There is no foolishness or arrogance of any form. With CodyвЂ™s players there is no loud-mouthiness, no boasting, no trouble. His coaching has produced players of extraordinary calibre, of discipline, mentality, toughness, and calmness within themselves. In an extraordinary manager, like Brian Cody, Kilkenny has got a man who has led his county to their 19th All-Ireland Hurling final after they hammered Clare on Saturday.

I find that very difficult to reconcile when one looks at the club officials all over the country, who are standing in supermarkets on a Saturday for hours on end selling the lotto or spending every Friday night running bingo to get the few euros to keep their club afloat. It is suggested that in modern Gaelic games that there are some coaches not earning, yet in others being paid в‚¬100,000 a year. ThatвЂ™s something that was petty in the extreme as no referee in club or county football or hurling will ever make money from what is simply a labour of love. A referee wants to be part of an All-Ireland final, just as a player wants to play in one.ДЄ few years ago, refereesвЂ™ income was also the subject of some official focus, when the Revenue Commissioners served notice that they were going to look into referees expenses. Of course, it is a great honour to referee a final, and something any referee worth his salt would want to do. An All-Ireland final may draw a few million television viewers, as well as a packed Croke Park but I believe that the standard remuneration applies for the man who throws in the ball. Referees do not make a killing on the biggest day of the GAA calendar. Then there is the question of referees and how they are вЂњlooked afterвЂќ. The culture of the GAA is all about voluntary effort at club level, where the man on the gate at the smallest club in the country shares in the countyвЂ™s biggest day in Croke Park, if his county gets there of course.ДЄ lot of hot air is exhaled about the volunteer ethos within the GAA but it exists and is the biggest asset the Association or any other sporting body relies upon. The GAA is entitled to be proud that the 30 men on the field at any given point, who draw 82,000 spectators into Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, are all amateurs who donвЂ™t get a euro for their efforts - a statement which I believe is usually made as an endorsement of their amateur ethos rather than a criticism. Everyone agrees that the manager/coach is entitled to legitimate expenses, but the grapevine within the GAA fairly crackles with tales of vast sums finding their way into the bank accounts of various coaches. Looking to the sidelines, there is the vexed question of paid managers and coaches, a long running issue which the GAA has wrestled with openly but never fully addressed. Going back some years when the inter-county grant scheme was introduced for players, there was a little-noticed item in the fine print about recipients tax compliance being their own affair - and not the GAA inviting the term independent contractor to be applied to individual players when it came to the hurling and football championships. The GAA has plenty of challenges when it comes to amateurism of course.Д¬lose observers of the GAA can point to contradictions and hypocrisies everywhere in hurling and Gaelic football when it comes to money. Some go to pastures new, and the ongoing question of remuneration, or вЂњunder-the-counter paymentвЂќ again is a topic of conversation across most counties. Recent death notices and obituaries from DonegalДЄs we reach the business end of the season, with the All-Ireland Football semi-finals upon us and the Hurling finalists now known to be Limerick and Kilkenny, this is the time of year when managers and coaches move on. Read about the latest properties available in DonegalД®njoy our latest and up to date motoring review and news in Donegal Gaeilge Irish Language Erse Gaelic Donegal Live Donegal Now Donegal Democrat Donegal Post Donegal Peoples Press Finn Valley Read all the latest Irish news and updates from around IrelandД¬atch up on all the latest business news in DonegalДЇind all the latest jobs vacancies and news in DonegalДЇind whats happening in and around DonegalД®njoy our award winning photos and picture galleries taken in Donegal Keep up to date with the latest news from life in Donegal - Donegal Live Donegal Now Donegal Democrat Donegal Post Donegal Peoples Press Finn Valley Inishowen

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