Question: "Should players be paid?

Answer: "No."

Response: "Thanks -- that's what I think too."

The questioner was a member of the Windgap club in south Kilkenny and the answer came from GAA President Christy Cooney, who went on to elaborate on how he believed that any form of pay-for-play would wreck the Association.

It would, he said, end volunteerism, make it impossible to prevent players from following the money and rapidly lead to the destruction of the GAA as we know it.

Cooney was speaking not so much to the converted as to people who never had any doubt that interfering with the natural GAA order would be a heinous crime against home and heritage.

We're sitting in one of the Windgap club's dressing-rooms, overlooking the pitch as the November wind has the trees on the far side of the ground swaying

in the night air. A bright moon paints a shimmer of light across the playing surface while one section of the pitch is further illuminated by the lights which reflect off the recently completed hurling wall.

The wall is doing good business tonight as seven or eight youngsters practise their skills before heading home dreaming of being Henry Shefflin, Tommy Walsh or whichever black-and-amber hero engages their fancy. Inside the dressing-room, chairs are being hastily arranged as around 30 club members, drawn from all age groups, prepare for an unusual experience.

Christy Cooney and GAA Communications Manager Alan Milton have arrived as part of the 'Ag Eisteacht' initiative.

That's where Cooney and Director-General Paraic Duffy visit clubs for an exchange of views. They alternate between venues and are planning to have visited between 30 and 35 clubs before Congress next April.

There is no top table and no

formalities. Cooney insists that the chairs are placed in a circle to create an atmosphere of shared equality. It is supposed to be a chat among friends, not a meeting between "that crowd up in Croke Park" and ordinary GAA members.

It's a bit crowded tonight, but he doesn't want first and second rows. Squeeze in as best you can and let's be having your opinions.

The only one allowed to lurk in the background is the guy from the Irish Independent, so I sit on the bench, look at the team pictures on the wall and wonder what tales that dressing-room could tell.

"I'm here to learn about this club, to listen to what you have to say, to express thanks on behalf of the Association for what you're doing and to bring clarity to any area you feel needs to be addressed," says Cooney.

He hears that Windgap is the second-smallest club in Kilkenny, that it caters for hurling, football, handball and camogie, that it has 227 members, 130 of which are adults, that there are 108 children in the local school and that they amalgamate with Galmoy at underage level.

Perhaps most significantly of all, he hears from the club chairman, Jimmy Walsh, that "everything in the parish revolves around the club." Soccer or rugby are no threat to the GAA in Windgap.

They completed the hurling wall earlier in the year at a cost of around €35,000 and spent a further €45,000 on various other ground improvements.

The hurling wall is a particular source of satisfaction, having been built by locals for locals.

"We'd have eight to 10 people working away on it every Saturday. There was a great sense of doing things for ourselves," said Walsh.

Working for the club is, as in so many other parts of the country, a way of life.

"We have small numbers, but we try to maximise our resources. The volunteer ethic is strong and on the playing side, we take the view that if you can walk you can hurl," said club secretary, Tom Egan.

In the best tradition of treasurers who like to be upbeat without creating the impression of financial robustness, Eamon Doyle reports that the club is "in a bit of debt, but not too much."

Nowadays, Windgap play at junior level in hurling and football, with players getting around 10 competitive games in hurling and less in football every year.

They were a senior club many years ago and are mighty proud of having produced Kieran Purcell in the 1970s. He won three All-Ireland hurling medals with Kilkenny in 1972, '74, '75 and three All Star awards in 1973, '74, '75, ensuring himself of lifelong respect in his native parish.

Pat Walsh, a brother of the chairman, brought further honour to the club in the 1980s, winning Leinster and NHL medals with Kilkenny.

"What have Kilkenny's many successes meant to this club?" asks Cooney.

In practical terms, not a lot it seems. Sure, it has lifted people's spirits and left youngsters dreaming of emulating Shefflin and Co, but like many small, rural clubs around the country, Windgap have problems which success at county level can't rectify.

A lack of playing numbers is the main one. It has already led to their amalgamation with Galmoy up to U-21 level a few years ago and while it has worked out well, the numbers game will always pose a big challenge.

The fact that girls are no longer allowed to play on U-14 hurling teams is a new problem for clubs such as Windgap, but Cooney explains that there will be no turning back. The medical and insurance advice is against it, so small clubs have to work with reduced numbers.

It is something that Windgap have become accustomed to, both at club and school level.

Having listened to the Windgap side of the story, Cooney invites queries on how Croke Park views various issues.

The questions are, essentially, of local interest.

Has the GAA any policy to help small clubs like Windgap who have small numbers?

Cooney talks of amalgamation and of playing nine or 11-a-side competitions, but it is pointed out that reducing the size of teams won't really help as the big clubs will still be far too strong.

He is asked if the money from the renting of Croke Park to soccer and rugby should go directly to the clubs rather than the county boards.

That's a matter for county boards, but since they're made up of club representatives the clubs ultimately decide. Or at least they should.

Where does he see the GAA in 25 years' time, when it celebrates its 150th birthday?

Remaining as an amateur organisation is very much top of the priority list, but there's a challenge, too, in ensuring that the volunteer ethic remains intact.

"That's a big test for us. We need more volunteers so that we can have even bigger numbers of children playing our games.

"We also need a better playing programme, especially at club level. That will make the clubs stronger, which is vital. If we don't have a vibrant club scene, we're at nothing.

"On the international front, we'll be a lot stronger. We have 450 overseas clubs at present and it's growing all the time. It's great to see that, but we need to manage it well. I have no doubt that camogie, handball and ladies football, too, will be doing better in 25 years' time," he said.

What did Cooney think of the growing trend of hiring outside coaches, many of whom are paid more than the stipulated expenses?

"Apart from breaking the rules, it makes no sense. Bringing people in from outside just for the sake of it is crazy. If you look at the inter-county scene, very few outside managers have won All-Irelands. The answer is not always to look outside when, very often, there are people who are just as good on your doorstep."

There were no questions on the use of Croke Park/inter-county championship structures/the threat from rugby/soccer or the challenge of expanding Gaelic Games in large urban areas, but then Windgap -- in common with so many other clubs -- are concerned, essentially, with local issues.

But then, it is local pride which keeps clubs going. It is more about identity than success, more about putting something into the local community than taking out of it.

Windgap may be a small club, struggling for playing numbers, but its sense of place remains soundly intact.

"The GAA is what we are around here," said Jimmy Walsh. Simple, honest words that re-echo across so many parishes in the country as the Association celebrates its 125th birthday.

Cooney believes that the 'Ag Eisteacht' tour will prove hugely beneficial in giving the GAA leadership a clear picture of how clubs see themselves in the overall landscape.

"We're visiting rural, town and city clubs, big and small clubs and clubs with all sorts of different needs and challenges.

"We're listening and taking heed of what we're being told.

"When we put it all together, we'll have a clearer picture of what ordinary GAA members are thinking and how they see things developing in future years.

"We might pick up a gem from one club that would be of use to others, but, most of all, it's about listening to them and saying thanks for what they're doing.

"So far, it has been a very enlightening experience," he said.

- Martin Breheny

Irish Independent