Madam, - John Meagher (March 23rd) states my point when he says that competition is a reality and I wholeheartedly agree with his comment that competition is healthy.
However, in any field - business, politics or sport - nobody is ever asked to give an advantage to a competitor; so why is it expected of the GAA? If your competitor is unable to organise himself properly it is hardly up to you to do it for him.
Mr Meagher urges me to log on to the Dublin GAA website; as a Dub living in Kerry I visit this site regularly and know exactly what's going on in Dublin GAA. Perhaps Mr Meagher should reflect on the sad state of Dublin hurling before eulogising the health of the GAA in the capital. There are only so many field games that children can play in any given week and in Dublin hurling is the big loser. This is the competitive reality; so why should the GAA "help out" other field sports?
Mr Meagher mentions the financial benefits of hosting soccer or rugby matches. Suffice to say the GAA has never been dependent on other sports to help develop its grounds throughout the country.
I welcome Mr Meagher's call for a plebiscite of all GAA members on opening Croke Park as I am in no doubt as to the result. Finally, I am a soccer fan and have been since, as a boy, I saw Manchester United play Coventry in 1962 in Milltown (by the way, whatever happened to Milltown?). I, too, will be cheering on "the boys in green" during their World Cup campaign, but it won't be from Croke Park. - Yours, etc.,
TOM HOGAN, Castlegregory, Co Kerry.