Donegal has ‘no official stance’ on GAAGO paywall dispute

Mary Coughlan says Donegal haven’t had any sitdown discussion on the current GAAGO debate.

The paywall subscription service is a thorny topic of conversation right now with association president Jarlath Burns fending off criticism from several sectors, including the government, with Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin even weighing in on the matter.

Newly crowned Ulster champions Donegal will host Tyrone in their opening All-Ireland group stage clash, in Ballybofey, on Saturday week. And that tangle will not be available free-to-air but will, instead, go behind the streaming service paywall.

Donegal chairperson Coughlan - speaking to Donegallive on Wednesday afternoon - says she appreciates both sides of the argument.

“We don’t have any official stance on it,” she said. “The president is articulating the discussions that have taken place at national level. It’s a partnership between the GAA and RTE.

“His view, and it is a view we need to acknowledge, is that a lot of these games would not have been shown at all were it not for GAAGO.

“We’d be limited to the capacity of both RTE and TG4 as Sky have dropped out of the running. So I see that point of view.

“But the other side of it, and I get it too as I see and hear it; paying with cards, logging online, it can be a deterrent for many people who simply aren’t used to using technology in that way or are at least wary of it.

“Clubs, to be fair, do their very best to assist with this. It’s the new way of doing things. Is it the right way? It’s very hard to determine.

“But the other side to all of this as well is, even with the best of intentions to subscribe or pay, broadband infrastructure in many areas in Donegal simply won’t allow them to do that”.

The former Táinste says ticket distribution this time around, differs from the manner in which they were dealt out for Sunday’s Ulster final win over Armagh.

As well as club allocations, tickets will also be available to purchase on general sale from participating SuperValu and Centra stores. This is also a three-game group package on sale right now from Ticketmaster.

“Croke Park will now be looking after the ticket distribution, not Ulster GAA,” Coughlan said. “So they have a different method. The three-match package tickets are now available on Ticketmaster.

“Clubs and players will have their own allocation. What goes on sale Thursday morning, I don’t think those general sale ones will be seated. They’ll be for the three terraces in MacCumhaill Park”.

Meanwhile, Coughlan says watching Donegal boss Jim McGuinness and captain Patrick McBrearty walk the Anglo Celt into Donegal Town on Sunday night was a special moment.

“It was unbelievable - and credit to everyone involved. The team, management and supporters, people were just awestruck. Donegal Town later that night, credit to the Four Masters club and all the volunteers that came out.

“Aldi gave up their car park for the homecoming. It turned out to be a superb evening. And the lord was also on our side as the weather was also kind. The mix of old and young after in the Abbey Hotel - it was a magic evening”.