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NUACHT RÁITEAS | MEDIA RELEASE

6ú Iúil, 2023

GAA and GPA collaborate for a campaign to tackle online abuse of players, referees, managers and officials

The Gaelic Athletic Association and the Gaelic Players’ Association have today launched a major new campaign that seeks to target and tackle the online social media abuse of players, referees, managers and officials.

The ‘In their Boots’ campaign is a series of specially commissioned videos which over the coming weeks will heighten awareness around the damage caused by vitriolic targeting and abuse of players, referees, managers and officials online in an effort to create a better online sideline.

Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy said: “As members of the GAA it is up to us to insist on the type of culture that we want to exist, and the Association is adamant that it is one where respect is paramount.

“This campaign, produced in collaboration with the GPA, is a critically important initiative that targets the culture of online abuse and the use of social media to attack players, coaches, referees and officials.

“The campaign asks people who are trigger-happy to spew bile online to stop and think and put themselves in the boots of those they are looking to castigate. Our supporters are passionate and our games feed on that passion, but that passion must exist in a way that does not accept a culture where that is an excuse to target and abuse people on or offline.”

Tom Parsons, CEO of the GPA said: “Inter-county players know that criticism comes with the territory of playing the game at the highest level.  Criticism is part and parcel of the debates and conversations that are had the length and breadth of the country.  However, it is when criticism veers into abuse that we must draw a line.

“Social media and the online world can be a positive way of communicating and staying in touch but unfortunately, there are those who want to hijack it and use it to say things they would be very unlikely to say face to face.  This campaign asks supporters of our games to turn your back on those who share abuse and instead to be real supporters.  Real supporters get behind their teams in good times and bad.

“Let’s show other parts of our society how, in Gaelic games, we can critique, debate and even argue without getting drawn into personal attacks and abuse.”

Niamh Boyle, GAA Digital Manager, added: “We live in a digital world where so many people interact online, and it is a place of possibility. But it can be undermined and become detrimental when it is a place that is hijacked by those looking to target individuals after matches. It doesn’t stay on the pitch, it goes beyond the final whistle, coming home to families and friends. This is an issue that goes against what we hold dear in the GAA and sport. For referees, coaches, volunteers, and amateur players the vitriol that can be directed at them after matches is simply unacceptable and this campaign is about tackling that culture.

“The true value of our games is in the people involved and the culture around it, and this behaviour would not be accepted in the GAA community offline so it should not be tolerated online.”

Tommy Doyle, GPA Digital Media Manager added: “As part of my masters in digital marketing I looked at the whole area of online abuse of inter-county players.  Through this work and as a current player I know the negative impact it can have.  It was from here that this project emerged.  I am delighted to see it come to fruition and want to say thank you to Niamh Boyle and the team at the GAA for their partnership.

“I would encourage all of us in the Gaelic games’ community and more generally in Irish society to consider the language we use online and the material we share. “

In his address to Seanad Éireann last April, Uachtarán McCarthy sought the assistance of politicians and requested that they consider legislation that will make it harder for a culture of online abuse and the ability of individuals to anonymously wage personal attacks online to be permitted.

The GPA has proactively provided social media guidelines to players in recent years, encouraging positive online behaviour.  As role models, players know what they say and do has an impact far beyond just themselves.

The GAA/GPA ‘In their Boots’ campaign can be found on the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of both bodies.

The content for the campaign was produced by the Fifty-Three Six Sports Marketing Agency.

For further information, contact:

Alan Milton, GAA Director of Communications: alan.milton@gaa.ie  

Kieran McSweeney, GPA Head of Communications: kieran@gaelicplayers.com

Leitrim GAA Supporters Club will charter a bus to next Sunday’s Tailteann Cup Round 1 encounter with Antrim in Corrigan Park, Belfast if there are sufficient numbers interested. Anybody who wishes to book a seat on the bus is advised to contact Jerome McWeeney ASAP at 0876370051. Bookings need to be confirmed by Thursday evening latest.

Leitrim GAA wishes to be associated with the grief that surrounds the passing of the late Sean Clarke, Forosa, Gortletteragh and Mohill County Leitrim. Sean’s great battle with a sudden illness that befell him last December, ended on Thursday last, as he returned to his eternal reward.

Sean, whose brother Séamus is the current Leitrim Senior Team Sponsor, was himself a most dedicated Leitrim Supporter and often went to great lengths to support his county at home and away. As recently as last season he cycled to away games, and there’s not much longer a trip to undertake than a trip from Leitrim to Dungarvan on a bicycle in early Spring! A former player with the great Gortletteragh team of the 1980s, Séamus also represented the County at the Underage level.

In underlining the continuing generosity of the Clarke Family to Gaelic Games in the County, Sean himself was also a most generous sponsor over the years through his business interests in Mohill. When Leitrim LGFA started organising end-of-year county presentations in the 1990s, they took place in Clarke’s in Mohill and that continued until at least the mid-2000s. In 2003 Leitrim Ladies had their first-ever official team sponsor and it was Sean who stepped into the breach and he thus started a trend that has continued to the present day. Even after sponsors changed, Sean’s generosity towards Leitrim LGFA continued over many subsequent years.

We extend our sympathies to his son Darren and Sean’s partner Anella, brother Seamus and sister Eileen, sister-in-law Catriona, daughter-in-law Amy, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends.

Sean will be reposing in Glennon’s Funeral Home, Ballinalee Road, Longford N39EC81, on Saturday, 1st April 2023, from 12 noon – 3.30pm with removal to St Patrick’s Church, Mohill, Co. Leitrim, via Forosa, Gortletteragh, to arrive for 5pm. Funeral Mass in St. Patrick’s Church, Mohill, on Sunday, 2nd April, at 2 pm, followed by burial afterwards in Gortletteragh Cemetery.

Ar dhes Dé go raibh sé.

https://rip.ie/death-notice/sean-clarke-gortletteragh-leitrim/531043