Mother claims GAA ‘bullying’ her child

[the Untouchable]

To me this highlights a lot of what is wrong with society today.

Seriously someone needs to sit this lad down & say its under 15 hurling...no one gives a sh!t...get your bag and go to school!! 33 days from school missed is a hell of a lot of education...No one is bullying him...he's just not getting his way & feels like he's being unfairly treated!!

The bigger question here is, how did he get registered to play for Birr in the first place? I think someone somewhere isn't been entirely honest here!! The rule is there...& it's the same for every player over Crinkle Birr direction...so why challenge it, why say the GAA is bullying someone when the fact is that to give in to this would create an even bigger problem!!

The Ken Casey thing is completely separate...in fact it's nothing to do with it at all because its a transfer out of Offaly for a start...this is a young lad trying to get his own way when the rules say you can't have something!!

The GAA needs to tell Conor to stop being such a drama queen, go & play for Crinkle or don't bother & play something else.

[kinnittyman]

So Conor's grandfather is a life President of Birr therefore it would be hardly beyond the realms of possibility that the family is well versed in the laws of the boundary issue with Crinkle.

Conor then plays completely illegally with Birr and is reported for it. Mammy is raging that Conor can't do what he and the family likes (even though he is completely ineligible to hurl with Birr) and goes crying to the media.

In a nutshell -"My son is being bullied because he(we) can't get our way"

I'd say she's some craic at Parent-Teacher meeting.

[ennis 22101]

shocking treatment of a young lad by those involved,by the report the lad has hurled for years for his club by parish rules which i taught were the only rule, but they seem to have made another rule confused.com,and wonder if he wasnt a talent would they have bothered,let the lad play its not like offaly can let promising lads be treated like this,and more shocking plastering his name on posters now theres definitely a law against that,

[Lone Shark]

shocking treatment of a young lad by those involved,by the report the lad has hurled for years for his club by parish rules which i taught were the only rule, but they seem to have made another rule confused.com,and wonder if he wasnt a talent would they have bothered,let the lad play its not like offaly can let promising lads be treated like this,and more shocking plastering his name on posters now theres definitely a law against that,

In fairness, there can't be too many people in the Birr parish who are aware of the long running dispute and the agreement that was reached at the end of it, and it's certainly safe to say there is no-one in Birr club in a position of influence who doesn't know it very well. Either way, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Neither does it make sense to ignore the rule just because this lad's mother has a big whinge about it, and I'd have little or no faith in any player becoming a serious hurler after he's taught a lesson early in the game that if you kick and stomp and make a fuss, people will ignore the rulebook just for you.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

This is typical of modern society!

Parents jumping up and down over their children being bullied because someone is implementing the rules. This happens a lot now in the GAA. People all wanting the best players to play with the best clubs, because that is what happens in Soccer and rugby, and many parents associate mnore with this than GAA.

This is however a deeper issue, in that people are looking at their kids who are showing promise at 12/13 and looking ahead to see what their options are with regard to adult grades, and is going to become more of an issue in the future.
Boundary rules need to be looked at, but, there needs to be some real work done into how lads can be helped to achieve their full potential, ie old parish rule to allow players play Senior. Its not as simple as to say "ah sure, put a senior team into each parish?", not that simple when you look at the scenario allowed to unfold where there are 4 clubs in Daingean parish. In this case, pure madness that 4 clubs were allowed to form in the first place.
Getting off the point, but the better players, on the basis that they play with their own clubs should be facilitated somehow with the opportunity to play senior hurling or football.

[mother 123]

I think people are missing the point here this juvenile had had his name posted all over hotel lobby that he was in dispute with the gaa.He has also been contacted by email as a juvenile I am very aware being involved in juvenile sport that code of ethics have been broken here. It was said many years ago that the two most powerful organizations in Ireland were the Catholic church and the gaa as people we're afraid to question them, surely in this day and age with an educated public we are entitled to question old antiquated rules that segregated people into what areas they came from and whether their fathers played for a particular club. Just to further justify change the father rule does not apply to children who's mothers represented their club at senior level does anyone see any sexist problem here. RULES apply and are relevant until they are improved Or superseded we are in a democracy surely. Best pf luck Conor

[townman]

didn't the McPaddens get to play with Rhode weren't they clonmore

[Plain of the Herbs]

Something tells me that the parent issue in the continuing Birr / Crinkill saga is not a rule but rather is the subject of agreement between the two clubs.

In any event there is no provision in the parish rule, under County Offaly bye-laws, for playing for the parish of a parent.

And, (presuming the mother played camogie) the Camogie Association is a separate body and does not operate under the auspices of the GAA.

That the same journalist, writing in the same paper, on the same day, had two separate articles, one about the mammy and the son, the other carrying quotes from the Birr chairman, suggest this whole issue currently highlighted is a PR spin by the Birr club.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Nothing to do with this case. The Birr issue revolves around the 'father' agreement between Birr and Crinkill.

didn't the McPaddens get to play with Rhode weren't they clonmore

[Lone Shark]

I think people are missing the point here this juvenile had had his name posted all over hotel lobby that he was in dispute with the gaa.He has also been contacted by email as a juvenile I am very aware being involved in juvenile sport that code of ethics have been broken here. It was said many years ago that the two most powerful organizations in Ireland were the Catholic church and the gaa as people we're afraid to question them, surely in this day and age with an educated public we are entitled to question old antiquated rules that segregated people into what areas they came from and whether their fathers played for a particular club. Just to further justify change the father rule does not apply to children who's mothers represented their club at senior level does anyone see any sexist problem here. RULES apply and are relevant until they are improved Or superseded we are in a democracy surely. Best pf luck Conor

Regarding the issues around the name on a poster and emailing, then perhaps the mother's name and email could have been used instead, admittedly. However that has no bearing whatsoever on the core issue here, which is which club Conor should be playing for - which is quite clearly Crinkill, to anyone outside of Birr Club.

(1) A rule from not even five years ago is hardly "antiquated". Unless of course you're questioning parish rule itself, or even the very concept that people should represent where they are from. If we give up on that, we may as well give up on the GAA as far as I'm concerned.

(2) The agreement re:fathers was negotiated by Birr and Crinkill clubs. They agreed it - so any issue regarding sexism should be taken up with them. Considering Camogie and Ladies Gaelic are completely separate organisations that don't come directly under the auspices of the GAA, I'd suggest that it's not any more sexist than saying that if a child's parent played for Birr rugby club - by rule it's a different sport.

(3) We are in a democracy. Clubs came to an agreement, the county board ratified it, approved by Leinster Council, all done correctly. Democracy doesn't mean only obeying the rules you like, it means obeying them all and agitating for change within the system, not breaking the rules. Just because you don't vote for a certain political party doesn't mean that you can skip paying taxes they bring in when the majority of voters go against you.

[Lone Shark]

didn't the McPaddens get to play with Rhode weren't they clonmore

Ah here. That bears no relation and you know it - the dispute with the McPaddens was regarding where they actually lived. They had an address in Rhode, which Clonmore argued was an "address of convenience" - absolutely nothing remotely similar to this case.

Is it even remotely possible that you might take off your blinkers and realise that Birr haven't a leg to stand on here?

[llkj]

Your doing a good job of endearing yourself to the folk of the major towns in the county Lone Shark. It started with Tullamore a few years ago, now you've moved on to the people and facilities of Birr town. Edenderry watch out he's coming for you! Where will it stop, nobody knows!!

[Poshdub]

The only way I can describe what happened is like a death.

FFS. I think this sums up the mother.

[DAF]

I think people are missing the point here this juvenile had had his name posted all over hotel lobby that he was in dispute with the gaa.He has also been contacted by email as a juvenile I am very aware being involved in juvenile sport that code of ethics have been broken here. It was said many years ago that the two most powerful organizations in Ireland were the Catholic church and the gaa as people we're afraid to question them, surely in this day and age with an educated public we are entitled to question old antiquated rules that segregated people into what areas they came from and whether their fathers played for a particular club. Just to further justify change the father rule does not apply to children who's mothers represented their club at senior level does anyone see any sexist problem here. RULES apply and are relevant until they are improved Or superseded we are in a democracy surely. Best pf luck Conor

It is not sexist as the Camogie and Ladies Football Associations have decided against joining the Gaelic Athletic Association.The mother playing camogie for Birr is about as relevant as her playing Rugby or Soccer for Birr.

If the mother was so desperate for her son to play for Birr they should have lived in Birr.

I don't see the relevance of living in a democracy has to do with this case.The GAA has rules and they should be abided by if you wish to be a member of the association.

[ryot]

DAF

Your comment re "Ladies chose not to join" is just incorrect....

GAA chose to exclude them.................

As for this case, I asked a question & got the answer.....

If this lady thinks her son is too good for Crinkle what is she doing living there , in an area beneath her high dignity !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!