This has been an interesting year for the GAA. On the majorityof fronts it has been a huge success. Right now the brand must be somewhere close to its peak. 

Organisations of such a size constantly evaluate the health of their brand and in the process look for ways to enhance it and above all, protect it. We can only assume the GAA are undergoing this process right about now.

Those in power will revel in the magnificence of the hurling championship, the new format, crowds, excitement and its eventual winners. Save for perhaps the miss-step of a couple of venue choices, Waterford’s exile and the condensed nature of the summer, it was the perfect hurling year. And if a few eggs were broken, what harm, the omelette was worth it. It is also worth pointing out that whatever mini-controversies reared their heads disappeared as quickly. 

This side of the house will deserve their Christmas bonus. 

Then the trouble begins. The big ball presentation. Where to begin? The Leinster and Munster football championships are no longer competitive, in truth the entire championship hasn’t been. And Dublin are not the problem here. 

Forgettable

We had so much banality and blinking, first on a controversy like Newbridge or Nowhere is never good for the brand. All told a forgettable year here and the figures for next 12 months don’t look inspiring either. 

It is at this point that the Apples and Googles of the world diverge from the GAA. Because if you were making the football presentation in Silicon Valley, your next stop would be to empty your desk on the way out the door. 

That’s the harsh corporate world and the essence of our games and those charged with protecting them bears no relation. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t apply some business principles now and again when it makes sense to do so.

Changes afoot?

So we have half of our franchise falling apart at the seams. What would Ryanair do? 

Okay a bad analogy, they’d do away with football and double the hurling and find some way to make you pay for it.

But what will the GAA do?

Right there is the crux for those responsible for the brand. They have to act, but doing so quickly is neither in their nature nor their wont. 

Will anything happen in the coming weeks? Will there be conferences, high powered meetings, peppered with presentations, staffed by experts who have something to say and no agenda with it, only love of our games?

Before we know it the O’Byrne Cup will come around again, the McKenna Cup too. Then we’re straight into the National League and the GAA will just keep on keeping on. September, October, some of November, that is our timeframe to get busy and make changes. 

Legacy

It is the time for GAA president John Horan to start legacy building. He has appointed a number of people to key positions within the association and he must empower them to try and tackle the threatened state of football. And again, it’s not about Dublin, it’s everyone else. 

High powered groups like Central Council shouldn’t hide behind Congress, they need to act now.

The Management Committee of the GAA is staffed by 12 men. They include presidents and a former president, various provincial council and overseas chairs. They mightn’t realise it, but a Management Committee is allowed to get things done.  

It’s a stab in the dark, but I’d guess the average age of this grouping is something closer to sixty than forty. I’m not being ageist, I’m being optimistic because I’ve always believed in the adage: ‘Beware of an old man in a hurry’. 

Well lads, speed is of the essence now. The branding department are relying on you. 

Ladies take centre stage

This Sunday sees Cork and Kilkenny meet for the third year in a row in the All-Ireland camogie final. 

Last year’s final between the pair was a dinger and was decided in dramatic fashion. Julia White came on in the dying minutes and shot the winning point for the Rebelettes, a fairytale return for her after almost two years of persistent injury.

Another star on the day was Gemma O’Connor, a player that wasn’t even named to start in the game, yet start she did and fire over the equaliser as time ran out. The Cats had looked winners throughout, they were going for a two in a row after beating Cork the year before by four points. 

So there’s a little history between the two, as you’d expect. Both are unbeaten in the championship to date and both have a score to settle in this the rubber match.

I’m looking forward to tuning in because I haven’t been to any senior camogie championship games this year due to unfortunate scheduling. But last year I watched Kilkenny and Clare play each other to a standstill in a pulsating draw in Nowlan Park. It was one of the best games I saw all year.

Denise Gaule had rescued the then All-Ireland champions that night with a late free in front of a packed house. 

After that game the men of Limerick (yes, that Limerick) and Kilkenny gave us a bland enough 70 minutes in a do-or-die qualifier. I left the Marble City that night buzzing only about the camogie contest and there is little doubt that the atmosphere that evening lifted both sides. I suspect this strongly because the Banner have neither played in front of such an audience nor won a championship match since!

There should be upwards of 20,000 in Croke Park on Sunday, but if you’ve ever been to a camogie final you will know that they manage to sound like 50,000. If you are missing hurling already, and I am, you could do worse than tune in here.