GAA rely on fans' goodwill

THE GAA are effectively relying on the goodwill of supporters to end the traditional pitch invasion on All-Ireland final day. It's a tradition that has lasted almost as long as the 125 years of the association itself, but starting with this Sunday's hurling final between Kilkenny and Tipperary it's no longer being tolerated.

At least that's the plan - as in Plan A: Surprisingly, no additional security measures are being introduced for Sunday's game, which means ultimately the GAA are dependent on supporters adhering to their request not to invade the pitch come the final whistle.

Otherwise, they may still be forced into Plan B - which is the more familiar scenario of eager supporters out-numbering the stewards and readily invading the pitch.

But as part of their Plan A to prevent the pitch invasion the post-match presentation will now take place in the centre of the pitch, on a temporary podium, where the winning captain will be presented with the McCarthy Cup, in the presence of both the GAA president Christy Cooney and President of Ireland Mary McAleese - after which the winning team will carry out a lap of honour.

At a media briefing in Croke Park yesterday, Cooney defended the decision not to introduce any additional security measures, even if this means they're ultimately relying on the goodwill of supporters: "That is the case, but at the end of the day it always comes down to that goodwill," he said. "No extra Garda are being employed, but we're happy that we can deliver on it.

"Confrontation doesn't always resolve issues. That's why we're appealing to people to support us on this, and understand why we're doing it. But the last thing we want is confrontation between the fans and the Garda or the stewards. That's not helpful to anybody, and in fact creates a greater chance of somebody getting injured. We want to avoid that.

"We made this decision, as an association, for one basic reason, and that was the health and safety of all patrons, and the players, that are here on All-Ireland final day. We've expressed our concerns about pitch invasions in the past, and we want to avoid the situation where there are any serious injuries.

"We believed it was in the best interest of everyone to change. It's all about best practice, about prevention. Tradition is great, but the day we see somebody seriously injured, tradition goes out the window."

As part of the briefing, Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna made a short presentation on the dangers of pitch invasions, which he described as "a dangerous and costly tradition".

Not only are the players and supporters placed at considerable risk, the damage to the pitch is the equivalent of playing five matches in succession. He estimated that insurance claims from such events, which have run from between €15,000-€300,000, have cost the GAA around €500,000 in last four and a half years.

There was also a strong plea for support from GAA director general Páraic Duffy, who had aired his concerns over pitch invasions back at the GAA Congress in April: "Not everybody will like this," he said. "Many of our own members will say we're interfering with tradition.

"We've heard that argument before, and tradition is a wonderful thing in the GAA. But not in this situation, where it endangers our players and our spectators.

"The winners of an All-Ireland are entitled to have space to celebrate properly, and the losers are entitled to leave the field with dignity. In the present situation neither of those two things are really possible, so this is partly about giving the players the respect they deserve in an All-Ireland final.

"So we're trying to change a culture here, let GAA people understand that there is a better way of doing it, and that some things we did in the past can't carry on forever, not if safety is involved."

Duffy also stated that the GAA had looked at making pitch invasions against the law: "We have informally discussed with the Department of Sport that maybe legislation could have a role in this, going forward. That wasn't possible in the short term, but after this year's final we will look at that again.

"So we've taken the initiative ourselves, and said we're not going to wait until something happens. We just hope now that people will co-operate, and allow everyone to enjoy a celebration, and allow the players to cope with the winning and the losing in the best possible way."

A message from Cooney calling for the cooperation of spectators will also be played at half-time in Sunday's final. The trophy presentation will be followed by a small fireworks display, but naturally all that will be abandoned even if a few spectators manage to invade the pitch.

"We'll respond as we have to respond," admitted Cooney, "and as the occasion demands it. We have, naturally, a Plan B. But we'd hope that won't arise. That's why we're appealing to everyone coming here in Sunday to cooperate fully with our stewards and the Garda.

"We'd be confident, irrespective of who wins, that people will cooperate. If Tipperary win it's a huge occasion, but if Kilkenny win it will be a massive occasion for them as well, the four-in-a-row on the 125th anniversary of the association.

"We've appealed to both county boards to support us on this as well. There are lots of ways of celebrating, and we'd just hope people can enjoy the day, without having to invade the pitch."