O'Neill against splitting Dublin into two squads unless requested by the county

GAA president Liam O’Neill yesterday stated his opposition to recent suggestions of splitting Dublin into two or even three squads that would compete in the championship. Be it at underage or senior level.

“At underage level Dublin might feel it is of more benefit to field more than one team,” said O’Neill. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s not something that’s going to be forced on them. I certainly have no appetite for it. If Dublin feel at underage level that it’s going to be of benefit to them I am sure that Leinster Council would be more than willing to accommodate them. That could be done and it’s probably in that context that it should be looked at. If it worked at underage level it could grow naturally.”

The idea of splitting Dublin into competing sectors was first suggested by the strategic review committee in 2002. “It cannot be done without the co-operation of Dublin,” O’Neill continued. “It can only be done, to the advantage of the organisation, when Dublin feel ready for that.”

There is also the issue of dismantling the lucrative Dublin brand. “I can see the argument for it and I can see the argument against it. I can see the argument against breaking the brand that’s working at the moment. That’s why it would have to grow from a wish within Dublin from people involved in clubs who want representative opportunities,” O’Neill said.

“I certainly won’t be pushing it. I am always worried about breaking brands that work before you have something else to replace it. That would be a concern here. Listening to the arguments, we would have to find ways to accommodate them in our structure if they did decide to go down that route. We could accommodate that, but it won’t work if it’s forced. It would have to come from within.”

Meanwhile, the GAA yesterday became the country’s first sporting organisation to launch a national anti-bullying campaign in partnership with the Government. “I commend the GAA for developing this programme to address and prevent bullying,” said Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. “With a presence in local communities around the country, the GAA is very well placed to develop awareness and influence young people within the GAA and in the wider community.”