Gaelic Games in Society by John Connolly & Paddy Dolan

Author:John Connolly & Paddy Dolan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030316990
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Bureaucratisation Processes, Advancing Seriousness of Involvement and the Erosion of Amateur Structures

The professionalisation of administrative functions in the GAA remained relatively limited in the early decades of the twentieth century with most positions filled on a voluntary basis. Nonetheless, tentative elements of professionalism were increasingly integrated and formalised. At a bureaucratic level, the increasing administrative workloads, due to the expansion of the association, led some county committees to award ‘grants’ to cover the work and/or expenses pertaining to the function of county secretary (McAnallen, 2009, p. 164). In 1914 the GAA’s constitution was amended so that provincial councils were entitled to fix the provincial secretary’s remuneration (GAA, 1914). Basically, some elements—however small—of the voluntary organisation of Gaelic games were being replaced by professional structures.

In several counties, players were awarded travel expenses and recompense for other costs incurred in playing. While this had been a feature of the GAA from the very early years such practices had been more ad hoc. Now it was being given more formal sanction in some counties (McElligott, 2013, p. 168). In parallel with this there were advances in what Dunning (2008) labelled seriousness of involvement and an achievement orientation. This concerned both players and administrators and it occurred more rapidly at what had become the elite level—the men’s inter-county competitions. The competitive interdependences between units of the GAA led to an increased emphasis on pre-match preparation. Specialist training, including what were known as training camps, was initiated in some counties (McElligott, 2013, pp. 157, 192; Rouse, 2015, p. 196). Many working men (both lower middle class and working class) were unable to commit to such training camps, and also more localised training, without remuneration of some form. Consequently, GAA administrators arranged for various systems of compensation including the provision of broken-time payments. These were not ‘under the counter’ but openly declared practices. One example of this was in County Laois in 1914. Here the county committee appealed to the public to support a training fund to provide ‘broken time’ for players:The preparation of the team for the Leinster Championship was carried out at the personal expense of the members of the team. This has involved a serious drain on the means of the men, who, in many cases, had to provide substitutes to fill their places of employment during frequent special practices. It would be too much to expect them to bear the expenses of the extra special course of training which will be necessary for them to undergo for the playing of the All-Ireland Final. The team is mainly composed of working men to whom loss of a day’s wages is a serious matter, and they have, as stated, already sacrificed a considerable sum in this way. (Higgins, 1914–1917)

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