MARTIN RYAN,
Sir, - It was with great interest that I read Sean Moran's front-page article in your excellent daily edition on Monday, January 21st. It referred to the GAA's plans to divide Dublin county into two sections with two teams, North and South. The ludicrous idea has good intentions, but is obviously opposed to human logic.
Yes, Co Dublin's ever-increasing 1.4 million population leads to a number of problems for GAA competitions. Firstly, it provides Dublin with an unfair advantage over other counties with smaller populations. Secondly, it denies many excellent sportspeople from Dublin the chance to play at national level.
However, dividing Dublin by the Liffey is not the answer to these problems. As Sean Moran said, "It's not a great deal for southside football". He mentioned the Dublin team from last year's All-Ireland quarter-final that comprised 10 northsiders and five southsiders. But wait a minute: does the southside even care about this? The majority of its schools have rugby as the primary sport anyway!
Here is the answer to the GAA's problems: divide Dublin into East and West. It is true that we cannot then use the Liffey as a dividing line. However, imagine a divisionary line starting at Skerries and passing through Swords, Dublin Airport, Glasnevin and Phibsborough before it reached the city-centre. Going south, it would pass through Harold's Cross, Terenure, Templeogue and Ballyboden before swinging east to its finishing point near Kiltiernan. This could easily be enforced using a map, and would be known as the Skerries/Kiltiernan borderline, dividing Dublin West from Dublin East.
This you will find, has two main advantages. First, it is the most equitable way of creating our 27th county and a new GAA team. I would expect Dublin West and Dublin East to be evenly matched in competition. Second, and perhaps more important, it lays the out-dated southside/northside social argument to rest. The most desirable place to live in Dublin is on the coast, and the people with the most wealth do this all the way from Malahide to Killiney. Some of the most sought-after villages are the northside's: Portmarnock, Sutton, Howth, Dollymount and Clontarf. The southside boasts Sandymount, Merrion, Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey. Why do these villages have the DART running close by, and why is there no comparable light rail service in West Dublin? I'll let you decide.
The Westside can have Bertie's Bowl in Abbotstown as its stadium to rival Croke Park. This is my answer to the other major recommendation of the GAA report. So, play football fairly, leave the West to Liam Lawlor, and be proud to be an Eastsider. I am. - Yours, etc.,
MARTIN RYAN,
Griffith Court,
Philipsburgh Avenue,
Dublin 3.