HATS off to Jarlath Burns for listening.
In fairness to the GAA president, he usually does.
We’re not sure if he read it, but last week’s column was about unrequited love.
We moaned about the culture of silence that has seeped into the GAA over the past decade or so, and only appears to be getting worse.
We needed to talk, it didn’t have to be this way, etc. We cried about how the League of Ireland were showering their supporters with adoration when their new season kicked off on Valentine’s day.
In contrast, there was no razzmatazz launch for the National Leagues this year.
A zoom call took place the day before the games began because of the storm.
We haven’t been alone here and it’s been a media gripe for years – but it’s the supporters and genuine GAA public who lose out.
But in Burns’ address to annual congress at the weekend, there it was – a beacon of hope.
The Armagh man said: “Under a proposed new arrangement, access to post-finals team holiday funding will be linked to measured media access around the national launches of our All-Ireland championships and games in the knockout phases of our All-Ireland series.
“Failure to assist will impact on the funding available for team holidays for winning teams.
“I believe and hope that this will be the start of a different conversation around media engagement, our games, and our fantastic role models and ambassadors in particular, many of whom I know are more than willing to assist us in this endeavor.
“We have a duty to promote our games, and nothing does that better than showcasing and celebrating the fantastic people who play them.”
It should not take the subject of team holiday funding to entice managers and players in front of a microphone, but here we are.
Burns has taken action to change the dynamic, alter the approach and hopefully change attitudes around GAA media engagement for good.
Hopefully the teams who are lucky enough to find themselves in the business end of the championship in July can play ball.
As Burns said: “We cannot complain about airtime and print space afforded to our codes if we do not facilitate it.”
Hear, hear, Mr. President.
