Madam, - Des Broderick (September 21st) makes some worthwhile points about GAA sports coverage, but he also raises the almost annual debate on the fairness of the main competitions. Of course Kerry and Kilkenny won the football and hurling championships and these two will continue to pop up as long as the games are there - in the present set-up.
Nicky Brennan, the GAA president, in his inaugural speech last year said: "The reality with the senior football championship is that many counties have no chance of success". He didn't even mention the hurling.
That is indeed the reality, and it has been getting worse for as long as I have been following the game - 50 years or so. In that time, there have been enormous demographic changes on this island, but no account has been taken of their implications for the All-Ireland championships, which are based on an arrangement put in place at the GAA's inauguration in 1887 and largely unchanged since then, with the exception of the clubs ceasing to represent the counties as from 1923. This arrangement is based on the rule which states that a player may play only for his county of birth or present permanent residence.
However, since the 1880s, the population of many counties has halved, while that of others has hugely increased - in the case of Dublin, it has trebled! The population of Leitrim, for instance, is less than 3 per cent of that of Dublin. Confining counties to their natural stock of player material in the face of disparities of that magnitude is nothing less than absurd.
There is also another side to it. In the case of counties with a large population, the competition for places on the county panel is severe - only players from high-profile or successful clubs are likely to earn consideration.
And the solution? Surprisingly simple: introduce a transfer system for players on county teams. This should be done on a handicap basis, related to the county's performance in the previous season, and would have to be strictly controlled, with a maximum number for each level of performance. Or, as they say in the financial world, terms and conditions apply.
Would it work? Well, there are certainly other factors which have a large bearing on a county's place in these competitions, but I certainly think that this change would introduce a level of fairness that is now missing, would raise the standard of play and would help to reduce the terrible tribalism that symbolises the game at present. Who wouldn't applaud, say, a Leitrim team with a couple of Dubs, a Kerryman and something from the "wee North" sweeping the deck and winning Sam?
Would the GAA's competitions review body think it worth considering? Or safe?
- Yours, etc,
JOHN NEWMAN, Dublin 11.