9 October 2011 Sunday Independent S1 COMMENT SPORT 7

definitely sent out. Tourism and Sport — who The Cabinet will shortly be truths about our current interna- The song, It may well be that some or all protested at the culture. asked to give its approval for for- Can’t have it tional reputation — ‘Ireland does FROM THE of the people appointed are suit- Here’s what he said on the mer Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen not have a bad image in Asia,' ed to their positions but that is subject in March: to be appointed to the board of both ways said one contributor, ‘there is no STANDS sadly, hardly the point. What was so “When it comes to public the Irish Sports Council, filling image' — there were some more terribly wrong with going appointments, we are going to the vacancy left by Eamonn colloquial observations recorded through an open and transpar- open up the system to new peo- Coghlan’s departure to the Sasmall country we have in RTE's coverage of the event. ent process for filling vacancies ple who have never served on a Seanad. Along been obsessed with the Rodney Walshe, chairman of a Gearty remains on State boards as they arose and State board and may have some- It may well be that a case can world's view of us — lapping up New Zealand-based tourism allowing the best candidate to thing to offer, make it more be made that Allen is a good all the praise that comes our group, said that the image of Ire- rise to the top of that process? transparent and involve the choice. The Corkman was a dedi- way, bristling collectively at land in that country is currently a never slow the same Instead of a culture which fos- Oireachtas more. cated politician who was first criticism. hugely positive one thanks to the ters the perception that State “To kick things off, I have elected to the Dáil in 1981. He So the stories that filtered performances of the rugby team. boards are rewarding sinecures directed that all appointments was minister for sport between back from New Zealand last week “Most popular team in the coun- for those who have been loyal to coming in the next 12 months in 1994 and 1997. During this time that the Irish team has become try,” he said. to make political parties, what was wrong the transport, tourism and sport he is credited with putting the the adopted second team of the And Andy Rogers, who is chair with eschewing that terrible brief be advertised for expres- groundwork in place for the rugby-mad locals fed the of the Irish Community Group image in favour of creating a sys- sions of interest in the coming establisment of the sports coun- machine. We love to be loved. for the Olympic Games in Britain, his point tem in which these positions are weeks and I will also be asking cil in 1999. Allen was also his Have you seen our All-Ireland bemoaned the fact that he cannot both valued and of value, where the relevant Oireachtas commit- party’s spokesperson on sport hurling final, we will ask visitors. watch Gaelic football and hurling board members are chosen for tee to make recommendations.” from 1997 to 2002. Have you anything to compare to matches on RTE's website. (RTE LONGFORD solicitor Pádraig Gearty, what they can bring to the posi- Even in his utterances since, But what happened to the that back home? What about our don't have the rights to show who died last week aged 77, held the JOHN GREENE tion in the best interests of the there doesn’t appear to be notion of scrutiny and trans- golfers? Did you see that one-two- GAA games outside Ireland. honour of being the first footballer country? reason to parency promised by Fine three in St Andrews last Sunday? Those rights are sold separately to score a point live on television. The Tbeggars belief that having Ultimately, there should be a doubt the Gael? Because on the face of And how did your boxers do in and currently belong to Setanta.) occasion was the 1962 Railway Cup Igot rid of a government which view that when a vacancy arises minister’s it, and in the absence of any Baku? We qualified three for the Interesting — if not obvious — final between Leinster and Ulster, had made an art form out of on a State board it should be bona fides sense of due process having Olympics. And there's only four that sport became part of a high- and it was the first time a Gaelic cronyism of the most crass kind, filled after a thorough due dili- on this taken place, this deci- million people living here. We level discussion on Ireland's football match was televised live by those who had shouted loudest gence is carried out — and it issue but sion smacks of the really are punching above our international reputation. Inter- RTE. on the opposition benches now should be subject to considerable does the Taoiseach and Co weight. esting, too, that only GAA presi- Gearty, one of the finest players leave themselves open to the public scrutiny. same apply rewarding an old There is a deep-seated nation- dent Christy Cooney from the to come out of the county, featured same criticism. Certainly the latter was not to many of party loyalist for al insecurity which sees us con- world of Irish sport was invited in a full-forward line that day with In the dying days of the Fian- just the view of Fine Gael and his col- his service. stantly craving attention and to the two-day gathering of near- Dublin duo John Timmons and Kevin na Fáil government there was an Labour in opposition at the time, leagues, some of “I am interested approval like a giddy child at ly 300 people. Apparently, there Heffernan. Leinster won the game 1- orgy of appointments to vacan- but it was also a pledge to the whom have been in putting an end school longing to get three stars was no room at the inn. 11 to 0-11 and it was Gearty who got cies on State boards. Indeed, on people that they would introduce involved in poli- to the blatant and a pat on the back from the Remember that when you see the game’s first score after a couple the party’s last day in govern- radical change and ensure that tics a long time cronyism,” the teacher. images of politicians jostling to of minutes. ment outgoing ministers made political cronyism would not and are embed- Taoiseach said in So it was appropriate that on get into the picture frame wel- In the hurling final the same day, nine such appointments. As has become a hallmark of the new ded in the Irish March. day one of the global economic coming home the Irish rugby the honour of scoring the first live been the case for too long with regime. More than any other political system He’s sure going forum in Dublin Castle on Friday, team at Dublin Airport. point fell to Leinster midfielder filling positions on State boards, politician, it was Leo Varadkar — and all that that about it in a funny there was a session on Ireland's Michael Kennedy in their win over the wrong message was most now the minister for Transport, entails? way. image abroad. Amid some home [email protected] Munster. There was also another piece of history made that St Patrick’s Day in Croke Park, as Des Foley won Rail- THAT WAS THE WEEK way Cup medals in both football and hurling, playing at midfield in both games. Gearty, who was laid to rest in Longford yesterday, forged a reputa- Two nations divided by much tion as a multi-talented sportsman. He won Sigerson Cups and repre- sented his county. He was also a keen golfer and tennis player and sport remained a driving force in his life right to the end. A few weeks back, he was delighted to see his club but united in their mediocrity Longford Slashers win the county title, something he had done with the club on five occasions, and he attended his last game the week world and the team ranked last. On after — the All-Ireland final. the financial markets, it's probably One of his most notable achieve- the other way around. ments and one that he pursued pas- Andorra la Vella is the most sionately was in support of Tom depressing beautiful place you will Wolfe, of the Civil Service club, in see. It's a tax haven for people who helping to remove the infamous ban. disapprove of Monte Carlo or find Zurich too edgy. It was like being in ***** DION FANNING an episode of Bergerac but without the raciness or John Nettles' aura. AS rugby fever gripped the nation NThursday morning, I last week and a sideways glance was visited the Nou Camp. On granted towards the upcoming inter- Thursday evening, I They would never national rules series, it’s interesting Owatched Paul McShane to note that rugby league’s grand train on a mountainside in Andor- come to worship final, played in Sydney’s ANZ Stadi- ra. Football is a broad church. um, won the battle with Aussie rules If it were a church, it would be so football in for TV viewers. Or did it? broad that it would accommodate Aussie rules has its traditional Richard Dawkins and the Phelps Andorra. heartland in the state of Victoria, family. Abu Hamza would also be They probably while rugby league is the most popu- welcomed with a bear hug, a hand- lar game in New South Wales. Rugby shake and a kindly exhortation to wouldn’t head to union, incidentally, is very much a help himself to the tea and biscuits. minority sport. So there is a battle There is room for everyone. On Ireland either raging Down Under as rules and Wednesday, as Ireland trained at league try to reach new territory. Espanyol's training ground, the And league seem to be having youth teams of Espanyol were prac- It was an advertisement for work- more success because their grand tising on a nearby pitch. Boys of nine ing until you drop, never retiring and final was between Manly Sea Eagles and 10 glided across the field, their never saving or at least that was from Sydney and the New Zealand heads upright as they moved. the message I took home with me Warriors from, well, New Zealand. Robbie Keane joked in the pre- (unfortunately it was also the mes- Several New South Wales papers match press conference that the sage I arrived with). Andorra seemed reported the figures as 4m viewers Andorran pitch would prevent Ire- to say that with great wealth comes for the league grand final and 3.4m land “popping the ball around like great boredom or at least that pru- for the AFL decider. But a closer look Barcelona”. Ireland have rarely dent saving encourages more and reveals that 692,000 of those who shown any eagerness to pop the more prudence until you die of pru- watched the league final were in ball around like Espanyol so Robbie dence or gout. New Zealand. was on safe ground when he played Irish fans who thought they were AFL supporters, not surprisingly, down Ireland's chances of turning power, then it would have to be any other stadium tour so I can't The tour also takes you through But they airbrushed that experi- going to Barcelona, wandered are crying foul and say that foreign to tiki-taka. Barcelona. This righteousness also imagine that Barcelona's suffers the press box and mixed zone. Unfor- ence too, ensuring that the next around looking for tickets, baffled viewers shouldn’t be included, giving In football's broad church, Ire- extends to their ‘More Than a Club' from more self-regard than, say, tunately, in the mixed zone there are generation think journalists are liv- that fans who could overcome prob- their final a narrow lead in a ratings land is sticking to the Tridentine ethos when the More Than a Club Newcastle United's. no re-enactments of footballers ing the dream which, when they lems in the finest grounds across the war that seems set to run as long as mass. ethos has now become a useful Maybe Newcastle's tour has an walking by pretending to talk on the get to watch Barcelona, they world could be locked out of a sta- Neighbours. But we were at one of football's branding exercise. ironic video montage tribute to the phone or, as one top, top, top, top undoubtedly are. dium with a capacity of 800. Or to most important shrines. Barcelona Barcelona's commitment to social comedy central defensive pairing English player did recently, of a foot- Barcelona are at the height of be precise, 807, according to the ***** is undoubtedly the most powerful democracy doesn't extend to the of Boumsong & Bramble. Perhaps baller turning to the journalists and their cultish powers. The now-aban- man who counted all the seats on sect in football today. Most people other teams in La Liga who are you can take part in an interactive wondering, “I don't know why you doned La Masia beside the Nou Thursday evening. There were four A ONE-TIME hurling rivalry, which believe their football team is in the struggling as Real Madrid and game which allows you to capitalise still ask me.” Camp isn't part of the tour but it's a rows of seats in the main tribune, an later became a warm friendship right even when they are in the Barcelona hoover up 35 per cent of on a collision between the two and The press box would have bene- place to visit. The cottage that was imposing edifice that rivalled the through golf, ended last weekend wrong but Barcelona has encour- Spain's TV money. The shirt sponsor- fire a goal in at the Gallowgate End. fited from a soundtrack as well. a dormitory for Messi demands North stand at the Aviva. with the death of Kevin McLoughlin aged a view that it can do no wrong. ship by the Qatar Foundation was Barcelona's tour isn't particular- Tourists could have sat in the jour- some reverence too. The Estadi Comunal didn't look while on holiday in Portugal. Presi- There are sound reasons for this. worth €150m over five years to the ly self-referential. You walk out the nalists' seats, put on some head- Ireland spent a night in like it could hold 807 — 103 showed dent of Clontarf GC in 2009 and Watching Barcelona offers conclu- club and they were proud of their tunnel to a piped soundtrack of the phones and experienced it all. Barcelona and drove into the Pyre- up for the Armenia game and that 2010, he was a member of a famous sive proof that football is an art deal, as any business would be. crowd cheering and the Barcelona “Is the wifi down for everyone?” nees for Friday's game. It was a seemed about right. They would Dublin hurling family from Fairview. form and art has always wanted to There is no mention of this when anthem playing to replicate how “Does anyone have a spare pen?” three-hour journey but a drive that never come to worship football in In the minor All-Ireland final of offer something before the gods. If you go on the ‘Camp Nou Experi- the players feel. You can also listen “Who had the shot for that cor- took us from the centre of the foot- Andorra. Pilgrims probably 1952, Kevin was on the Dublin team you are to believe that any team is ence' as they stress the remarkable to crowd sounds on matchday in ner?” ball universe, the heartbeat of the wouldn’t head to Ireland either. beaten by a Tipperary line-up which infallible, and not just in commun- history of the club and their central case you have never heard a crowd “Do any of the f**king plugs country ranked number one in included Tony Wall. Hardly aware of ion but in cohorts with a higher role in Catalan life. I've never taken making noise at a football match. work in this place?” FIFA's rankings, to the edge of the [email protected] each other at the time, they crossed paths years later as members of Clontarf where McLoughlin caddied for Wall when he won the Lord Mayor’s Cup in 1980. Landlady scores early but rights game is far from over So it was that on becoming Clon- tarf president for 2007 and 2008, Wall acknowledged this support and basis, to broadcasters in various decoder cards were used in public exclusive territorial licensing It remains to be seen how the inroads into the broadcasting mar- friendship by nominating the Dublin jurisdictions. Each licence agree- houses to screen live Premier League arrangements, which prohibit the League will respond. It would ket. It is an option with a lot of man as his successor. ment contains restrictive clauses matches, including the Saturday 3.0 supply of decoder cards to fans who appear to have a number of options. upside, but is risky. which oblige the broadcaster to both matches, which no UK broadcaster wish to view broadcasts outside the It might seek to auction off its rights One thing is for certain — the ***** encrypt its signal and to not supply is permitted to screen live. The High territory for which a licence has on a pan-EU basis and likely to more decision is of fundamental relevance decoding devices to users outside the Court referred a number of ques- been granted by the Premier League, than one broadcaster, with perhaps to any organisation which sells serv- IF Declan Kidney achieves nothing territory covered by the licence tions on the interpretation of EU law infringe EU competition rules. only a few true media giants being ices and rights (including sport, else in his rugby career, he will be agreement. The mechanics of such to the EU's highest Court, the Euro- However, and importantly, the in a position to bid. In such circum- music, film etc) on an exclusive ter- remembered as the man who intro- NIALL COLLINS arrangements were designed to pean Court of Justice, about the ECJ also decided that the use of for- stances, it is quite possible that a bid- ritorial basis within the EU. In par- duced the notion of the pre-season ensure that customers in one geo- compatibility of the licensing eign decoder cards in public hous- ding war for the pan-EU rights could ticular, the decision will send shock- friendly to Irish rugby. HE is an unlikely hero. From graphic region (for example, the arrangements with EU law. es constitutes a communication to push pricing above the current lev- waves through the hallowed halls of It was always the case among her patriotically-named pub- UK) cannot receive a broadcast from Last week, the ECJ, delivered its the public of certain copyright-pro- els paid by the incumbent broadcast- all sports rights holders, whose the Irish rugby fraternity that a Test lic house, the Red, White and a broadcaster in another geograph- long-awaited judgment. It precipitat- tected works incorporated in the ers. modus operandi has long been to match, no matter who the opposi- SBlue in Southsea, ic region (eg Greece). ed a media circus outside the Red, broadcast (in the form of, for exam- It is also possible that the League seek to maximise commercial tion was or whether it was in a tour- Portsmouth, publican Karen Mur- The UK rights were awarded to White and Blue in Southsea and ple, the Premier League anthem, might decline to sell its rights in any returns by licensing rights on an nament or not, was sacred and the phy has taken on the considerable Sky and ESPN but some public hous- premature talk of both armaged- pre-recorded footage showing high- EU market in which cheap decoders exclusive territorial basis. utmost effort had to be put into win- might of England’s Premier League es (including Murphy's establish- don for the Premier League's licens- lights of recent matches and various are likely to emerge. We should not One suspects that half-time has ning. and, in the eyes of many observers, ment) began to purchase foreign ing strategy and the dawn of the new graphics). The case now reverts to rule out a subsequent challenge to not even passed in this particular Ireland’s performances in their has won. decoder cards issued by a Greek ‘Bosman’ for the marketing and the High Court which will apply any such arrangements on the basis battle. However, irrespective of the RWC warm-up games (defeats to Or has she? The case boils down licensed broadcaster to show Pre- licensing of sports rights. the ECJ's findings to the facts of the of EU law. ultimate outcome, Murphy and her Scotland, France twice, and England) to whether it is legal, under EU law, mier League matches, and at prices Contrary to the vast majority of case. Alternatively, it might decide to patrons at the Red, White and Blue were put into perspective by their to purchase and use a cheaper for- significantly lower than those media reports, it is my view that Accordingly, at this stage, it start its own subscription TV chan- will likely discuss their battle with performances when it really mat- eign satellite decoder card to watch charged by the UK licensees. Murphy did not ‘win’ as reported. would appear that Murphy may not nel. This could happen, as occurs in the broadcasting behemoth for some tered. Premier League matches, in prefer- Legal proceedings were com- The ECJ did decide that a blanket show Premier League matches in the Dutch Eredivisie, where the ded- time to come. ence to paying what is demanded by menced in the High Court in Eng- prohibition on the import, sale or her public house using a non-UK icated channel is available on every John Greene, Fergus McDonnell the rights holder in your own EU land by the Premier League and its use of foreign decoder cards is con- decoder card, because she would platform on a non-discriminatory Niall Collins is an EU & competi- and Dermot Gilleece member country. licensing partners against the sell- trary to EU rules on the freedom to be ‘communicating to the public’ basis. The Premier League already tion lawyer and head of the Sports The Premier League’s rights are ers and the users of decoder cards provide services. Further, the ECJ the copyright-protected rights which operates its own overseas channel, Law Unit at leading Irish law- [email protected] licensed, on an exclusive territorial imported from Greece. These decided that the Premier League's have been held to exist. demonstrating that it has made firm Mason Hayes & Curran