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'We are all kissy-kissy now' | Liam Griffin GAA relationships after the CPA

Liam Griffin was a guest on Wednesday's Off The Ball following the dissolution of the Club Player...



Hurling

'We are all kissy-kissy now' | Liam Griffin GAA relationships after the CPA

Liam Griffin was a guest on Wednesday's Off The Ball following the dissolution of the Club Players Association, a move that Griffin feels may not sadden too many in the Croke Park hierarchy.

Griffin spoke before about how he was shunned when he attempted to form the body for club players.

With the creation of a split season, the body was disbanded and Griffin says everyone is friends again.

"I didn't get too many hugs and kisses when they were going about the place, I'll tell you that," the former Wexford boss said.

"That's okay now, there were little jibes passed by everybody, let's be honest about it.

"When there is nothing left to be said, some fool will always say it and that happened in one instance at least.

"We were only talking about a shade of difference, we are all GAA people. we are all kissy-kissy now, we have made up and hopefully, it will move on.

"There is no triumphalism here, everybody came to the same agreement, that's what happened.

"It is very important that we keep it with the integrity attached to it and just change the goalposts a little."

The process highlighted the interminable nature of some of the bureaucracy in the organisation for Griffin.

"If other people have other issues, they should be able to raise them," he said.

"The systems that we [the GAA] are operating, you'd want to be in the High Court to navigate the GAA.

"When you put a motion forward as I did many times, they would get hammered for the most unbelievable reasons. The speed of getting the youths cumanns and what they feel about the system because that wasn't there before.

"It was just going back through the county boards and that doesn't give a true reflection because young players are not going to go to county board meetings, that is for sure."

Order and Discipline

Liam Griffin reminded listeners how important the split season is to the vast majority of GAA club players.

"Brings order and discipline to the system, and that is what was missing, order and discipline," he said.

"It is irrefutable that the system was broken, and we were not out there just to make trouble, we were concerned about the game.

"I was coaching kids for much of my adult life and the drop out rate was much more than 60 to 70 percent as well.

"When they got to adult, I know from all these kids, they are in their 30s now and working to help our club.

"They said the magic went out when they got to adult, they didn't know what the hell we were doing, whereas at underage they had a system of games that ran pretty smoothly."


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CPA GAA GAA Congress Liam Griffin Wexford