The "Seanie Johnston" Rule

London Footballers have released a statement, and who could argue with anything they say.

This rule was obviously forced through in quick haste and was never openly debated at any level.




London footballers have issued a statement over their frustration at the 'Seanie Johnston Rule' which threatened to stop 12 of their players participating in the upcoming Connacht SFC.

Motion 5 which was passed at the recent GAA Congress stipulated that players who make intercounty transfers cannot play for their new county unless they have lined out in that county's club championship campaign that year, or the preceding year.

The rule came in after the recent move by Johnston from Cavan to Kildare and had an immediate effect on the London football team. 12 of the squad that participated in the league would have been ineligible for the championship.

To circumvent the rule, the London SFC has been brought forward to May but nevertheless there is much anger that the rule was brought in without any regard for the Exiles.

The squad issued a statement through the Irish Post in which they said the founders of the GAA would be ashamed that the association has fallen to such depths.

The statement in full reads:

"London footballers fiercely oppose the new draconian law, which will come into force on May 14, and are planning to launch an appeal and hope the GAA use their common sense in having a deviation of the motion for London. The new rule doesn't promote Gaelic games overseas, one of the main aims of the association, and is therefore intrinsically wrong.

"Due to the current economic situation in Ireland, it is no coincidence that immigration to London has increased, forcing many young people, like ourselves, to seek employment overseas. This has invariably been the case for many Irish people since the inception of our great Association, namely John McKay, one of the GAA's founders; Sam Maguire, former captain of London footballers and eponym of the Sam Maguire Cup; and Liam MacCarthy, former vice-chairman of the London County Board and eponym of the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

"We've been in the gym, training and flying back and forth to Ireland since November 2011, and to be told five weeks before the championship that over a dozen of our teammates, including our captain, aren't allowed to play is disgraceful and we dare say the men mentioned above would be ashamed that the GAA has fallen to such depths.

"As a panel, we've decided we are committed to the London county team and to playing club football in London. Like the vast majority of young Irish people over here, we all had aspirations to be living in Ireland, to play football with our mates, to have a job, to get married and to raise our kids in Ireland. Sometimes it's hard to let these aspirations go.

"London has provided all of us young Irish people with jobs and a place where we can play our national pastimes at junior club level right up to senior county, and we are all aware of how lucky we are and the special place we are in. We just wish the GAA could recognise this.

"We, as a London football panel, would like to thank our clubs and indeed all the clubs in London for their recent vote in bringing forward the London Senior Football Championship to allow 12-plus players to play in this year's Connacht Championship.

"It was an impossible position we've put the clubs in, allowing just two weeks for preparations, which will in turn take away from the county team's preparations, an extremely tough but necessary decision for both parties.

"We are all proud to be members of our clubs after they voted unanimously in favour of backing the county team. Our only hope is that Croke Park can take a leaf out of London GAA's common sense book and agree with the London players when we say we fiercely oppose the new law."

Let's sit back and wait for the bullshit response from Croker - or shud I call it Jurassic Park

It always amazes me the stuff that's voted in at congress, the implications of which only become clear afterwards. Do they not think things through or are the delegates asleep or at the bar?

Surely London had representation at congress and realised what this rule change meant. They could have spoke up about it at the time. It shouldn't be up to the players to issue statements to the press.

SamMaguire wrote:

It always amazes me the stuff that's voted in at congress, the implications of which only become clear afterwards. Do they not think things through or are the delegates asleep or at the bar?

Surely London had representation at congress and realised what this rule change meant. They could have spoke up about it at the time. It shouldn't be up to the players to issue statements to the press.

People always forget that. It's like lads on here giving out about what happens at county board meetings when they have delegates there. Of course, maybe London did speak up and maybe they voted against it.

The nick naming of this rule as the "Seanie Johnston rule" will forever leave kildare in a bad light. This whole fiasco leaves a sickening feeling. Can this not be put to bed??

Oh get over it FOK. Seanie Johnson is going to be a Kildare player eventually. If the dinosaurs won't grant it, the DRA will!

Bet he's teaching in Clane next year. That's put their concerns to bed.

Alan Costello is from Mayo - plays for Sligo. You got a problem with him aswell?
What about David Kennedy and the other imported hurlers - you got problems with them?

David Kennedy is a Guard stationed in the county.

Alan Costello also moved to and worked in Sligo and he was selected for the Sligo county team 2 years after transferring to a club in Sligo.

So both examples mentioned actually have links to the community in the relevant counties.

Ah lads - links can be made for any player wanting to force a transfer. How many Tipperary or Kilkenny hurlers are there plying their trade with counties like Kildare? All on the basis of rediculous GAA rules.

These people must have had less tenuous links than a school teacher renting an apartment at an exclusive resort 60 miles away from the school where he works.

Ur opinion on where he lives is irrelevant. Under GAA rules, players looking to transfer must provide evidence of residence. Johnson has done the same as every other player who has transferred.
Everybody knows the GAA is riddled with spite & hypocrisy, this is proof if it were needed!

BTA says GAA is riddled with spite & hypocrisy but its more like what was said earlier, Delegates at the bar when votes are on or running from the bar to vote as some dinasour tells them !!!! And then they try to deny it !!!!

Like all the boys in Newbridge every first Tuesday who spend the rest of the month giving out about the CB. conviently ignoring the major fact: THEY ARE THE COUNTY BOARD but they sit there with mouths firmly shut so as to gain any possible advantage for their own club and not upset anyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time they remember how to make an omlette !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BelieveToAchieve wrote:

Ur opinion on where he lives is irrelevant. Under GAA rules, players looking to transfer must provide evidence of residence. Johnson has done the same as every other player who has transferred.
Everybody knows the GAA is riddled with spite & hypocrisy, this is proof if it were needed!

You were at all the meetings and you know what evidence he was asked to provide and what he did or didn't provide? And in any case, it would have been blatant hypocrisy to ignore the elephant in the room: SJ has no, and never has had, any real connection with Kildare other than wanting to play for the Kildare senior team.

We should have no hand, act or part in facilitating this clear breach of the ethos of the association.

kelf wrote:

BTA says GAA is riddled with spite & hypocrisy but its more like what was said earlier, Delegates at the bar when votes are on or running from the bar to vote as some dinasour tells them !!!! And then they try to deny it !!!!

Like all the boys in Newbridge every first Tuesday who spend the rest of the month giving out about the CB. conviently ignoring the major fact: THEY ARE THE COUNTY BOARD but they sit there with mouths firmly shut so as to gain any possible advantage for their own club and not upset anyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time they remember how to make an omlette !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take those people out of the GAA and watch the association collapse. Simple as that. These are the people who will be out selling lotto tickets, marking the pitch, driving young fellas to games, actually volunteer to go to all the meetings and so on. You're free to volunteer in your club to take up positions if you want.

And you're being blatantly facetious there. The GAA did not get to where it is by being run by a bunch of incompetent auld eejits.

Kelf if you believe the delegates run football in this county then ur a fool. Meetings are organised and directed in such a way to get whatever business the officers want - through.

Are you really trying to tell me that if all the spiteful old dinosaurs and hypocrites are taken out of the GAA, that the association will collapse? Really?

If you think it's ok for 100 or more guys to get a transfer under one GAA rule but Seanie Johnson must adhere to a different set of criteria - then my good man, you are also a hypocrite!

BelieveToAchieve wrote:

Kelf if you believe the delegates run football in this county then ur a fool. Meetings are organised and directed in such a way to get whatever business the officers want - through.

Yeah. the officers are responsible for organising and conducting the meeting but they simply cannot overrule the floor or a vote of the meeting.

Quote :

Are you really trying to tell me that if all the spiteful old dinosaurs and hypocrites are taken out of the GAA, that the association will collapse? Really?

You're the one talking about spiteful old dinosaurs and hypocrites. I simply talking about the people who run the GAA and tend to be the back bone of the community through more than just their GAA activities. If these people stopped doing what they do, who would do it?

Quote :

If you think it's ok for 100 or more guys to get a transfer under one GAA rule but Seanie Johnson must adhere to a different set of criteria - then my good man, you are also a hypocrite!

I don't have a definitive opinion on any particular inter county transfer not directly affecting Kildare, but no, I don't think it's ok and I do think the same criteria should be used in all cases.

I would just use the example of, say, Brian Murphy, who was genuinely living and working in the county. There's a difference to Seán Johnston's circumstances.

I'm glad you believe in fair play. If fair play was being used in this case, his transfer wud be through already. But like I said earlier - spiteful hypocrites.
Bring on the DRA

And realise one thing, nobody is irreplaceable. No matter how good they may be, there is always somebody out there who can come in & do the same job - at least as well If not better.
The 5 year rule is one of the best introduced to the GAA ever - it stops guys staying in a job forever & encourages change.

As for the top table over ruling the floor. No they can't do that, but they can and do manipulate and organise meetings in order to get certain items dealt with in their way. The problem with Cb meetings - in Kildare anyway - is that the wrong people attend. They have no mandate to make a decision on a clubs behalf. Half the time they are old guys who don't even relay the information back to their clubs.

BelieveToAchieve wrote:

I'm glad you believe in fair play. If fair play was being used in this case, his transfer wud be through already. But like I said earlier - spiteful hypocrites.
Bring on the DRA

I disagree. Fair play would mean that the rules are applied correctly in this and all cases, not that he gets the rules applied incorrectly in his case because that also happened to others in the past.

And anyway, given how many Kildare people just don't want him playing for the county, I don't think he should be selected regardless of whether he gets his transfer and I certainly don't think he should have been treated in Croke Park last week as if he was already a member of the Kildare senior football panel.

BelieveToAchieve wrote:

And realise one thing, nobody is irreplaceable. No matter how good they may be, there is always somebody out there who can come in & do the same job - at least as well If not better.
The 5 year rule is one of the best introduced to the GAA ever - it stops guys staying in a job forever & encourages change.

As for the top table over ruling the floor. No they can't do that, but they can and do manipulate and organise meetings in order to get certain items dealt with in their way. The problem with Cb meetings - in Kildare anyway - is that the wrong people attend. They have no mandate to make a decision on a clubs behalf. Half the time they are old guys who don't even relay the information back to their clubs.

I agree nobody is irreplaceable but you would have quite a job replacing everybody at the same time.

Communication can be an issue but if the wrong person is representing a club then that club must change that. I am quite happy that our delegate will report back to the club and will vote the right way if a decision is taken where the club has not had an opportunity to discuss it beforehand.

I can guarantee you that is not the case in every club. If you attend the first Tuesday of the month meetings, you will see what I mean!

I agree about the onus being in the club to elect a proper delegate. I happen to think the chair and sec of every club should attend CB meetings. That way information is guaranteed to be delivered to the club and decisions can be made at any or all meetings

BelieveToAchieve wrote:

I can guarantee you that is not the case in every club. If you attend the first Tuesday of the month meetings, you will see what I mean!

I agree about the onus being in the club to elect a proper delegate. I happen to think the chair and sec of every club should attend CB meetings. That way information is guaranteed to be delivered to the club and decisions can be made at any or all meetings

Minutes of all CB meetings are emailed to club secretarys prior to the following CB meeting along with all the reports to be presented at that meeting. So the info does get back to the clubs.

Yawn....... Lads this road has been travelled, dug up... re-surfaced and new white lines put down...

Why not just stay out of it ignite bores you that much?!

theres stuff been written on here that you would have expected to hear in january. on here talking about lads getting put up in rented apartments in exclusive resorts...... get your facts right before you come on here talking manure.

Fact; have a friend working in Cavan and sees a certain teacher come and go to a house in same estate every morning and evening.

That's why this sham is still running and running


Ps. Why couldn't I sit in dugout last Sunday. I'm a bona fide kildare registered player. Albeit slow and wouldn't hit a barn door