DUBLIN STAR PAUL Flynn has launched an impassioned defence of the work of the GPA in the wake of Meath All-Ireland winner Colm O’Rourke’s criticism of the players’ body.
In his column for The Sunday Independent last weekend, O’Rourke put the GPA’s work under the spotlight and described some of their services as ‘bullshit’.
O’Rourke also commented on current players by stating that, ‘young men are not as mentally tough in dealing with normal life issues as previous generations who had to battle hard in a much different and harsher environment’.
Flynn, who is the newly installed secretary of the players body, was unimpressed with aspects of the criticism.
“The GPA do some great things. I seen Colm O’Rourke having a go at some of the services that are provided. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.
“But some of the things I felt were a bit unfair, with regards to ‘toughen up’. In society there are services provided for people, whether it’s with regards to suicide, to addiction and things like that.
“They might be there but people mightn’t use them or get exposure to them. The GPA, what they’re doing is very good in my eyes, it’s breaking down the stigma for people to use them and it’s making it very accessible for the players to use them.
“I think they’re great services, brilliant services and in many ways they change lives. I’ve lost a friend to suicide so I know what that’s like first hand. If those services save one life then they’re worthwhile, end of story.
“So why I got involved in the GPA is because I want to see more of that. They’ve changed many players’ lives with regards to scholarships, stuff like that. They’re all important things.”
Flynn insists he has no qualms with O’Rourke, having crossed paths with the Meath legend during his time playing Sigerson Cup football with DCU.
But he does disagree with him vehemently on this issue.
“I don’t know what his angle is. I know he has a bit of a problem with the GPA for things that have gone on in the past.
“He’s entitled to say what he wants and I actually get on with Colm, I know him from back when I played at DCU.
“Some of the services are not bullshit. They might be in his eyes. Like, toughen up…that’s an awful thing to say. Mental illness is so prominent in society today.
“You can have as many organisations as you want out there working on it as we have, but yet it’s still so prominent amongst males and predominantly the GPA is made up of all male members.
“So that’s a great platform for services to be able to come in and to help. But as I said, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”
Flynn also admitted that it was ‘disappointing’ to see the GPA proposals to restructure the football championship being ignored by the GAA’s Central Council.
“I don’t think there is anybody out there who disagrees that change is required. I also don’t think that everybody agrees on what the system should be.
“But the changes they looked to put forward are not changes, they are just the same thing practically with maybe one or two alterations. It’s disappointing that the three new proposals are very conservative to say the least.
“For the inter-county players, who are rolled out every summer to create revenue for the GAA and create a stir around the games, they put forward what they feel could be a good option and it’s not listened to and I think it is disappointing.”
Like this is what we’re getting from a Secondary school Principal “toughen up”. It beggars belief. Its a tough world now for young people. There is this illusory message that there are endless career opportunities and social connections. When in reality you have no hope of owning your own house or having a permanent secure fulfilling job etc. So many young people have left the country that there has been a bit of lull in our society. When I left school everyone stuck around and either worked or went to college and there was a sense of energy to the country. Now you have towns devoid of that spark, even the big cities don’t have the same energy at night during the week. It’s utterly depressing. The GPA could be said to have lost its bite when the GAA took it under its wing but its intentions are excellent and it needs support not denigration.
Yes because there was no mental illness in Ireland before this generation came along.Get fecking real o’rourke will ya.
I’m with O’Rourke here. Obviously there’s some hard cases where young people need to seek professional help but not for every wee problem. Will they ever learn to deal with their own minor issues rather than running for therapy on a whim. Mental illness is a very real thing but let’s not stigmatise and label every tiny thing…
I disagree. Players give up so much & put their bodies on the line for our pride & entertainment without financial reward. The GPA is the least that can be in place for them.
I think O’Rourke’s comments were possibly taken out of context.I wasn’t there but this is a comments and opinions section. It’s very easy to hit back at a debate that it’s not good to slag off support for mental illness etc. Who is gonna say anything back to that. I think he was referring to other aspects. Toughen up was possibly meant in general terms… Not specifically mental illness etc. I sincerely doubt that O’Rourke thinks it’s a trivial matter or bullshit services etc. I reckon the GPA are just jumping on this aspect instead of questioning…ok Colm what do you mean or which ones and justifying the existence of such! Heaven forbid an organisation would reflect on themselves before goin on the defensive!
Sounds like Flynn knows what oRourke meant
Brown Boots you’ll find thats exactly what O’Rourke meant?, players put in probably three times as much as O’Rourke did in his heyday, its not only at inter county level that todays players have to sacrifice so much of their spare time but its just as bad at club level just for the hope of some glory and very little if any financial reward, almost like an open air prison such are the draconian regimes the often well paid managers and mentors inflict on their players.
I agree with you to a point, but last time I checked, inter county, club whatever was voluntary participation! Plenty of lads don’t play either due to work, family or the lads who would’ve been great if it wasn’t for the drink! I am not getting into the payment for players debate etc. If you ain’t motivated by extrinsic elements (make up your own mind what players get out of it) or intrinsic (same as above) then I struggle to see why they would bother to put in the effort. They must be getting something out of it, not saying they can’t have their gripes, but they ain’t slaves brother!
No they’re not slaves and they can decide not to if they want, but if you love football are good at it unfortunately you have put up with what can only be described as professional sacrifices in an amateur sport.
So they have a choice. That’s good for them.
Far too simplistic to dismiss it like that brown boots, the fact is they’re asked to do what professionals do just to play the game they love, basically they have less of a social life than professional soccer players and that is a fact, there is something not quite right with that no matter what way you dress it up when these players are doing their day job and then going straight to training 5 days a week often twice a day in some cases, wife, girlfriend, mammy barely even see you only when you come home to eat your dinner left in the microwave and then straight to bed out of exhaustion and then its up for work again the next morning in a continuous loop…
It’s a choice! Simple as that! Anything you feel is worth doing you make sacrifices for. Like I felt that way about Jessica Alba and the restraining order proves it! On a serious note I think what you say is sort of true about the effort put in… Hence why it’s now a young man’s game… Students etc and the like. But everyone has a choice, it’s not like they have to do it to stay alive or feed their children. Yes they give us a shit load, they get a return they want from it in ways. But they do have a choice.
to be fair both generations have their own particular things to deal with and it’s easy to get you’re wires crossed. o’rourke’s generation might have had “the man” up attitude, and that’s fine, but he needs to understand that that generation wasn’t under as much scrutiny across the country as well as the county in the way today’s players are. sure a lot of these lads complain about the current crop and the hand pass when they were able to hand pass the ball into the next. sometimes they get blinded by their rose tinted glasses. any moaning they have should be taken with a major grain of salt.
I mean the proof is there, a lot of young people are either jumping in rivers or leaving the country. I know mental health and the likes of suicide is talked about more freely now than before but I do think the pressures are new and different on young people. In my parents time you could get a job, okay that may have been physically tough, but there wasn’t a huge gap in pay equality amongst any of your peers or family. Everyone worked hard, had a few drinks and could afford to buy a house etc. If you’re an inter-county player now you have to try and keep down a full-time job, be a teetotaller and become almost a recluse (as other than pubs there are very few social outlets in rural Ireland) and give nearly as much time to training in the evenings and week-ends as your job.
Poor Auld Flynn is not making much of a shift at taking on the points made by O’Rourke. He would be a very poor politician.
The question is who will get there first Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil??
Probably doesn’t want to be a politician
Then again there are also a lot of poor politicans
gaa didn’t even send the GPA recommendation on championship reform to Congress as part of the 3 for discussion this proposal from the gpa was backed by 31county panels .
Someone was listening to off the ball on Monday night
you and me sean.
well its like this…. if you can’t manage playing intercounty then dont. knowone is forcing these lads to play and put these pressures on themselves. we all have choices to make. i do believe that mental illness is a blight to society at the minute but when players say that they are suffering from delression cos they cant cope with getting a mortgage keeping down a full time job and the rest of lifes pressures then….. Give up the game!!