Towards a Philosophy for Legislation in Gaelic Games
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TOWARDS A PHILOSOPHY FOR LEGISLATION IN GAELIC GAMES. BY JOE LENNON A study of a philosophy for legislation in the games of football and hurling, and how this philosophy should improve the playing rules of these two national games Thesis submitted to Dublin City University in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Joe Lennon STC,DLCPE,SCPE,MSc Dublin City University Business School, Ireland April 1999 Supervisor of Research' v y M r Raymond Byrne B C L ,L L M ,B L CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save as to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work SIGNED ID No 93700636 Date 23 October 1999 Acknowledgements I acknowledge the advice and guidance which has been given to me by my tutor, Mr Raymond Byrne, B C L , LL M , B L throughout the period of my research at Dublin City University Business School, and to thank him for his patience and understanding of the challenge I wish to acknowledge the help and advice given to me by Dr David N N Tomkin who read the draft of the main text and for his advice on editing this draft I wish to thank Marcus de Burca, Barrister, Journalist and Author of important books on the GAA including The G A A A History of the Gaelic Athletic Association and Michael Cusack and the GAA, who read sections of the text, and directed me to many valuable references in legal textbooks I wish to record my thanks to Sean Freyne, Professor of Theology, Trinity College, Dublin, and former intercounty footballer with Co Mayo for reading the early draft of the material, and for his advice I acknowledge the assistance of many people in my search for the original sets of playing rules of football and hurling, and for the early sets of playing rules of other similar invasive ball games This assistance is acknowledged in detail in each of the two Appendices I wish to thank the Most Reverend Dr Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, for his support and encouragement in this project I wish to acknowledge the help and financial assistance which The Gaelic Athletic Association made available to me through the good offices of the Director General, Liam O'Maolmhichil Uas Without the tireless assistance of my wife, Anne, I would never have been able to cope with the task of typing all the material into a storage system, and retrieving it in a presentable form For this essential help, I am very grateful Signed y / I / Date 23 October 1999 Abstract The thesis of this research project is to demonstrate the existence of an incipient philosophy for the playing rules of Gaelic games as examples of invasive body-contact games generally This philosophy may assist those who make the rules of such games to formulate enhanced sets of playing rules Improved sets of playing rules may enable the game to be more readily understood, played and controlled by match officials In turn, this will be of direct benefit to the cultivation and preservation of the games, and will assist compliance with this basic aim of the GAA Chapter One states the needs for and the limitations of the scope of this research The history of the philosophy of sport is traced to show its novelty The existence of a philosophy for legislation in games is asserted by examining the areas of knowledge or components of which it is comprised Chapter Two examines games from a philosophical perspective, and then sets out the three sections into which all such sets of rules can be divided, before examining a modus operandi for rule formulation Chapter Three illustrates the principles of play common to such games, then lists and examines the function of rules The characteristics of rules are listed and examined in detail It was shown that these characteristics which have much in common with Fuller’s “principles of legality” facilitate formulation of user friendly rules Chapter Four makes the case that a simple format of presentation enhances ease of learning It traces the steps taken to develop a universal format, and evaluates this simple method of presentation Chapter Five discusses the importance, impact and interaction between the law on the content and formulation of the playing rules of these games This chapter pays particular attention to the tort of negligence with respect to games, and examines important parts of the network of the duty of care inherent in games and their rules Chapter Six examines the past and present process of rule making in the GAA Chapter Seven argues that a philosophy of legislation can produce enhanced playing rules After consideration of the foregoing, the playing rules for both games were redrafted by reference to three objective criteria the rules must be (I) easy to read, (n) easy to remember and (m) easy to apply Appendix 1 is a collection of all available sets of playing rules for Gaelic football and hurling Appendix 2 contains a comparative analysis of the rules of play from 1884 to 1999 This analysis identifies and assesses the philosophical contents of these rules This Appendix also comprises the early rules of other invasive body-contact games for comparative purposes XV Table of contents Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract List of Contents List of abbreviations List of Legislation and other Official Publications List of Cases List of Diagrams, Illustrations and Tables List of Appendices List of Bibliography and other Works consulted Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Appendices 1 and 2 are separate volumes List of contents page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1 1 OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY 1 1.2 THE NEED FOR AND BENEFITS OF THIS STUDY 2 1.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY AREA 3 1 4 REVIEW OF THE ORIGINS OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT 4 1.5 GAMES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT 8 1.6 METHODOLOGY USED IN THIS STUDY 10 17 DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED 12 SUMMARY 14 CHAPTER 2 WHAT IS A GAME AND WHAT IS A RULE? 15 2.0 WHAT IS A GAME? 15 2.1 THE FIRST GAA GAMES OF FOOTBALL AND HURLING DEFINED BY REFERENCE TO RULES 19 2.2 PHILOSOPHICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE RULES 28 2.3 THE THREE TYPES OF RULES IN THE PLAYING RULES 30 2.3,1. The Rules of Specification 2.3,2 The Rules of Control 2 3.3 The Rules of Play 24 PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY OF RULES AS LEGISLATION 34 2.4.1 The two basic approaches to the formulation of playing rules 2 4.2 The directive-punitive approach 2 4.3 The developmental-punitive approach 2.4.4 General consideration of particular application of penalties SUMMARY 40 CHAPTER 3 THE PRINCIPLES OF PLAY, THE FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PLAYING RULES 41 3.0 INTRODUCTION 41 3.1 THE PRINCIPLES OF PLAY AND HOW THEY ARE USED 42 3.1.1 The impact of legislation on The Principles of Play 32 THE FUNCTIONS OF RULES 47 33 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RULES 64 SUMMARY 80 CHAPTER 4 DEVELOPMENT OF A FORMAT OF PRESENTATION FOR THE PLAYING RULES 82 4.0 GENERAL BACKGROUND TO RULE PRESENTATION 82 41 THE PROBLEM WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE RULES 83 4.2 THE SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION FOR PLAYERS 84 4.3 THE SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION FOR FOOTBALL RULES IN GENERAL 85 4.4 THE WIDER PROBLEM INCLUDING OTHER GAMES 86 4.5 ANALYSING THE PROBLEM 88 VI 4.6 THE STEPS TO THE SOLUTION 90 47 THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE PLAYING RULES 92 4.7.1 The first subdivision 4.7.2 The second subdivision 4 7.3 The new format 4.7.4 Definitions of important terms 4.8 SUBDIVISION OF RULES OF CONTROL & SPECIFICATION LEADING TO THE COMPLETE FORMAT 96 49 EVALUATION OF THE NEW FORMAT OF PRESENTATION 98 SUMMARY 99 CHAPTER 5 THE PLAYING RULES AND THE LAW 102 51 THE LAW IN GAMES FROM THE EARLY DAYS 103 5.1.1 Self regulation in sport 5.1.2 Self regulation in the GAA 51.3 Derogation enjoyed by games 5.2 THE DUTY OF CARE IN NEGLIGENCE 115 5.2.1 The standard of care 5.2.2 Who owes a duty of care in football and hurling 5.3 THE DUTY OF CARE OWED BY THE PLAYER 119 '5 3.1 The duty of care owed to other players 5 3.2 The duty of care owed to match officials 5 3 4 The duty of care owed to spectators 5 3 5 The players’ needs and the rules 54 THE DUTY OF CARE OWED BY THE REFEREE 123 5.4.1 The Duty of Care owed by umpires and linesmen 5 4 2 Does the law distinguish between the amateur and the professional? 5.5 THE DUTY OF CARE OWED BY THE MEDICAL OFFICER 129 5.6 THE DUTY OF CARE OWED BY THE ASSOCIATION ARISING OUT OF THE PLAYING RULES 131 5 6.1 The duty of care arising out of The Rules of Specification 5.7 THE DUTY OF CARE AND THE RULES OF FAIR PLAY 144 58 THE DUTY OF CARE AND THE RULES OF FOUL PLAY 146 5.8.1 The duty of care arising out of the definitions of key terms SUMMARY 149 CHAPTER 6 THE PROCESS OF LEGISLATION 150 61 INTRODUCTION 150 62 AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS OF LEGISLATION 150 63 REVIEW OF RECENT CHANGES AND PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE RULES OF PLAY 163 63 1 The 1970’s 6.3.2 The 1980’s 6.3.3 The 1990’s 6.4 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROCESS OF LEGISLATION 171 6.5 THE TRADITIONAL PROCESS OF LEGISLATION 172 6.6 NEW PROCESS OF LEGISLATION 174 6.7 EVALUATION OF OLD AND NEW PROCESSES 177 SUMMARY 1 f 182 CHAPTER 7 PROPOSED REVISION OF THE 19§5 PLAYING RULES FOR FOOTBALL AND HURLING.