Food For Thought

[mykneehurts]

(Just got this in an e-mail. We have all heard of how clubs or county boards pay bills for injured players but this is the other side of the coin. On this subject though I think most clubs are ok. My club even offered to take care of me when I got injured playing rugby once. Hopefully the following is an isolated case.)


RICHIE KEALY leans by the open door of his jeep, listening to Liveline. Pay-for-play is the topic of the day. He eavesdrops with a mix of incredulity and sadness.

For more than a year he’s felt like a man trying to roll a greased boulder up a hill. Fighting for a right, not a privilege. He feels let down, abandoned.

"My head is wrecked over the whole thing" he says. "I just feel I’ve been forgotten about. It’s eating me up."

First up, his CV. Seven years a county footballer with Meath. Played in both the 1999 and 2001 All-Ireland finals. Meath ’Footballer of the Year 2000’. Winner of three consecutive county titles with Dunshaughlin, a Leinster Club as well as minor, u21 and junior medals.

Kealy hasn’t kicked a football in ten months now. That, though, is the least of his concerns. A self-employed industrial electrician, he has been unable to work for large chunks of the past year because of ongoing problems with his right knee, problems that first came to a head after a Championship match against Laois on June 20 of last year.

His plight has left him in financial difficulty, though he is quick to stress "that psychologically it has been even more draining, with the lack of communication or support from the management especially. Financially, you get by somehow."

His case is complex and a source of apparent agitation to the Meath County Board. When contacted, county chairman, Fintan Ginnity, conceded that Kealy "mightn’t have been 100 per cent treated well" but argued "if anybody’s at fault, Richie Kealy is at fault."

Meath manager, Seán Boylan, differed with Kealy in his recall of certain events relating to the players predicament but, after consideration, choose not to comment publicly on the matter.

Here is an abbreviated version of Kealy’s diary.

JUNE 1, 2004

Receive an anti-inflammatory injection for bruising to the knee from local GP. Train as normal with Meath.

JUNE 20

Come on as sub for last eight minutes of championship loss to Laois, after which knee is extremely painful.

JUNE 24

Undergo MRI scan on knee in Brookfield Clinic. Scan reveals slight defect and severe bruising of right knee bone.

Inform Meath team-management of results, ruling myself out of upcoming Qualifier against Fermanagh. Told to do what needs to be done to get it right. Consult knee specialist in Templeogue, Mr Kesso. Period of rest and physio proposed. Seems to alleviate problem somewhat.

SEPTEMBER

Play three matches for club in latter stages of club championship. Require injection before second and third as severe pain returns.

SEPTEMBER 28

Attend Dr Pat O’Neill’s clinic in Dublin. Appointment made for second knee scan.

OCTOBER 4

Scan carried out in Cappagh Hospital. Having personally paid for previous MRI as well as consultations with Mr Kesso and all physio, request that Meath County Board be invoiced for second scan.

Becoming stretched financially, having missed work periodically due to injury. Soon receive a number of ’account outstanding’ reminders from Cappagh.

OCTOBER 18

Attend Pat O’Neill again. On reading scan, he refers me to John O’Byrne in the Mater Hospital, who advises the need for an operation.

Meanwhile, receive phone calls from Meath management inviting me to attend county trials. Inform them of seriousness of my injury and need for operation. Am told to do "whatever it takes" to get fit again.

Contact Fintan Ginnity, Chairman Meath County Board to (a) enquire why scan invoice has not yet been paid and (b) inform him of necessity for knee operation, which must be paid for in advance.

Ginnity expresses view that the injury occurred during a club match and, therefore, the county board was not financially responsible.

Remind him that the injury originated during the Meath v Laois game on June 20 and that the date of first MRI scan was June 24, preceding any subsequent club games by more than two months.

Ginnity insists that I pursue my club for financial assistance, whilst making observation that I am "always injured". Inform Seán Boylan of situation and he promises to rectify.

NOVEMBER 18

Operation carried out. Have to finance it myself through the only means available, my visa card. Growing increasingly concerned at the mounting bills and a significant loss of wages. Contact Fintan Ginnity again to reveal that I have paid for the operation and inform him that, being self-employed, I am not entitled to any social welfare payments while off work. This means that I will, effectively, have no income for the ten weeks of recuperation needed. Explain how our electrical contracting business is suffering and our need to employ temporary staff to replace me.

Ginnity again advises that I pursue my club for financial rebate. Exasperated, phone Seán Boylan again. He expresses surprise that the saga is ongoing and proposes to intervene on my behalf, promising to return my call with an update.

Weeks pass without any contact from county board or Meath eam management. No-one enquires either about my general well-being or offering a solution to my ever-deepening financial difficulties.

EARLY FEBRUARY, 2005

Contact Fintan Ginnity again, explaining that Seán Boylan had agreed to intervene. Ginnity again insists that the matter can only be resolved with my club.

Hear subsequently from county board member that two representatives of my own club on the county committee have informed Fintan that they can do nothing for me.

On ending conversation with Ginnity, I drive immediately to Navan where Boylan is conducting a Meath training session. Once again stress the financial strain I am coming under due to loss of wages while knee recuperates from operation. Boylan gives assurance to rectify matter.

ONE WEEK LATER

Receive a call from Meath County Board Treasurer, Colm Gannon, revealing that he was not informed of any injury I had sustained or subsequent operation required. Meet with himself and Brendan Dempsey to review all receipts relating to the injury as well as loss of wages.

FEBRUARY 28

Seven months after sustaining the injury, receive a cheque for €3,890 in respect of medical expenses I had already paid.

Contact Gannon to thank him and also to enquire why I have not been reimbursed for loss of wages. He reveals that county board intends pursuing the matter with Coyle Hamilton.

Immediately forward all relevant information, including financial statements from my accountant, to county board. It now emerges that operation has not been a success and am told by John O’Byrne that second one is advisable if I am to be able to work unimpeded again. This is a huge disappointment for me. Am also effectively told that I won’t be able to play football for an entire season and possibly not at all.

Again travel to a Meath training session and inform Boylan of the bad news. Also inform him that I have only been paid for medical expenses. He agrees to deal with matter and contact me shortly.

MARCH 15

Undergo operation.

MARCH 21

Released from hospital with agreement that county board will be invoiced. No contact from either county board or Meath team management for fortnight after my release.

APRIL 4

Utterly exasperated, take a taxi to Boylan’s practice in Dunboyne, seeking explanation for complete absence of contact from county board or county management.

Ask if there is a personal issue with me, but he insists that there is not. Am aware that other members of county panel have been looked after previously when in some difficulty.

Boylan again apologises for my predicament and, with a handshake, promises to call the next day. Again take him at his word. It is to be the last I hear from him.

A week later receive call from Colm Gannon seeking documentation, previously supplied in February, to support my claim for loss of wages.

APRIL 18

Am advised by Gannon that a cheque for €5,000 in respect of loss of wages is in the post. While expressing gratitude, I enquire how this figure was arrived at.

Colm informs me that this was all the county board would agree to pay and there could be no guarantee of further payment. He also reveals that a claim is still being processed through Coyle Hamilton.

MAY 4

Contact the Gaelic Players’ Association.

MAY 10

Meet Dessie Farrell. On Farrell’s advice, I contact county board for an update on my claim for loss of wages. Colm Gannon reveals that Board considers the €5,000 cheque a full and final settlement.

Dessie Farrell contacts Board on my behalf. Gannon acknowledges that claim is taking a long time to process with Coyle Hamilton. Farrell advises me that this is not normal but, following his intervention, the ball appears to be rolling again.

He advises patience, expressing the view that the county board appears to be following the correct channels.

MAY 19

Receive a phonecall from Tara, secretary at Páirc Tailteann, asking me to call in and sign a form to initiate claim for loss of earnings with Coyle Hamilton. I am incredulous. All previous information given to me by county board indicated that a claim had been in process since February.

MAY 20

Sign form on GPA advice.

WEEKS LATER

Receive a letter from Coyle Hamilton advising that they have reimbursed Meath County Board for my medical expenses.

EARLY JULY

Receive a letter from county board, dated July 5, seeking documentation from my accountant, stating loss of earnings and providing proof that I had not been in receipt of welfare benefit. This was already supplied in February. Supply immediately.

AUGUST 3

Await further correspondence.

"I just feel let down," he says. "What kills me is the way I’ve had to chase everyone. I’ve done everything myself. Organised the operations, the physio, chased up the Meath County Board. I think they just thought I’d disappear. Eventually, at the end of last February, I was refunded for bills I had paid the previous June.

"Seán Boylan’s lack of support and communication and, in hindsight, what proved to be meaningless promises have disillusioned me most. As a manager I expected him to have the player’s interest at heart. But, in the last 12 months the only communication between player and manager has been initiated through me, the player."

Kealy continues: "Forget about football. My knee had got too bad to keep working. After the first operation, I wasn’t able to work for ten weeks. That was mid-November to the end of January. We were very busy coming up to Christmas and had to take on two extra people.

"Eventually, I got back doing some light work last February for about six weeks. But I wasn’t able to work properly so I had to have the second operation and I have been unable to work since the middle of March.

"If I was working at something else, I’d be grand. But I’m not." GPA Chief Executive, Dessie Farrell, admits that the Kealy case "seems to have been handled very badly". He suggests that the player has been "put through the ringer".

Ginnity, however, defends the role of the Meath County Board. "As far as I’m concerned, we treated him well without him doing what he should have done" said the chairman.

When asked to elaborate, he argued: "It’s up to the player to fill in a preliminary notice once he gets injured. Did he fill in one or did he do anything? There are procedures there to go through and he didn’t go through them. I’ll say no more."

Kealy remains adamant that he was never asked to fill in such a notice despite Ginnity’s insistence that "everybody is told to fill in a preliminary form when they get injured." Whatever the technicalities, what is indisputable is that the player feels deeply aggrieved and, in the GPA’s view, has good reason to. As Farrell sees it: "People are talking about pay-for-play, but this kind of case shows how far we are from even getting to first base in terms of players’ welfare."

Kealy says that on three occasions in the last year he travelled to Meath training "like a beggar" to talk to his manager in the hope of getting the issue resolved.

He says: "I would have done anything to play for Meath over the years. I still would. Football has been everything to me and I’d love to get back playing. But, at the moment, I just feel terribly disillusioned."

When asked if there is a claim currently being processed on Kealy’s behalf, Ginnity replied "I don’t know". He suggested that Kealy "played for his club right through the whole summer last year" (the three games were in September). And he added cryptically "I don’t want this to make headlines because, whatever chance he has of getting money, it’ll jeopardise it."

Kealy himself is unrepentant. "The facts are there, I’m telling the truth" he says. "I’d love to get back playing but, if this comes against me in the future, so be it. At this stage, I’m not worried about that. If this attitude from the top men is supposed to be beneficial to football or individual players I’d like to know how. But this needs to be said because I would hate to see other players treated this way in the future."

This is the flip side to the perpetual commotion about pay-for-play and the tacky opportunism of ’ambush marketing’ in GAA-life. An injured player left feeling abandoned, facing financial hardship.

It is doubtful Richie Kealy’s story doesn’t have parallels right across the country.