The possibility of officially paid inter-county GAA managers no longer appears to be an issue still someway down the track, but something that could be put front and centre sooner rather than later.
There are suggestions that that the GAA's amateur status review committee (ASRC), established by GAA President Jarlath Burns in March 2024, are considering a proposal that would provide managers with a €20,000 per year stipend, a move that would undoubtedly garner much debate around whether it aligns with the Association’s volunteer ethos.
The ASRC’s consultation process ended last month and they will report to the GAA’s Ard Chomhairle in early autumn to seek approval for recommendations that will ultimately go before Congress.
With that in mind, we spoke to a current inter-county manager, player and committee member to hear their views on such a move.
RTÉ Sport permitted all interviewees to speak anonymously to allow them to express their opinions freely.
The current inter-county manager
"I can honestly say it’s an all-consuming role, you never stop working to better the group and for a lot of counties the support network isn’t there compared to the top counties so you deal with a lot more than other managers.
"Our budget is one of the lowest around and I actually think if our county board were mandated to give the €20,000 to me as I saw suggested, I’d end up having to pay for things out of that €20,000 to cover other necessary costs for an elite team environment.
"I do believe the stigma around coaches and managers receiving payments is ridiculous because I know myself and my management work incredibly hard and it’s not about the small expenses we receive. I’m sure it’s the same for many managers and coaches around the country. The time it takes definitely warrants payment of some sort.
"However, and I’m not privy to exact figures, but I’m sure there are managers receiving probably an awful lot more than what I do a year and I don’t know if that is quite right either.
"I think there’s a balance to be found. There are cases at both ends of the extremity.
"But the stigma and throwaway comments that Joe Public makes towards managers and coaches is totally unwarranted. The pressure, regardless of where you manage, is extreme and if it’s a man who cares about the group they are with, there’s no escaping it during the year and there’s no one could tell me that doesn’t warrant some form of reward."
The current inter-county player
"As a player I don’t see any issue with it. From my experience and witnessing what managers do and the work they have to put in in terms of training the players, getting management groups together, overseeing all the logistics, never mind even the psychological stuff, looking out for players off the field, family issues, bereavements, you name it – a manager at inter-county level delves into all of those issues and goes through a mountain of work.
"So €20,000? I don’t see the issue with it, but I do see the issue with how it’s going to be policed. Say a county board pays a manager €20,000 but what’s still to stop a sponsor meeting that manager and giving him an envelope with another €20,000 at the end of the year?
"On paper this ticks a lot of boxes, it keeps Croke Park happy that a manager is only earning €20,000, but it’s not the reality and that’s going to be widespread throughout the country.
"I understand where Croke Park is coming from about it being unsustainable financially, but my biggest problem is not even managers getting paid, but more on county boards not doing their homework when selecting management teams.
"Much too often county boards go into selection process and they look at a man who had a great playing career and pick him because of that. It happens at club level, this said person may have no real experience of coaching or managing at all. At county level, this man may have coached his club’s Under-16s or an adult team playing junior football but he gets the job on his name.
"He’s going to get the salary an inter-county manager is expected to get. That’s not the manager’s fault, it’s the county board’s fault for not doing their homework and that’s money wasted. Counties and clubs don’t investigate enough to make smart decisions on where the money is going but the blame is put on the manager for p***ing away that money.
"Croke Park is giving off about managers getting paid, I see first-hand the effort they put in, and obviously we as players don’t get paid – it's a handling match to even get expenses that wouldn’t even cover your fuel.
"Take All-Ireland final day, football or hurling, 82,000 people at €100 a ticket is €8.2m. I know there are sponsors and different allocations, but on a basic term that’s what they’re making before you take in other income from money spent in the stadium, etc. That’s just on those two days.
"In my opinion, every player should get a subsidised payment at the end of the year. That may even split opinion, even within my own team, but I believe it and also every player on every squad should get the same amount – player number 1 for Dublin and player 37 for Longford should get the same.
"I’m talking solely about the revenue generated from All-Ireland final day. I tallied it up one day looking at tickets, not even taking into account TV deals and merchandise and all that craic, each player could get a payment of €5,000 or €6,000 every year. Every player.
"Lads are sitting up above in suits at Croke Park getting paid, yet they’re looking down on managers and players who speak about getting a few quid. If they want to go on about volunteerism, why aren’t their payments capped or why don’t they volunteer instead of taking payment if that’s truly what they believe in?
"It also strikes me that there are bigger issues in the GAA right now. One would be the usage of recreational drugs throughout clubs across Ireland. It’s probably a secret pandemic and maybe something we try to ignore within all of our own clubs. Something like that concerns me a lot more than this."
The current county board official
"It will be a lot easier for county boards if it comes in, but it depends on what format they agree for it.
"If there is that set maximum, counties obviously have ways and means around that to give more.
"It doesn’t solve the issue, €20,000 is a percentage of what it’s costing. Managers and backroom teams get paid, assistant managers get paid, coaches get paid, goalkeeping coaches get paid – everyone is getting something.
"County boards would go along with it but it’s not going to be a patch on what’s been given out.
"In our county, everything goes through the books, the treasurer wouldn’t have it any other way, but it’s going to be very hard to cap it, nearly impossible. Every county is working at a different level.
"What solution is there? I don’t think there is one, it’s just a runaway train at the moment and that’s the way it’s going to stay."
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