It is not too far back in the history of Dis Great Asssooosheeeayshun Of Ours that the only legal documentation required by any true Gael was a copy of the Treoir Oifigiúil, or Rule Book, in one hand and perhaps a copy of the Fianna Fáil Córú in the other, recalls An Fear Rua…

For many a year, that was the way it was in the Gowlnacalley-John Redmonds club, where a prominent club member, who rejoiced in the sobriquet of Ned 'Machine Gun' Stapleton, believed that a copy of these two volumes plus a daily read of the sadly defunct 'Irish Press' was sufficient information for any fíorGhael. Ned knew the exact subsection of a Rule to quote to ensure that the County Board ruled out of order an objection to a player or a match result because it was not submitted on Gaelic-watermarked notepaper. Ned was the man, too, who scrutinised our opponents' team lists before and after every game we lost to ensure that there wasn't a misplaced síne fada, Ó or Mac that would render the list invalid and thus give grounds for an objection.

Ned's familiarity with every nook and cranny of the Treoir Oifigiúil would put even Frank 'Comb-the-Rules' Murphy to shame. His encylopaedic knowledge was such that, at one extremely heated meeting of the County Board, a frustrated opponent sarcastically remarked: 'God, Ned, but you were a great loss to the Law!'. 'How dare you!' spluttered Ned in riposte. 'How dare you insult me by comparing me to a… a … a lawyer!!'

Nevertheless, objections of the kind favoured by Ned were few and far between around our part of the world. There was a kind of unwritten law, that if you couldn't win the game on the field of play, there was no honour to be gained in snaffling a result in the committee rooms. That relaxed approach, however, has been changing in recent years. Increasingly, we see individual players or 'units of Dis Great Asssooosheeayshun Of Ours' having recourse to the courts. The so-called Parish Rule, for example, came before the courts in recent years in cases in Kerry and south Tipperary. There have been cases - both criminal and civil - arising from assaults or alleged assaults on the field of play. Even the great DJ Himself is reported to have successfully wielded the rigours of the law of defamation better even than his trusty camán on All Ireland final day.

Now that increasingly large sums of money are coming into the coffers of the GAA at every level you can be sure the lawyers will not be too far behind. Some of those lads and lassies have a nose for money better than a hungry piranha fish eyeing an unwary traveller about to dip their toes in the cool waters of a South American river. While some notable lawyers have worn GAA jerseys in the past - Joe Brolly, His Honour Judge Bryan McMahon and the incomparable Jack Lynch spring to mind - most of our learned legal friends wouldn't know one end of a hurley from the other, God help us.

It was no great surprise, therefore, when An Fear Rua learned recently that a leading Dublin firm of solicitors, A & L Goodbody, have set up a specialised Sports Law Unit. Some might consider the idea of Sports Law was a class of an oxymoron. However, the clever lads and lassies in Goodbody's believe that 'increasing competition and professionalism in every field means that businesses, individuals and organisations involved in sport require expert advice specifically tailored to their activities and interests.' Their blurb continues: 'A&L Goodbody’s Sports Law Unit is a unique proposition in the Irish marketplace. The first and only such unit in Ireland, the team provides co-ordinated and specialised legal advice to sports associations, governing bodies, commercial bodies and professionals. Having represented major Irish and international organisations for many years on sports-related issues, we have the in-depth experience, knowledge of the Irish sports market and legal expertise to provide solutions for a vast range of issues.'

No doubt, there may be some who will feel the need for Goodbody's legal expertise in the future. But where will it all lead, wonders AFR. Will we soon see leading players dashing off the field to consult their lawyer before taking a particularly awkward free kick? Will we observe portly legal gentlemen puffing onto the pitch at O'Moore Park, replete with black cloaks and horse hair wigs, to mutter a hasty appeal in the ear of their 'learned friend', the referee, m'Lud? Could disgruntled fans take a class action for negligence against a leading player who blazes a chance of victory wide in the final seconds of injury time? And what about a fan from a strong county who witnesses them being beaten by rank outsiders in a televised game? Like the American lady who is suing entertainer Janet Jackson because she glimpsed her exposed breast for a few seconds of the interval act during the televised Super Bowl, could our GAA fan sue for shock and aggravated damages?

Hopefully, if such a conundrum happens to you, you will get advice from our learned friends in A&L Goodbody. Their web site is at A & L Goodbody, Sports Law Unit They also send out an e-zine with updates on Sports Law which could be useful to players and 'offeeeshals' but it doesn't tell you how to sign up for it. In any event, don't tell them An Fear Rua sent you! When AFR contacted them about writing a piece for this site they replied: 'It is the firm's policy not to allow websites to post a link to our ezine'. Modesty in lawyers. Now, there's a change. Perhaps they were afraid our reaction might be similar to that of the Dickens character, Mr. Bumble, in 'Oliver Twist' when he declared: 'If that is the Law, sir, then the Law is a hAss!'

Ned 'Machine Gun' Stapleton (Left) quotes from the Treoir Oifigiúil once too often, at a County Board meeting, circa 1935; much to the chagrin of a delegate from Ballinamaor Shamrocks.

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