GAA President says Cork games may not have been available to watch at all were it not for streaming service

WERE it not for the pay-per-view GAAGO streaming service, games involving Cork’s senior hurlers might not have been available to view at all for supporters who didn’t attend the games, GAA president Jarlath Burns has suggested.

Mr Burns also suggested that the clash between Cork and Limerick had to be changed from a Sunday game, which would have been covered on RTÉ, to Saturday, because of preparations for the Bruce Springsteen concert at Páirc Uí Chaoimh the following week.

Speaking exclusively to The Echo, Mr Burns said that he empathised with Cork fans who had complained angrily that only one of the Munster Championship games involving the Rebel County hurlers had been shown on RTÉ, while three clashes, including the classic between Cork and the All-Ireland and Munster champions, had been only available on the pay-per-view streaming service owned jointly by the GAA and RTÉ.

“I completely understand [their frustration] but you have to remember that were it not for GAAGO, those games would not be broadcast at all,” he said.

“You have to remember that game between Cork and Limerick had been originally scheduled for the Sunday, but it had to be changed to Saturday due to the Bruce Springsteen concert.

“Last year that game was to be held on the Sunday but it had to be changed because of another event — the Limerick Run, I think. Sometimes you have to take into consideration the other events that are taking place.

“It’s a great pity that game [Cork v Limerick] wasn’t available free to air, but then you think that the game between Cork and Tipperary was available free to air but it’s a good thing, in my own opinion, that not every game is available free to air.”

He agreed with the idea that it wasn’t possible to be at the best game every year — as the Cork v Tipperary clash was one of the highlights of last year’s championship while this year’s standout encounter so far of the summer is regarded as being the Cork victory over Limerick.

“The selections are made at the start of the year, and you’re kind of guessing or estimating what the standings of the round robin will be like when Cork will be playing Limerick — there was a chance that game could have been a dead rubber, people didn’t know how important that game would be,” he said.

“At least it was shown, it was on GAAGO — the football game between Cork and Donegal wasn’t able to be shown on any of the stations because GAAGO was engaged at other games — sometimes these things happen, not every game can be free to air, this is what we’ve found out.”