Greater debate needed in Mayo GAA on the huge struggles of rural clubs

by Martin Carney

IT’S that time of year when little is stirring on the playing pitches. In its place, the political wing of the association takes centre stage.

County and club conventions are in full swing right now.

This is a separate world in itself where members are elected to office and essentially are entrusted with the responsibility of providing direction for their clubs.

Possessing political acumen as distinct from knowledge of the sport is often what tilts matters in favour of those who seek election to office.

One way or the other, elected officers soon find that their roles make huge demands on their time.

Responsibility for running a club requires strength, a hard neck to withstand the endless criticisms, and a sense of vision for the club's future direction at all levels.

I remember I served as secretary to Castlebar Mitchels many moons ago. It was a different world.

Whereas the workload then was taxing, I can only guess at how much more difficult it is today. In the modern era – where social media dominates, where every single act is parsed and analysed online – officers certainly go through the rigors during their terms in positions of control.

Urban and rural clubs have, to a certain extent, distinct yet varying pressures. Another time I’ll try to make sense of some of the problems facing urban units.

This week, however, I’ll try my hand at looking in a broad sense at rural clubs and then take a specific north Mayo case study to illustrate issues that exist within our own county.

During the week, a report from the National Demographics Committee indicated that 78% of clubs nationwide are in areas of declining population.

Many of these clubs are struggling to field teams. Such is the extent of the problem that GAA President Jarlath Burns indicated that in the not-too-distant future, the association may be forced to introduce nine--side games in many counties to cater for the playing needs of members.

This at a time when the population of the Island of Ireland is at its highest since the Famine!

Standing at something above seven million, one in three of the country’s overall population lives in Dublin or within an hour's commute from the city.

Yet this area alone is where just 18% of all clubs are concentrated.

This region has loads of people yet little room for expansion due to the high cost of land, while rural areas have the facilities, more often than not of the highest standards, yet not enough people to keep teams viable.

Marty Morrissey presented excellent news pieces during the week about the issues facing rural clubs all over the country.

The struggle they are experiencing to stay afloat is unimaginable and eye- opening.

His news piece on the first evening concentrated specifically on the problems facing clubs in south Kerry.

Here, due to declining population, difficulties experienced by members getting employment locally and problems experienced in getting planning permission to build in their own back yards has led to a huge population drain.

A region that over the decades gave us some of the greatest ever exponents of the games – Mick O’Connell, Mick O’Dwyer, the Spillanes and Maurice Fitzgearald, to name but a few – had a sole representative, Graham O’Sullivan, on this year's All- Ireland-winning side.

National school enrolment has dropped by 41% in recent times and the entire region now has a grand total of 83 school-going children. Clubs, because of falling numbers, are finding it virtually impossible to survive, so amalgamations are becoming increasingly the norm in the area.

Marty also took case studies in Cork and Laois. Colm O’Rourke looked at his place of birth, Aughavas in Co. Leitrim, in the Sunday Independent to illustrate the difficulties experienced here, but had they come further west they would have found a particularly interesting example of the plight experienced by a region (I stress region) here in Mayo.

A few weeks ago I noticed a team, Erris Shamrocks, competing in an Under 21 championship game against Breaffy. They beat the west Mayo lads but as I hadn’t heard of their existence, I did a little investigative work.

The team is drawn from an amalgamation of the Cill Chomáin, Kiltane and Ballycroy clubs, who have struggled in recent years to keep competing across the various grades. The area, close in total to the size of Co. Louth, has been denuded of its native population.

The newly formed outfit will compete at Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 level going forward.

Aside from the playing side of things, logistically this puts huge pressure on preparing and training teams.

As players come together from as far afield as Geesala, Carrowtighe, Ballycroy and Cill Chomáín to train, it often means round trips in excess of 100 kilometers for those participating.

Yes, training venues are chosen on a rotational basis, but nonetheless the burden on all concerned is huge.

Fewer and fewer families live there anymore, birth rates have fallen, jobs are scarce, traditional industries like fishing have declined, and planning regulations generally do few favours to those wishing to build in their own localities.

Houses that are on the market are sold to the highest bidders (understandably) and in many cases end up bought by outsiders for holiday homes.

Communities in this north Mayo region are dying a slow death. The national school in Glenamoy, for example, closed in the past 12 months.

My understanding is that the four children of primary school age have simply gone to Rossport, Inver and Carrowtighe to complete their primary education.

This year, Cill Chomáin competed on their own at intermediate level and got as far as the quarterfinal. Last year, when they won the county junior title, one of the players commuted from Edinburgh, two from Amsterdam, and two from different parts of the UK, as did their joint manager, John Moloney.

What they achieved in winning the 2024 junior title was nothing short of amazing. Equally, getting to the last eight of this year's competition was remarkable. Their story resonates with clubs and communities in west Donegal and further afield.

The document published this week highlights the problem, offers solutions and should hopefully provoke a sustained debate about the plight of the western seaboard in general and ways of improving lives there.

Its title – Nobody Shouted Stop - Until Now – drew its inspiration from the title of John Healy’s influential 1968 publication, Nobody Shouted Stop - Death of an Irish Town, which railed bitterly against the decay of his home town, Charlestown.

The problems of nearly 60 years ago still persist. Finding solutions won’t happen overnight.