I have to agree with those who’re aghast at the GAA’s intention to blow €500,000 on fireworks at the National Football League opener between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park (a complete fixture-making coincidence of course) – a pairing that has produced plenty of sparks on the pitch in the past.
Danny Cullen from the Setanta club in County Donegal makes a good case when he says “It would be far better to donate €50,000 to Crumlin Children’s Hospital… than this blatant waste of money.”
Not so long ago the GAA were whingeing about wasting €0.5m a year on the Interprovincial (Railway Cup) competitions, which prompted this column, coincidentally, to suggest that they be reinvented as a charity fundraising exercise, with Crumlin as good a cause as any to get the ball rolling.
Forget pyrotechnics, which won’t be remembered next week, never mind 125 years from now. But a bit of goodwill hunting by the GAA just might create a lasting impression.
Fireworks? You might as well be setting a match to your money.
