A GROUP OF GAA members led by former Westmeath footballer John Connellan are hoping to bring a motion to the Association’s Annual Congress in 2022 that would see the Dublin funding imbalance addressed.
Connellan, who has been vocal on the issue in recent months, has written to every club and county board outside Dublin in an effort to gain support for a motion that calls for games development funding to be provided to counties on an “equal basis per registered GAA member.”
It is hoped the motion will progress from club AGMs and county board conventions this year to Congress in 2022.
“The approval of this motion would bring about an immediate end to the disproportionate level of funding that many counties and players outside of Dublin are aggrieved with and feel has led to the complete dominance of the Dublin senior football team in both mens and ladies football in recent years,” said Connellan in a press release.
The Athlone clubman said a detailed analysis was provided to clubs and county boards that shows how “Dublin have received €14.16 per person with only €5 allocated per head of population outside of Dublin, nearly three times higher.”
He continued: “Furthermore, it highlights the disparity in funding between this year’s two All Ireland finalists. Mayo during 2010-2014, received €22.30 per registered club player in the county while Dublin by stark contrast, received over ten times this amount in the same period, at €270.70 per club registered players.
“There were calls at the Mayo GAA Convention in 2019 that a motion be placed at Annual Congress to address this unfairness. In addition, following this year’s All Ireland final, current Offaly County Board Chairman and media pundit, Michael Duignan made similar calls.
“The document has outlined in its analysis how most Dublin GAA clubs have seen a doubling of its membership income, with some clubs now taking in excess of €500,000 per annum, it cites the sizeable sponsorship deals that Dublin clubs are now achieving, with one Dublin club not even at Senior A level, securing a five year deal totalling €175,000 or €35,000 per annum that many counties outside of Dublin would find hard to achieve.
“The document outlines how Dublin GAA is now self-sustainable with no need for a continuance of the coaching and development funding from Croke Park with Dublin County Board itself achieving a €2.7 million surplus on its operations in its last published accounts.”
