The establishment of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) involved bootstrapping that would make any tech start-up proud. Dessie Farrell’s mother spent days stuffing membership forms into envelopes at her house while the 1995 All-Ireland medal winner did his day job in the pharma sector.
“They were great times in many ways,” says Farrell. “It was like a business start-up, fraught with uncertainty. No one really knew how it was going to pan out.”
Sitting in the GPA’s headquarters at Northwood Business Campus in Santry, the softly spoken Farrell — dressed casually in jeans and a shirt — maintains the build of an elite athlete.
The GPA moved into the offices, owned by Nama, following the departure of an American company. The decor has changed slightly: the walls are papered with hurlers and Gaelic footballers in full flight. The office is home to 11 staff, most current or former inter-county GAA players, and all working to promote the wellbeing of the sports’ top athletes.
Farrell was the GPA’s first full-time employee — a position he took almost accidentally. After sitting on the interview panel to find a chief executive, he decided the candidates were not up to scratch. With the backing of the GPA’s board, he took on the role in 2002.
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He was well qualified, having played for Dublin at senior level for 15 years. As a Gaelic footballer he earned six Leinster titles, an All-Ireland award and an All Star award. In hurling he captained the Dublin Under-21s. Farrell also represented his club Na Fianna for nearly 30 years and won Irish and Leinster caps playing hockey.
The former Dublin star oversees an annual budget of more than €4m to help amateur GAA players prepare for life after inter-county playing careers. It provides scholarships, career coaching and support for businesses founded by GAA players.
The GPA is collaborating with the Irish Management Institute to provide leadership training for players so they can bring their hunger to win from the sporting world into the corporate world.
The creeping involvement of corporations in the GAA led Farrell and like-minded players to push for the establishment of the GPA at the turn of the millennium. Players were committing greater amounts of time to training and sacrificing their professional lives.
“Corporates were sponsoring the jerseys, the redevelopment of Croke Park was under way, the commercial appeal of the games and the association was ever- increasing,” says Farrell. “Conditions at the time for players weren’t commensurate with what was going on, in particular in the commercial side.”
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Professionalism was not on the agenda, and the association sought basics such as insurance to cover players’ injuries and expenses for gear and facilities. The establishment of a players’ body was not welcomed by the GAA, which initially refused to engage with the athletes. Hostility also came from coaches.
“There were all sorts of obstacles put in the way,” says Farrell. “Players were threatened with being dropped from teams. We were [seen as] mavericks or militants, out to cause trouble.”
At first the GAA was not willing to provide the proceeds of its commercial activities to support the players’ organisation. The GPA was originally funded through membership fees, and later struck deals to bring in money from sponsors. An innovative agreement with the drinks company C&C secured the GPA’s funding in 2003, and the association soon launched a joint venture to bring Club Energise — a GAA-focused sports drink — to the Irish market.
“We developed this concept of a sports drink specifically for Gaelic players,” says Farrell. “C&C came on board and we developed the product known as Club Energise. It was a really important revenue stream for us — it was unique, as a percentage of every bottle sold went to the association.”
The 10-year deal was worth about €500,000 over the first three years. The drink became Ireland’s most popular sports drink after Lucozade Sport, outselling Gatorade and Powerade. The GPA used proceeds from the drink to remunerate 115 players in 2003.
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With funding secured, the GPA set about expanding the list of demands required for players. In 2006 it gave a list to the GAA and threatened to strike. In a show of player power, the organisation delayed the kick-off of all inter-county football matches in April 2006. With the GAA backed into a corner, an agreement was signed to recognise the GPA. Four years later, the association agreed a funding deal, which now funnels €3m a year to the players’ body.
Other sources of funding include a dinner in Manhattan that brings in about $750,000 (€660,000) a year. “We’re not just shaking people down, to use Gabriel Byrne’s expression,” says Farrell. “We don’t want to just fly in on Friday and home on a Sunday. It’s all about building strong and meaningful relationships.”
Despite the influx of money into the GAA following a deal with Sky Sports, Farrell is not convinced that there is enough to sustain a professional game. Stretching scarce resources could do more harm. “It’s a short career and the money isn’t there,” he says. At the same time, the commitment is growing. The Kerry captain Kieran Donaghy and the Donegal defender Karl Lacey left their jobs to spend more time playing football.
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“These are the formative years in your life and career outside sport, so you’re being placed at a disadvantage unless you can set yourself up,” says Farrell. That is where he sees the GPA playing its part.
Offering players professional development off the pitch is key to getting them to choose the GAA over other sports. “We’re making a strong statement about how we look after our own,” says Farrell. “The conveyor-belt mentality no longer exists. We do truly cherish and value the contribution that players make.”
Traditionally, GAA players were sought for sales rep roles and relationship manager positions in the banks. The nature of the games has changed, however, as has employer appetite. “There’s now an understanding that a county player is a full-time commitment; there is now a job on top of another job,” says Farrell.
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The GPA has joined large corporations in Ireland to match suitable candidates with jobs. “This isn’t just about handing a job to a player; this is actually something more profound. If you get the right guy, with the right attitude, he has a huge amount to offer an employer.”
PwC has come on board and sees huge value in being able to recruit highly motivated graduates through the GPA. Icon, a Nasdaq-quoted pharma group, offers players scholarships in life sciences. Another initiative, called Insights Through Excellence, pairs highly motivated captains of industry with players, who shadow chief executives for one day a month.
Farrell claims the association has helped support about 30 players through the establishment of businesses. The GPA offers business planning, financial advice, brand advice and support in building a website. It does not provide funding, but will put people in touch with investors.
Farrell’s ultimate goal is to build a physical sports institute for the GPA that would transform the traditional academy model. “Sports institutes around the world take the person and develop them into the athlete,” says Farrell. “We want to flip that on its head — take the athlete and develop them into the person.”
The maverick is clearly still there.
The Life of Dessie Farrell
Age: 44
Education: Psychiatric nurse
Family: Two children
Home: Clonee, Co Meath
Favourite film: I know a lot of people say it but I saw it again recently: The Shawshank Redemption.
Favourite book: I met Don Keough, a senior executive in Coca-Cola. He
was responsible for bringing Coca-Cola to Ireland and was known as the Irish-American corporate chieftain. He wrote a book called The Ten Commandments for Business Failure.
Working day:
Depends on the time of the year. I’m usually up before 7am and I go Costa Coffee for an hour or two. Then I go to the office and I have meetings over the course of the day. Due to the time zone difference with America, some of the year I could be working late into the night. At other times of the year, due to coaching commitments, I try to get out of the office early.
Downtime:
I coach the football — Dublin minor and Under-21s. I’m a huge lover of sports and I love going to see the kids play. I try to stay active, so I play a bit of six-a-side and go to the gym — not that I’m fond of it. I love spending time with family and the friends. I love getting away to southwest Donegal, where my mother is from.