Changing Face Of The GAA

Sir, - The GAA hurling and football championships are over for another years, and the dust is settling after the annual ticket…

Sir, - The GAA hurling and football championships are over for another years, and the dust is settling after the annual ticket debacle. Old dedicated supporters once again failed to get tickets for the All Ireland finals, while tickets could be bought on the streets of Dublin on the eve of the matches for £150 to £200 each. One wonders if the GAA is now bereft of any decency. Approximately three years ago, on the occasion of the development of the Cusack Stand, I wrote to the GAA headquarters, proposing that it consider the erection of a suitable plaque to honour Michael O'Hehir, who gave so much to help build the organisation in the lean years of the second World War. It was surprised that there was no enthusiasm for my proposal. A one-line acknowledgement was deemed appropriate. It appears to me that the GAA has forgotten that it was the ordinary man who built the association long before corporate entertainment arrived and, although at present there are huge attendances at all games, one wonders if this can last. Time and people's attitudes change, and there may some day be many empty seats in Croke Park for All Ireland finals, as supporters decide that they have had enough and watch the games on TV in armchair comfort. - Yours, etc.,Pat Fitzgerald,Dunmore Road, Waterford.