progress has been made on the issue.
McGeeney admitted: "It's an important day for us all. It's hard to get excited about everything until it is all rubber-stamped and ratified by everybody.
"But I suppose the big thing for us is that the inter-county players and, to an extent, the whole of the GAA is put on a par with other sports and is recognised for what it is.
"It has been the cornerstone of sport in this country for well over 100 years and we are definitely moving towards the same level as other sports within the country set-up."
McGeeney and his fellow GPA members have been criticised, in some quarters, given that their quest for Government grants may be viewed as a step towards professionalism, but the new Kildare senior football manager is keen to stress that professionalism was never an issue.
"I'm a big GAA person myself and I understand some of the fears that are out there among people, especially with regard to the amateur ethos.
"I was at great pains to show that we feel that this process will keep that amateur ethos in place and everybody should know that we have signed up to that and put it on paper and we have done everything we can to show that it is well out there.
"Obviously we can't determine what happens in the future for any organisation but we hope - and that's what we will fight for - to keep the amateur ethos. The whole player welfare side of things needed to be improved and we felt that we definitely helped in that regard and moved things forward."
McGeeney felt that sometimes it was hard to take the criticism but that it had to be taken on the chin.
"There always have been difficult days especially when people applying some of the criticism haven't applied all of the facts and read into it and come out with a point of view of.
"Some people just decide that they know what is really going on or they believe that they know what is going on in our heads and that we are pushing for a bigger agenda," he explained.
"You can't fight that and you have to accept that everybody has their own opinion and that you have to take them at face value as well. We just hope that people took us that way as well."
There will be a number of criteria in relation to the responsibilities of players for the issuing of the grants, including that they attend at least 80% of training sessions and matches, adherence to the anti-doping code will have to be strictly observed while players will also have to keep an updated training log/diary.
It is expected that the money will be administered by the GAA through the various county boards, but the exact method of distribution has yet to be confirmed. Players will receive between €1,400 and €2,500, depending on their championship progress.
Meanwhile McGeeney is looking forward to the challenge that his new role as Kildare manager will bring.
The Armagh native confesses that the transition from being a player to manager of an inter-county panel has been a difficult one.
"It's difficult and I still feel that I could play and all of that stuff, but I suppose as an older athlete you always think that and that is the hardest part pulling away, but I have had a good response from the players.
"It's probably unfair to say that we are training hard, but we are having some fun messing about together, seeing what they have to offer and what we are going to do.
"Maybe giving them a sneak preview of what they are going to be asked to do next year and see if they want to stay about for it."
