Tipperary Fine Gael motion urges GAA to scrap paywall for hurling and football championships
Intercounty GAA matches should be free and easy for everyone to watch, according to a group of Tipperary councillors.
At the July meeting of Tipperary County Council, the majority of the Fine Gael councillors in Tipperary tabled a motion calling on the GAA to ensure that all senior intercounty hurling and football games are made free to watch.
The group said that everyone should have the opportunity to watch their team play, and called for all senior intercounty games to be free and accessible to watch from 2027.
The motion follows the GAA’s recent broadcasting agreement that places championship matches behind the GAA+ streaming service.
In proposing the motion, Thurles-based councillor Peggy Ryan said that the hurling and football championship represent the best of Ireland’s community and culture, and that putting them behind a paywall makes them far less accessible.
“Older people may not be comfortable using online platforms, and they also may not have suitable devices or have WiFi installed,” Cllr Ryan said.
“It’s also important to think of people with illnesses and disabilities, because they also have additional costs associated with being ill or having a disability. We also have to think about the cost associated with travelling to games and the cost of the tickets themselves.
“It can become exorbitant and there is a cost of living crisis ongoing for many people in their homes. It takes a community good and it commodifies it out of reach of many people by putting it behind a paywall,” Cllr Ryan added.
Seconding the motion, Cashel-based councillor Declan Burgess said that the GAA’s move to this model was “regrettable”.
“The essence of the GAA is community, and community needs to be accessible to all. There was rightly backlash to the GAA’s move on the ground, so I support the calls here,” he said.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to watch their county team compete in intercounty championships. There’s a sense of pride belonging to that,” he added.
However, not all Fine Gael councillors were agreed on the motion, with Cllr Willie Kennedy saying sports organisations need money to keep improving.
“If you were a Premier League supporter, you would get nothing for free. You probably pay €100 to see your Premier League team, or if you don’t, you pay on Sky, and pay very dearly as well.
“The number of stadiums in this country, most of them are operating at losses. Semple Stadium needs €10million of an investment, and unless the Government put that into it, I think they’ll find it very hard to do it.
“We have a sports for all package in this county to try and get people involved in sport, and get older people involved in activity, this is counter to that, we’re going to incentivise people to stay at home,” Cllr Kennedy said.
Despite Cllr Kennedy’s concerns, the motion was passed, so Tipperary County Council will write a letter to the GAA with the motion attached.