Rebel Yell

They don't call Cork the rebel county for nothing as the strike action taken by the GAA players testifies. It's very hard not to empathise with both sides when you hear their arguments, but I have never been one to sit on the fence and I'm not going to start now.

I have the greatest admiration for GAA players, both footballers and hurlers, whose commitment is second to none.

These players are at the very core of the GAA and if it wasn't for their dedication to the game the GAA would be nothing. The suits in Croke Park or the suits of the Cork County Board aren't the driving force of the game and perhaps the suits need to be reminded of that.

This current stand-off is nonsensical, it should never have been allowed to get to this point but Frank Murphy & Co didn't go far enough in trying to resolve the stalemate when they had the opportunity. Now it looks like they could be forced to pay the price for playing silly buggers and pay it where it really hurt - in their pockets…

The players' strike will cost the county board a small fortune if it causes them to withdraw from the forthcoming National Leagues.

These are big money spinners for county boards and a complete withdrawal from all competition could end up costing them in excess of €250,000 in lost gate receipts as well as the fines they may incur. Cork's sponsors O2 have remained mute so far, but I've no doubt that they're watching the situation with interest since they've pumped more than €2 million into the coffers over the past ten years of so.

There has been a lot of tension between the Cork County Board officials and the footballers and hurlers for some time now. Maybe it's time for a complete clear out of the county board, time to introduce some fresh blood and get the organisation running like a democracy for a change?

If anything will hasten a resolution it will be the prospect of losing all of that money, not to the players of course because they get shag all, despite being the very heart beat of the GAA.

But let's hope a workable solution is reached before its too late and in the mean time…up the rebels…

Holidays from hell

Some foreign holidays are enough to deter you from ever stepping off this island again.

Well it's that time of the year now when people start to plot and plan their summer break and one thing we should all realise, is that if the holiday sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Forking out a fortune for a holiday is no guarantee that it will be enjoyable but at the same time a cheap holiday is far more likely to bring with it cockroaches, noisy, drunken, fighting neighbours and they're also more likely to produce smelly apartments, miles from the nearest beach; despite the glossy brochure assuring you it was "a mere 5 minutes away". But what it didn't say is that in order to get there in five minutes you'll need a chopper and I'm not talking about the Raleigh bike variety!