Posted on No Comments on GIVE IT A CHANCE

GIVE IT A CHANCE

This has been a momentous week, with this website getting its 10,000th visitor.  Huge appreciation to anyone who gave the time to come visit since 2017.  At the end of the day, the target has always been drama and theatre groups, publishers and on the off-chance, filmmakers and producers. I’m not sure I’ve hit my intended audience yet and that’s where I hope this website goes from here.  To this end, I’m trying to come up with an improved social media strategy. This apparently means you cannot be modest about what you do. This is proving a big challenge mentally for me. So, in advance, apologies for any tone of arrogance. I also welcome any advice that will help me promote my work.

FALSE DAWNS

As I writer, my main aim is not monetary. Instead, it is to bring meaningful and entertaining stories to as many people as possible. There have been so many false dawns in this business. Just when you think you have broken into the drama and theatre groups circle, it all disappears.  I was really chuffed during Covid  when Barnstorm Theatre from Kilkenny included my Love In Lockdown contribution, the Power of Love in its 2021 lockdown streaming shows.  Feedback was wonderful. Again, so when it was included in the live performances at the Home Rule Club in 2022. I am really appreciative of all those involved in Barnstorm who made it happen, the directors, and all the actors.  So chuffed with the end product on both occasions.  I thought it might be the beginning of a fantastic run. However, almost a year after the live performances, there has been no follow up. Like so many times in the past, the dawn was false.

NEVER GIVE UP

I know that despite so many past disappointments, it is not in my nature to give up. I must keep trying. Let’s be honest, as I head towards retirement I am probably only coming into my peak as a Writer. The best is yet to come, but I would like to see a clear runway before I really take off!

SAFE OPTIONS?

I find it very demoralising when I see all the local theatre and drama groups going with the same old same old.  How often when it comes to selecting a play do they pick an old John B Keane or a “Playboy of the Western World” or a Brian Friel or a Walter Macken?  If the audience saw the same show being constantly repeated on television, they would quickly tune out and look for a new channel with new material.  They’d wonder why their audience is not growing when it is simple… They have seen it before!

They are also setting themselves up for comparison with previous efforts at the same scripts and production that have been produced over and over again.  In addition, how do these constant repeats attract new people to the theatre? There needs to be new audience members, and not have all the young people drawn away by the lure of the CGI of Marvel and DC comics where the story is secondary. I would say for local drama groups it is getting harder and harder to get people involved especially young people.  They need plays they can relate to. You can still have old, but the material needs to be fresh.  Again if it were movies on television, it is very hard to get young people to watch a black and white movie, regardless of how good it is.  We all know there are some really brilliant black and white movies, But that doesn’t mean young people will watch them. For theatre you need to get them in the door first.  Sometimes, that could be as simple as picking material from a new local writer (who might even be known in other fields, such as the GAA).   This is a category I would fit into in the South-East of Ireland.  The story is very important, and I love the story. It’s number one for me. I am a traditionalist, but new at the same time. A paradox I know, but that’s what I am.

DRAMA AND THEATRE GROUPS

Therefore, if YOU are involved in a drama or theatre group and looking for material, please check out my scripts (link below). I have full, one-act and short in my library.  Really would love to hear from anyone in the South East of Ireland, especially County Kilkenny or South Tipperary and Waterford for that matter.  I have some really good locally based material that is just crying out for a local performance.  I would also welcome interest from the USA, with a few historical plays based in the USA.  Take a Chance, have a read.  Plays are only a collection of words until they are brought to life and performed. Give the stories life.  You can do it!  Give it a chance!

PLAYS

Posted on No Comments on FOOTBALL RULES!

FOOTBALL RULES!

The title of the February blog sounds like a piece of graffiti, doesn’t it?…  But no,  it is more about some of the regulations that govern our national games. One of which affects hurling also and being from Kilkenny, Hurling still rules! Smiley face.

BLACK CARD

Firstly, that Black Card! What a unnecessary addition to the rule book it was.  Again, at the weekend, I was watching the Mayo v Galway National league tie on TG4. Yes, Kilkenny people do have an interest in Gaelic Football.  It was a great start to the game with one of the best ever goals scored by Mayo’s James Carr. It was fast and open and end to end. Very entertaining.  Then after about fifteen minutes, Galway who were leading by one point had a player black carded.  Rightly so based on the rules. This was followed by ten minutes of drivel. Boring, slow, possession football. Of course, then there was the minimum touch of a player to give away a free and goodness knows you’d think the player was lucky to be alive as he killed the elapsed time for his team. Yes, brilliantly controlled by Galway, but in my opinion the game never recovered to the entertaining levels that it had started with.  

All Gaelic Football Managers know now what to do when their team is ahead and one of their players is black carded for the requisite ten minutes.  It’s no longer a surprise. Their job is to win the game and they are not breaking any rules. Morally its terrible. Entertainment wise it is horrible in the extreme, though they would argue they are not there to entertain.  The fee paid on the gate would suggest otherwise.  There has to be some onus to entertain the paying customer. Players are coached to manage the game in this way should the black card occur. Personally, I couldn’t say I wouldn’t do it, but to put the moral pressure on a player is a big call. A player who is a winner and wants to deliver as many top plays as possible and top it with scores. It is a dilemma for the purist who are there to enjoy  the sport in a free flowing style. It is not really sporting but it can be the prudent thing to do to win the game. Does morals or intelligence supersede?

Take the Black Card out of the equation and give a Yellow Card for the offence.  I don’t believe you would have the same result as the yellow card only affects the culprit. The game would still flow. The Black Card was introduced to wipe out cynicism in the game especially in the dying moments. We all remember the infamous Sean Kavanagh (Tyrone) incident.  However, in my opinion, the black card was not needed, there was enough in Yellow and red. It was just adding another layer of complexity to the already over worked official’s roster. The only thing that needed to be added was that if, in the view of the referee, it is a goalscoring opportunity, it should be an automatic red. If it was a point scoring opportunity, yellow would be sufficient, because you’d expect handing the ball to your dedicated free taker without someone trying to stop them would be a better guarantee than any other player or the free taker themselves being tackled. If it was a second offence, it is automatically red. The punishments were there and less likely to disrupt a very good match and teams could still be reduced but game management becomes a bigger challenge when it is permanent.  As it is, the reward of punishing someone with a black card is now the punishment of the paying patrons as they endure poppycock football while the team game manage for 10 minutes.   But lets spare a thought for the player who takes the soft hit that almost kills him during that period.  He took it for the team, but forever should be remembered as “soft”.

SIXTEEN PLAYERS

The other issue which has got a lot of social media airtime in the last week or two was the final moments of the All-Ireland Club football final between Kilmacud Crokes and Glen. Last ’45 of the game for Glen. Kilmacud lead by two points.  Kilmacud bring on two substitutes but only one player comes off leaving sixteen players defending. The ’45 is taken and successfully defended. The whistle blows. Kilmacud lift the cup, but everyone is immediately aware of an issue involving player numbers albeit too late to rectify withing the confines of the match.

Whether the blame lies with the officials, the Kilmacud management or the Kilmacud player who did not leave the field of play. It is irrelevant. A rule is broken! Blame does not matter, even less than had the goalkeeper made a howler to concede a goal. The rule in this case is straightforward, you cannot have more than fifteen players on the pitch.

The punishment is one of three options. Firstly, a fine. This was never going to be an option for Kilmacud who are seen as a huge club with huge resources.  A fact that was not hidden during earlier controversial transfer issues, which to be fair is irrelevant also, although it does affect public sentiment, especially rural teams. Next there was forfeit the game.  This was in my opinion and in many others, too much on the basis of the crime.  This only left the middle ground of a replay. If Kilmacud officials left Croke Park after the game and did not realise this was a very strong possibility under the circumstances, then they are guilty of not familiarising themselves with the rules and consequences of the game. I very much doubt this is the case.  It was not a surprise to anyone, the course of events.

Most social media “experts” (amazing how many of them want to highlight their ignorance) are giving out about the length of time it took to rule on a replay.  Once the game was ended by the referee, due process kicks in. GAA rules kick in and again every club official in the country understands the process, or should do. Glen was given time to gather information and decide a course of action.  The GAA authorities had to wait and follow the process which is akin to a legal process. When the ruling was made, the same curtesy is given to Kilmacud Crokes to counter the ruling.  Like every legal process it is a laborious process. However, it is a process aimed at fair play in light of unfortunate circumstances. The vast majority of GAA administrators who work night and day for the organisation understand the process as well as many true GAA supporters.  The social media “experts” should expend their energy more productively in becoming administrators to appreciate the process rather than ranting embarrassingly. Especially the ones who tell what they’d do with their ”medal”.  Seriously!  What are the chances? Wonderful Imagination as well.

It is unfortunate, but blame does not come into it. It happened and action has to happen.  Will Glen want a replay and the possibility of being beaten a second time? Will Crokes want a replay and the possibility of not winning within the rules? Only they know.  The circumstances suggest they both need to do it again to exercise the ghosts and hopefully, the winners this time, can enjoy guilt free celebrations.

Sport is behaving in a good or specified way in response to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation.  Sometimes people forget about sport when it comes to gathering roll of honour listings. Let’s remember GAA is sport.

If you enjoyed reading this blog please share on social media and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Your comments are always welcome.

Posted on No Comments on PRIDE OF THE PARISH

PRIDE OF THE PARISH

Pride of the Parish!  How much does it exist anymore in the GAA?  Joe Brolly in a recent Irish Independent article stated that the “GAA hierarchy have allowed our game to become professional for everyone except the player”. The article goes on to suggest “only a club man could manage his club and only a county man could manage his county”. Big and bold suggestion in the present day.

Whether you agree with the infamous Joe or not, it does invite thorough consideration and what it means for the GAA, now and in the future.  In doing so it is also worth remembering why the GAA was formed. It was founded on the 1st November 1884, in Hayes Hotel, Thurles by a group of spirited Irishmen who had the foresight to realise the importance of establishing a national organisation to make athletics more accessible to the masses and to revive and nurture traditional, indigenous sports and pastimes.  The organisation is based around the traditional parish and county structures of Ireland. As a community-based organisation, it is often stated that it is difficult to determine where the community ends and the GAA club starts, as the two are so often intertwined. The GAA has over 2,200 clubs in all 32 counties of Ireland, not to mention the many branches all over the world catering for the Irish diaspora and non-Irish too.  The principle of parish and county has served the organisation well in the main for the past 139 years.

Yes, there has always been issues about physical boundaries and yes of course people moved into areas for reasons of work and marriage in the main. However, in the past they became part of their adopted community, not just the GAA, but the community also as they were intertwined.  They may have had a soft spot for the parish/county of their birth but they were proud to row in fully behind their adopted home. Their adopted Pride of the Parish. Traditionally, the elite of the game have gone to other locations to promote and nurture the games in true GAA ethos and have always been welcomed in true Irish fashion for that short interval before they return to their true parish/county.  It was imperative for the growth and promotion of the games.  All the above were sound principles for a community organisation to develop and flourish.  The tribalism of the parish/county rule was well suited to the Irish culture and heritage.

Have we now, possibly unwittingly, reached a new juncture of decision and direction?  The organisation which once proudly boasted of being amateur, now headlines with the term “professional” and not just professional in approach which in itself, has many merits in the modern world. Is it right? Once it was only the referee and the landowner that got paid.  Now it’s the managers, the coaches, the S&C coach in particular, the psychologists, the doctors, the physios, the logistics co-ordinators, the kit minders, the county secretaries, the performance development officers, the gym owners, and all the ancillary stakeholders. Some of which are obviously essential.  Of course, this is not true across the board that all these people get paid.  Ask the Camogie, the Ladies Football, the weaker hurling and football counties, but it is a trend with more and more counties/codes following that trend. Yet, it maybe the right way to go, especially if you subscribe to the notion that the GAA is now an industry similar to horse racing. An Industry that could be sustained and provide a living to many people by taking advantage of the wonderful suite of game products the organisation provides, promotes and was founded to promote.  The profits could benefit so many Irish people should the product continue to grow. Maybe the current GAA hierarchy are no different in their outlook to those spirited men of 1884 as they push the products to the next level. Maybe there is a case at the elite level, in particular, to become a genuine sports industry with profits and losses and potential liquidation and receivership should an individual business fail.

In industry, sometimes pushing the product can also damage the brand and the foundation upon which it was built. Joe Brolly’s reference to only the players not being allowed to become professional is one for which I cannot agree, but the payments are becoming more widespread and worryingly at club/parish level they continue to grow across all codes. At the moment, almost every club is paying a manager, a coach and a physio/first aid person for their main adult team. This is outside competition fees, referee fees, transport, equipment, maintenance and development of facilities to name but a few outgoings. Like all businesses, the more people get paid, the more will want to get paid and the more people will want to get paid in line with ever growing inflation.  Is this sustainable at club level? I don’t think so unless the rights for streaming club matches shoots up hugely and admission prices grow to almost unattainable levels.  Such moves would be in direct contrast with the reasons why the GAA was formed in the first place. Games would become less accessible to the masses. Is there even a population to support such moves, particularly in the smaller counties without a city population?

If we focus primarily on the club managers/coaches, we discover that over 90% of them come from outside the Parish, in all codes at this point. But for every one of them there is probably dozens of similar people within the club/parish who would love the opportunity and honour to take the highest manager/coaching role within their own club.  However, for so many of them there will never be that opportunity.  They never made it on to the circuit. They had real life jobs that didn’t allow them the time to pursue a “course” in sports development.  Some may have great knowledge but lack confidence. Their club preferred to invest the coaching budget in people from outside the club/parish rather than within.  They didn’t have success with an underage team in the club, so they must be useless ignoring the fact that the genuine ones focused on developing as many players as possible and giving chances to as many as possible, the masses as envisaged by the founders of the GAA. I believe that deep down the vast majority of underage coaches in a club do have ambitions to coach/manage at the highest level in their own club.  They may not say it out loud, because they know they are not in the right clique, do not have the right term on the CV and such ambitions would be laughed at, in public. Nobody wants to be laughed at by their neighbour.

The mad thing is, some can go to other clubs in the same way as outsiders come to their club and get paid! Because if you pay for something it must be “very good”.  What use is anything you get for “free”? This is the general attitude out there amongst growing numbers of club executives. The man/woman who comes from another club is brilliant, not withstanding the fact that their own club won’t let them next or near their own team.  The gas thing is the “outsider” is primarily there for the money and their own reputation. Pride of the Parish does not come into it although it is essential for the performance. Yes, sometimes its small money and it’s just about trying to build that reputation for future roles and get your name on the circuit, which is relatively small and elite, though not necessarily in quality.   I have never known an “outside” manager/coach to be heartbroken after leaving a club. They are good at the overall stage performance when they quit of their own accord in the aftermath of a championship exit. That’s part of the package, the exit performance. Some walk the minute the final whistle sounds and perform brilliantly in the dressing room aftermath to win mass empathy. Very few leave quietly with the dignity of Brian Cody**, a man who was well entitled to sing about his achievements. You can be sure they are on the lookout for a new suitor in weeks if not days. Their pride was not in the parish but in themselves. The ones that are shown the door, certainly have no Pride of the Parish. Their bitterness will be apparent when you meet them at a later stage, but not bitter as in disappointed to be gone from a dream job, but rather bitter in that the reputation has been tarnished.

The GAA is built on volunteerism. Now for more and more prestige jobs, the volunteer is no longer welcome. The volunteer upon which the success of the GAA is built. However, that same volunteer is expected to fundraise with growing amounts now being channeled into “outside expertise”. To pay for roles that they would gladly volunteer. In my experience, the most horrible part of volunteering is fundraising. Yes, sometimes the actual end event can be a magnificent social occasion. However, the organisation and time involved is not a fun pastime.  Not something many like doing in the free time from their day job. More and more it doesn’t end with a great social occasion with more and more raffles and lotto being the fundraiser of choice. Is this really the pastime the volunteer wants? Fundraise in the hope that your club/parish wins the championship.  No matter how many “outside” managers/coaches are brought in, only one of them can win the championship in a single year. Some clubs go decades without that elusive success at the top adult level. The reality is that every club’s ambition (should be) is to win senior (the highest level) in their county.  There are only 32 of them per code in the country each year. Many clubs have never won it. Many have not won it for a long time. Many are several levels below even competing for it. However, every individual pinnacle ambition should be striving to achieve it and not how much you get for helping opponents along the way.  Payments are for jobs, not a key component of enjoying “traditional, indigenous sports and pastimes”. Most of all, its is a pastime and should be enjoyed whether you are a player, a coach, an administrator or a supporter.

Joe Brolly is right in raising the subject, but his focus is not necessarily completely right.  And to be pedantic Joe, it’s Games and not just a game. Games that are played by both genders, coached by both genders and administrated by both genders at all levels. The debate should not just be about the players but rather all who want to enjoy our games (the masses) but cannot because their CV is not containing the right buzz words, or their invoice does not have the right heading on the paper.  Maybe there is a role for professionalism across all strands of the elite level (inter-county), but it is hard to see this genuinely existing at the lower Club levels.

Soccer or Association Football is a massively professional and monetary generating game in England. Yet there are thousands upon thousands of junior or Sunday league clubs in existence who fully rely on volunteers to survive. It is their hobby, their pastime where the vast majority dream they are playing or involved in big Premiership games, even though it might only be a local league final. Ultimately it gives them enjoyment which is fundamental for the success of any pastime. A chance to live their dream on a relative stage.  If voluntary clubs are the foundation of English soccer where there is obscene wealth at the elite level, common-sense should apply in similar circumstances in our games when it comes to professionalising them at the lower levels.

The time is ripe for a discussion across the GAA structures. The horse is bolting but we (the GAA as a whole) might be able to lasso it in time. It should take place in each local club outside of AGM’s and executive committee meetings.  Involve the parish.  For some it will be a first step in restoring the Pride of the Parish, intertwining the community and the club to it’s maximum once again. I know there are many people with great thoughts who are too shy or lack confidence to express them to their neighbours in the Community. Club executives need to find innovative ways to untap the potentially wonderful thoughts of all in their community. Then they need to find ways to pursue and move the findings through the democratic structures of the GAA, which do exist but often are not used correctly.

Pride of the Parish.  Club and community in harmony, is just as essential as it was on the 1st November 1884, when the GAA was founded at Hayes Hotel, Thurles.  Let’s not forget why the GAA is…

This is a huge subject with so many angles and this article touches on some of it.  All opinions are my own, but hopefully it generates the seed of thought. Primarily I’m a writer who loves the GAA, especially Kilkenny or maybe I’m a GAA person who loves to write. You can make your own mind up. If you would like to discuss this article, please feel free to leave a comment or email me at seamusdnorris@gmail.com.

** As this is my first blog in a while, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Cody for the many wonderful times over the years while he was manager of the Kilkenny Senior Hurlers. Brian, you were an inspiration to us all and allowed us in Kilkenny to enjoy our pastime to the extreme level of enjoyment on so many occasions. You were a genuine and ultimate Pride of the Parish role model. I’m guessing you don’t “follow me” but hopefully somebody will pass this on.