Joe Brolly – Bad governance is a poison

ITALIAN artist Maurizio Cattelan sold a piece of art entitled ‘Comedian’ last week for $120,000. The artwork was a banana stuck to the gallery wall in Miami with a piece of grey duct tape. Cattelan bought the banana at a local market, then taped it to the wall. The gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin said it was about “how objects move through the world.” A day after it was bought, before it rotted, the banana was eaten by a New Yorker called David Dattuna. “The artwork has not been destroyed” said the Gallery Director Lucien Terras. “The banana is the idea.” The banana was described in the gallery brochure as “a symbol of global trade, a doubt entendre, as well as a classic device for humour.”

The Mayo GAA International Supporters foundation would not appreciate the humour. They donated an initial €150,000 to the Mayo County Board in 2018, with certain stipulations about how it should be spent. They have another €250,000 waiting to be transferred and have said that they would make around €1 million a year available to the Mayo Board subject to structural reform which would ensure good, transparent governance in the future.

The foundation’s concerns were raised when they asked for a breakdown of how their initial €150,000 had been spent and this was greeted by personal attacks (the chairman of the foundation was described as a donkey and at a subsequent match in McHale Park between Mayo and the Underdogs, the song “Shoe the Donkey” was played over the tannoy) and the usual GAA wall of silence.

When the Foundation subsequently issued a solicitor’s letter requesting detailed breakdowns, a large batch of receipts were sent to the foundation. These included an invoice from Walter Donoghue Curtains & Blinds for the supply and fitting of 12 vertical blinds for the total amount of €2,023. Where they were fitted is not explained. There is also a grocery bill in the sum of €62.90 which includes pitted prunes (€1.25) and……. fun-size bananas.

Unlike the visitors to the Miami Art Gallery, the foundation did not see the funny side, and have this week issued legal proceedings for the return of the entire €150,000. The fun size bananas may have been eaten, but they are, after all, not destroyed, merely a symbol of GAA corruption.

I have been writing and speaking about the culture of cronyism and self interest in GAA governance for over a decade, warning that sooner or later the system was going to collapse, but the GAA hierarchy has closed ranks and bailed out boards as and when required.

Without good, transparent governance, the GAA at county level is starting to fall apart, with a few honourable exceptions.

Two things are required to ensure the good health of GAA communities. A passionate volunteer culture and good transparent governance. Kilkenny had a population of 99,000 at the most recent census in 2016. Between 2000 and 2015, this small county won 11 senior hurling All-Irelands. No warm weather training. No overnight stays. No frills. The unity Brian Cody lauds between board and clubs in Kilkenny depends on strong, transparent governance. In Kilkenny, they spend around €200,000 per annum on their senior hurlers and run a very tight ship. The twin pillars of their approach are coaching and volunteerism.

We see the same in Dublin. When John Costello came in as CEO in 1994, he began by creating good transparent governance. He disbanded the 17 boards and consolidated them into two – one juvenile and one adult. The focus was participation and coaching.

Last year, Mayo spent €1.1M on their senior footballers. In Dublin for that same period, they spent €1.2M on coaching, almost the same as it cost to run the Mayo senior team. Dublin have 52 full time coaches in schools and small clubs. Their salaries are around €30,000. Mayo have three. Ten extra coaches in Mayo would cost them only €300,000 and would – pro rata – give them more coaches than the Dubs. Instead, it is being spent on blinds and bananas and God only knows what. No wonder there is civil war in Mayo between the County Board and the clubs. As there is in Galway. In Meath. In Derry. The list is endless.

Let us take Cork’s example. They are €500k in the red for 2019 alone. For the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh they received €13.75M initial funding from the GAA centrally (between Croke Park and Munster). The cost of the project has spiralled and with a new estimate of €110M, the bail out from the GAA will be of the order of another €24M. There is civil war between the clubs and the Board. Their commercial revenue for the coming year is projected to be around €2.5-€2.9M, almost a million more than Dublin’s. Yet they are broke, at each other’s throats, short of coaches and short on spirit. Is it any wonder their senior teams are in limbo?

Bad governance is a poison that inevitably results in closing ranks, lies, power trips and corruption. We see this with the FAI, where John Delaney successfully created such a culture, kept independent thinkers at arms-length, filled it with yes men, corrupted it to the core, and walked away leaving them €55M in debt. Though not before the FAI used another €69,000 from the black hole of their overdraft to fund his retirement party. Interestingly, €60,000 was recently spent on a similar retirement do for a County Board official.

Ewan McKenna constantly attacks Dublin GAA, arguing that they are buying success. But this is a fallacy. If it weren’t, their minor teams would be dominating. Instead, they have won two minor football titles in the past 35 years, in 1984 and most recently in 2012.

Their hurlers have had the same investment and work put in since 1994, and are stuck in Division 1B having been well beaten by lowly Offaly in this year’s championship. Their senior footballers won in 1983. Then, a 12-year gap to 1995 (they were lucky that day), then a 16-year gap to 2011 when a needless turnover by Declan O’Sullivan with five minutes to go created a Dublin goal that helped to turn a four-point lead into a one-point deficit.

Since then, they have had three draws and replay wins and all of their victories have been close run affairs. They have won because there is a vibrant GAA culture in Dublin, with the board and clubs operating together in harmony. They have won because they have had two outstanding leaders in Gilroy and Gavin who have imbued them with humility and spirit. In turn, this harmony is a result of good transparent governance. In researching this piece, I rang Parnell Park and asked a series of questions about their finances. Every one of them was answered as soon as the details were punched up on the computer screen. “Hold on Joe, it’ll take me a minute to get that, ah here it is now…”

In 2009, all Dublin county teams at all levels cost €1.2M to run. In 2019, the last year of their five in-a-row run, the cost was €1.3M. In 10 years, the cost of their county teams has gone up by €100,000, which with inflation factored in, means a net decrease in spending.

The additional revenue garnered has been spent on participation, coaching and supporting the clubs. Jim Gavin famously never claimed expenses (nor did Pat Gilroy before him). Nor do any of his management team. The doctors are also volunteers. The Dubs are ready to win big when the right group of players comes along, because things are being done properly.

I had a long chat with Brian Cody a few weeks ago. I asked him to explain what the GAA is. He paused for a moment, then said “It is about a sense of who you are and what you stand for. It is about being part of something bigger than yourself. Loyalty, spirit, on and off the field. It is about unity, the County Board and the clubs striving together for something that is hard to explain. Something that cannot be infected by money. Something that cannot be bought.”

I wonder what Brian would think of the fun size bananas.

comment@gaeliclife.com