It Occurs to Me: The GAA and ‘influencers’!

Here’s a sample of some of the questions asked by an "influencer" at the GAA All Stars awards.

1. She asked Young Player of the Year Kobe McDonald if he'd rather win the All Ireland or SAM?
2. She asked Player of the Year Ryan O'Donoghue if he'd rather win or 'be kind' and let the other team win!
3. She called Kilkenny hurler Cian Kenny ‘Cian Kelly’ and he had to explain to her what the All Stars were about!

My Donegal response to all that cringe inducing nonsense is “What in onder of good Jasus is happening to this organisation?” It appears that the ‘interviews’ (ha ha!) were conducted on behalf of BPerfect Cosmetics who are - wait for it! - the ‘Official Diversity & Inclusivity Partner of the GPA! ‘(The Gaelic Players Association). As former Laois star Colm Parkinson queried:

“What has happened to the GPA? Making a mockery of the players & All Stars so their 'Diversity and Inclusivity Partner' can get some social media content.” Maybe Tom Parsons, Donal Óg Cusack and Cora Staunton of the GPA might let us know what they think of this gaffe. It’s ironic that today we may know how the US Congress and the Senate votes have made a huge dent in Trump’s campaign, and yet as I watched the ‘influencer’ make a buck eejit of herself, I was reminded of Karoline Leavitt and Kathy Zacharia.

Hey, I’m all in favour of proper diversity and inclusivity, but not when the cheerleaders resemble someone auditioning for Love Ireland! How many fine sports journalists in provincial newspapers and radio stations throughout Ireland would give their right hand to be guests at this annual shindig, but I suppose the powers-that-be are terrified that they might ask intelligent questions?.

Genuine football and hurling supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated at the headlong corporate blitz of the GAA, and many grassroots groups, including ‘Gaels Against Genocide’ and hundreds of GAA members, launched the #DropAllianzcampaign urging Croke Park to end its sponsorship deal with Allianz, because of its ties with Israel.

Also, let’s not forget that Mary McAleese resigned a few months ago as chairperson of the Steering Group on Integration. She said:

“I did meet the management committee, and a body, quite frankly, that was less than impressive and very disappointing to me as a long-term GAA supporter to meet a body so lacking in vision for the future of the GAA.

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“But it boils down to, in their view, finances, which incidentally we had taken great trouble to meet their concerns [about] and to have answers for their concerns that were more than credible and more than workable.

“But I also suspect, and I hate to say this, but I suspect that there are people who are not entirely happy about the idea of including women in decision making at the top level of Gaelic sports.”

There are indeed, Mary, and proof, if proof were needed, of the sheer tokenism of the attitude to women, was sending a female influencer - unresearched in the extreme - to the All Stars gala.

Diversity and Inclusivity, mo thóin! (I’ve been told by a Donegal Digital Marketing & Content Creator that the GAA had two real ‘influencers’ at the gig and that they were good. Excellent! Can’t wait to see the videos)

Assisting the providers

As ever, some controversy surrounds the All Star football selections. My attitude is ‘checks and balances’ - you win some and you lose some. But in the year that was in it, it’s hard to begrudge Mayo in 2026, so let the hare sit. Here are some interesting statistics…I don’t know if the judges were swayed by them, but they’re telling!

Top assist providers - provincial and championship 2026.

1. Niall Scully - Dublin - 45.
2. Stephen O’Hanlon - Monaghan - 39.
3. Ryan O’Donoghue - May - 34.
4. Joint: Sean Mulroy - Louth - 33. Jarly Óg Burns - Armagh - 33.

Highest involvement in team shots:

1. David Clifford - Kerry - 59 shots from play. (17 assists…76 shot involvements)
2. Robert Finnerty - Galway - 26 shots from play. (22 assists…48 shot involvements)
3. Ryan O’Donoghue - Mayo - 39 shots from play. (34 assists…73 shot involvements)
4. James Conlon - Meath - 27 shots from play. (10 assists…37 shot involvements)
5. Kobe Mc Donald - Mayo - 41 shots from play. (25 assists…66 shot involvements).

I’m a wee bit baffled by the Conlon stat provided, but overall, it makes fascinating reading.

Enoch not knockin’ on heaven’s door!

I’m sure many of you have seen the video of the ubiquitous whinger Enoch Burke confronting The Church of Ireland Primate John McDowell and grabbing his arm before the Archbishop says "you are assaulting me". Reverend McDowell continued to tell Burke that he is "assaulting" him and "preventing me from going about my lawful business”.

He continued: “If you keep assaulting me, I am going to report you to the police.”

Another member of the church told Burke "you are in the grounds of a cathedral at a funeral”.

The PSNI confirmed it was investigating a report of an assault on a member of the clergy.

Jesus wept! The Burkes are under the illusion they are heaven bound…they’re in for a quare gunk!

Tolls, e-bikes and kicking cans!

I see where tolls on many of the country’s roads, including the M50 and the Port Tunnel will rise, for all vehicles, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) confirmed last week. It never ends for motorists, and as Peadar Toibín of Aontu points out:

“The likes of the M50 has been paid for over and over and all these roads have taken in billions and billions in tolls. It’s a cash cow and these hikes are purely to gouge commuters.

“Some people are paying thousands a year in tolls, just to get to work – and spending their days stuck in traffic in the car park that is the M50 because they have no public transport alternative. It is incredibly unfair on people.”

Now, I rarely encounter tolls - thanks be to God - but I have friends who are fleeced day and daily in Leinster and this cash cow is rarely alluded to by the current government. Another scandal concerns the 500 public e-bikes worth around €1 million (€2,000 each) which are being taken off the road just months after launch by the TFI bike schemes' operator, Telfourth , with backing from the National Transport Authority (NTA). Where does the buck stop?

‘Kicking the can down the road’ should replace the Tailteann Cup as a competition!

Craic in the ‘flax’!

I’m blessed to be working with a wonderful bunch of mature ‘cubs’ and ‘cutties’ (as they describe themselves) in the Sixmiletown/Beragh area of Tyrone, and the yarns and insights just get better and better. We meet weekly in the fantastic Flaxmill Centre, a venue suffused with flax history. The area itself was made famous by the Rev. WF Marshall, the famous Bard of Tyrone, who penned the famous ‘Me and me Da’;

“I'm livin' in Drumlister,

An' I'm gettin very oul',

I have to wear an Injun bag

To kape me from the coul'.

The deil a man in this townlan'

Wuz claner raired nor me,

But I'm livin' in Drumlister

In clabber till the knee.”

Interestingly, many of the locals are descended from cubs and cutties who were ‘hired out’ from west Donegal many decades ago, and the storytelling and ballad traditions are very much alive. Two of my favourite stories were shared by Francie last week. His father was a small farmer and didn’t receive an awful lot of mail, but one day, a new postman on his bike called to him with a letter, and remarked: “God save us, that’s an awful long bloody lane down to this place!”

“The old man took his pipe from his mouth, spat, and responded: “Sure if it was any shorter, it wouldn’t reach the house!”

Another concerned a woman who had a nightmare shortly after her husband died. He appeared to her surrounded by smoke and flames, so she asked: “Ach Johnny, you’re in Hell…what’s it like?” Says the ghost: “It’s very like home Bridget, I cannae get near the fire!”