Liam Sheedy is the man to give hurling the attention that the game needs in the 21st century
Burns; elevation means seven out of the last eight Presidents of the GAA were teachers. Three of the last four Director Generals came from the classroom too.
by Kieran Cunningham · Irish MirrorThe end of the noughties saw a hugely significant change in the GAA - off the pitch.
To try and guard against staleness, the GAA put in place a rule where office holders at County Board could only hold a post for five years. Some got around this by moving to a different post but, overall, it ensured a freshness with new and often younger officers coming to the fore.
Should the same approach be taken at the highest level of his GAA?
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Tom Ryan is the GAA's Director General and he's in the last six months of his seven year contract. It's far from unusual for new contracts to be offered to the incumbent.
Liam Ó Maolmhichíl, maybe the most impressive of those who've held the post, was in the job for 28 years.
Ryan has been a steady hand, but he is a low key figure, and one who rarely speaks in public. An accountant by profession, that is in tune with his personality. A details man, most comfortable with facts and figures.
Given the impact he's made as GAA President, it's easy to forget that Jarlath Burns was actually linked with the Director General position the last time it became available.
Two other high profile GAA figures went for the job the last two times it was available, All-Ireland hurling winning manager Liam Sheedy of Tipperary and Pat Gilroy, who won Sam Maguire as both a player and manager with Dublin.
It's long since been clear that chalk-stained hands are the best way to the top in the GAA. Teachers from Brian Cody to Ger Loughnane Mickey Harte to Eamonn Fitzmaurice have shone in inter-county management.
And, at another level, the likes of Jerry Grogan - who is the brains behind the huge success of Cumann na mBunscoil in Dublin - offers further proof of the worth of teachers. But is at a problem that the GAA is so tied to the classroom?
Burns; elevation means seven out of the last eight Presidents of the GAA were teachers. Three of the last four Director Generals came from the classroom too.
Interestingly, the GAA's initial advertisement for the DG post last time out mentioned a business-related degree as being essential. That would have ruled out most with a background in teaching, but that proviso has since been removed.
What is striking when looking at the list of the men who've held the top post in the GAA is a shared background in football.
The GAA is excellent at talking up hurling, and of boasting of the 'special cultural status' bestowed on it by UNICEF.
But the hurling Championship is effectively a competition for fewer than 10 teams, and it's been that way for generations. Spreading the hurling gospel should be the main aim for the GAA in the 21st century.
To do that, someone steeped in the game should lead the charge. Sheedy is a formidable operator, having also been on the board of Sport Ireland for a long time, picking up valuable experience.
If Ryan does decide to move on, then Sheedy would be exactly what the GAA now need. Hurling has to spread its wings.
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