Cork's GAA strike is over. A sequence of meetings in the Silver Springs hotel in Cork city last night paved the way for resolution of the dispute, which has shaken the GAA in the county and sent reverberations around the association nationally.
At the end of over five hours of discussions the representatives of the county hurlers and footballers announced that they would be again making themselves available for training.
According to the players, substantial progress was made on all issues, apart from those outside of the county's remit - ticket allocations, mileage and compensation for work missed. On these issues, governed by national policy, the county executive have undertaken to support the players' campaign for change.
The much-improved conditions for players emerged from a longer than expected initial meeting between delegations from both the hurlers and footballers and the county executive. The players met among themselves for about an hour before announcing that they had accepted the proposals.
There had been speculation earlier in the day that the players' demand for 20 free tickets to every match plus an option to buy a further 20 would be compromised down to 10 plus 10 but instead the matter awaits national clarification.
Similarly players' mileage is the subject of a proposed rate rise sponsored by Jarlath Burns's Players Committee, the official Croke Park representative body. That recommended rate of 60 cent per mile has yet to be accepted by Central Council. It has emerged that the Cork players are seeking 89 cent per mile.
In the matter of compensation, national GAA policy on amateurism forbids it but it is practised in a number of counties.
Fifteen people attended the meeting, five from each of the county panels plus five officers.
The footballers were dual player Diarmuid O'Sullivan, Colin Corkery, Ronan McCarthy, Ciaran O'Sullivan, Joe Kavanagh and Conrad Murphy, who temporarily boosted the football delegation to six until Corkery had to leave early in order to fulfil a prior engagement to present medals in Clonakilty.
Representing the hurlers were: Joe Deane, Donal Cusack, Seán Ó hÁilpín, Mark Landers and Alan Browne. Executive officers in attendance were county chairman Jim Forbes, vice-chairman Mick Dolan, treasurer Pearse Murphy, county secretary Frank Murphy and county development officer Bob Ryan.