FACE TO FACE; Honeymoon over for Cooney as he vows to sit down with GPA chiefs & hammer out deal on recognition of players body..for once and for all.

Byline: PAT NOLAN 

NEW GAA president Christy Cooney plans to sit down with the GPA shortly once a coolingoff period is allowed to pass.

Conney's predecessor Nickey Brennan outlined in his outgoing speech last Saturday that the main regret of his tenure was the failure to reach agreement with the GPA on the issue of the players' body's official recognition.

Brennan explained that the stumbling block had been the GPA's request for a specific percentage of the GAA's income, which wasn't forthcoming from the governing body.

However, Cooney confirmed yesterday that talks will resume at some point in the future with himself, GAA director general Paraic Dufy, GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell and chairman Donal Og Cusack all involved.

Speaking at the launch of the Vhi GAA Cul Camps at Croke Park yesterday, he said: "We're taking some time over the next period to just review where we are and let the matter takes its course then.

"I'm sure I'll be sitting down in the very near future, both Paraic and I with Dessie and Donal Og Cusack, and having a chat about things. We'll take our time with it.

"Nickey put proposals before the GPA. For whatever reason they weren't acceptable so we need to take a little bit of time to consider where we are, both sides need to I think, in fairness to the GPA as well. We'll get a chance to sit down and see how we can move things forward. If we can move things forward, great.

"If we can't then we have to look at all the options around that." Cooney clearly believes that the obstacles which prevented an agreement being reached previously can be overcome, though he made a point of not referring to them as such.

"I'd prefer not to look at obstacles, I'd prefer to look at opportunities, how we can help each other in promoting our games.

We're all members of the same association and that's what it's about.

"Obstacles are only there if you put them there. Opportunities are there if you make them happen." He added that as yet there has been no word from the Government in relation to the continuation of the player grants scheme, though that is a matter to be ironed out between the GPA and the Government.

After the experimental rules were edged out at Congress last Saturday, Cooney has already pledged that the matter will be revisited though insisted yesterday that a broad overview will be taken rather than holding a snap Special Congress later in the year.

"There was very significant support for change, 63.8 percent. So I think there's a responsibility on us to have a look at them again. We'll do that over the summer.

"We'll consider it, look at the changes that were proposed, see how the Championships go and look at the options that we believe are best to serve the Association into the future.

"If we're ready we'll come back at next year's Congress with recommendations to move it forward but we're going to take our time. We'll have a look at it, see how games go throughout the summer, see what the standard is like, see what type of fouling, etc. occurs and take it from there.

"We're not going to rush headlong into it and say we're going to have a Special Congress in the Autumn, we'll take our time and give it consideration." The Cork native also confirmed that rather than development committees for hurling and football, instead they will be brought under the guise of games development.

He added: "I've appointed three hurling men to national coaching and games development in Sean Silke (Galway), John Fenton (Cork) and the chairman of Antrim county board, John McSparran to bring a balance to that process and to ensure that hurling gets it's equal share and equal time at national coaching and games development."

CAPTION(S):

MAIN PLAYERS Christy Cooney, Dessie Farrell, Pauric Duffy and Donal Og Cusack JOY Declan Moran of Vhi Healthcare, Christy Cooney and kids from the Cul Camps at Croke Park yesterday DEVELOPMENT Former Cork star John Fenton and Sean Silke, left, of Galway are part of a hurling coaching and games development team