It's 'David' versus Goliath.

Interesting Article from Eugene McGee.

THERE was a time not so long ago when GAA followers other than officials or players were seen but seldom heard. That suited most officials who were able to run things THEIR way without having to worry about public opinion.

Recent events show that some of these officials think the same way today. But the arrival of radio phone-ins as well as the internet has changed all that. Today the GAA supporter who wants to get his or her voice heard has plenty of scope for doing so and the GAA is all the better for that.

For journalists, the internet provides a source of communication with the outside world that criticises, informs and even praises one's printed efforts in a way that brings life to the old clich that 'communication is a two-way street'.

Last week for example I received an email from a former Dub now resident in a large country town who raised an interesting point about how exactly we should define a GAA member.

In theory, it should be simple enough: it should be one who is a paid-up member of a GAA club with a membership card. But of course this being the GAA nothing is ever that simple or straightforward.

This man, who we will call 'David', has four games-playing children involved in camogie, ladies football, hurling and football in this large town. Annual membership for the various clubs comes to 210.

David also expects to attend half a dozen inter-county games this year which for family and all will cost him at least 50 per game in admission alone. He buys weekly tickets most weeks for the two GAA clubs his children are involved with which costs over 100 per annum. As most parents do, he will also buy replica jerseys for his children at about 70 a go which takes up another 280 this year.

All of which means that David will spend around 900 directly in GAA activity in 2005 and he is being very conservative at that. What concerns David is that that neither his children nor himself has ever had a GAA membership card even though they are involved with prominent GAA clubs.

Indeed they did not even get receipts for their membership fees. David's point in contacting me was summed up in his last paragraph: 'Don't tell me that I cannot offer an opinion on the opening up of Croke Park because I am not technically a GAA member'.

This of course is in response to the popular cry of GAA officials at the moment that Rule 42 is purely a matter for GAA members and the man has a very valid point. I have to say that it must be through sheer incompetence that his children have not been given membership cards as the majority of efficient GAA clubs now issue such cards and receipts too.

But leaving that aside, David raises a very fundamental point as to what sort of people are entitled to have their views heard on any relevant topic, not just Croke Park, within the GAA.

There are hundreds of thousands of GAA people like David in every corner of Ireland. They go to all the local club matches, help out with a bit of underage coaching or other work in the club, follow their county team and generally make up the the vast army of Irish people who are the backbone of the GAA. These people are not interested in GAA politics and will never run for office in the club.

But are they not just as important as the club officers? Without the Davids of this world the club officers would be left high and dry. It is their money that keeps the local club ticking over, not the officers' money. It is their interest in football, hurling and camogie that provides the membership of the local clubs all over the country.

It is now a well-recognised fact that unless the parents are pro-active in directing their children towards GAA games very many children will give their first loyalty to some other sport.

The point David makes about his and similar voices being entitled to be heard on major GAA decisions, while it is undoubtedly valid, is difficult to put into practice. One way is to have a referendum of all paid-up members throughout the country but the logistics of that exercise means that it could only be done on very rare occasions. Such a method was used back in 1970/71 when every club was instructed to hold a meeting and take a vote on the abolition of Rule 27, The Ban.

The same approach towards Rule 42 was recently proposed by Clare in the form of a motion for this year's Congress but in a totally inexplicable decision the infamous Motions Committee threw it out.

What has changed since 1971? In theory, of course, every GAA club is expected to meet and discuss the motions for Congress every year and then transmit their views to the local County Board.

Based on the decisions of all the clubs in a county the County Boarch chairman should then decree how that county will vote at Congress on the various motions. In practice, that rarely happens.

Instead, the executive of the club meets and makes the decision. Executives by definition are composed of elected officers some of whom are unpaid full-time GAA officials, i.e. they have been in power for anything between 10 and 50 years.

Debate is controlled by these people and democracy is merely a facade. The 'Very Important People' in the club make all the key decisions. That system applies all the way up the GAA system to the top as was proven recently when former presidents, who are Very, Very, Very Important People in the GAA, decided what motions passed by clubs all over Ireland should or should not be discussed at Congress.

No better example of how 'democracy' works in the GAA could you have than that farcical episode which did so much damage to the reputation of the entire GAA. The short answer for the many Davids of the GAA is that no, their voice will not normally be heard in relation to Rule 42 or anything else.

This decision like all other important matters in the GAA will be decided by a handful of powerbrokers who have devoted all their lives to attaining power in the GAA, practising all the time at using that power and above all uniting to keep out young rebels who from time to time stick their heads above the parapet and try to smash the old order.

A select group of these powerbrokers have spent the last few months quietly going around the country hoovering up as many anti-Rule 42 votes as possible by various means not least by using this year's presidential election contest as a lever.

So while the many Davids in the GAA represent the real spine of the organisation, when it comes to influencing the major decisions I'm afraid they like the rest of us can only stand and watch.

Thank God for the games of football and hurling where athletic freedom, spontaneity and childlike enthusiasm still rule the roost. Despite their best efforts, the long-serving politicians have little or no influence in this area which explains why so many thousands of Irish people enjoy the period from March to October each year.