Volunteerism used to be the bedrock of the GAA but now more and more clubs are struggling as members prove reluctant to take on the time-consuming responsibility involved
Society has changed. Being a volunteer, in any organisation, is one of many choices available to people in their free time. Nobody feels compelled any more. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
“The first excuse is ‘I haven’t got time’. For the record, none of us have – but we make time,” Callaghan said. “The jubilee teams honoured this year totally get the ethos of the GAA,” said Callaghan. “It’s a voluntary organisation, you must give back.” In that respect, being a GAA volunteer has an image problem. It is perceived as a lifestyle choice for die-hards and fanatics. In every club there are people who are seen as martyrs for the GAA. In a society hell bent on gratification, though, martyrdom has a repulsive quality.
Each section is broken down into a series of actions, graded in importance: must do, should do, could do. In all 121 actions are listed and 51 of them are graded as ‘must do’. Many of them involve form-filling and email-sending, but others are challenging. The GAA’s numbers are still extraordinary. There are more GAA clubs in Cork than there are rugby clubs all over the island . In total, there are roughly 650,000 members spread over 1,600 clubs.
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