At the end of the day column:

Is it time now to curb spending on inter-county teams?

Trawling through the internet the other day looking for some quotes for a piece I was writing (as I do from time to time in a desperate, often forlorn attempt to add a little colour) I came across a witty saying.

It was from a certain Crompton Mackenzie who as search on Google revealed was a Scottish writer (who I never heard of) and who passed away in 1972. "Love makes the world go round?" he asked. "Not at all," he countered. "Whiskey makes it go around just as fast."

That old line "Love makes the world go round" was something I quoted half-jokingly to a Meath GAA man recently. We were talking about how some people give so much to the old Association particularly at grassroots level; how their love for our national games help the wheels of the GAA keep turning.

And indeed that's true but this particular GAA man had another view. "No, money is what makes the world go round especially in the GAA," he insisted and it was hard to disagree with him on that one.

Every year millions of euros flow through the Association, an amateur organisation but only in certain aspects - and much of it is spent wisely in helping improve the infrastructure of clubs - dressing rooms and other facilities that enhance a community - but, arguably, a considerable chunk is wasted or at least ill-spent if we can put it that way.

Take, for instance, the vast amounts that are lavished on preparing inter-county teams for league and championship action each year, huge sums that are funnelled into providing for a vast backroom team.

Of course there is the argument that without that backroom team an inter-county manager has no chance of making an impact yet spending big doesn't necessarily equate with success.

Over the last two years alone (2020 and 2021) in the region of €1 million has been spent on preparing various Meath GAA teams or 'team expenses' as it is termed. They include county teams of various grades in both football and hurling with a sizeable chunk of that lavished on the senior football team.

Either way it's a huge sum of money and you would have to wonder if we get value for money as a county. Would it be better to funnel funds elsewhere?

Of course that figure pales in comparison with the eye-watering sums other counties spend on their teams. In 2018 Colm Keys, formerly of this parish, conducted a survey in the Irish Independent that highlighted the various sums counties spent the previous year on preparing inter-county their teams.

Right up there at the top of the charts was the Cork Co Board who paid out a whopping €1,747,609. Dublin forked out €1,604,353. Meath were - as they tend to be in most categories these days - about midway on €658,487 with Leitrim bottom of the table on €298,629.

Some counties may, out of necessity, have cut back on spending but there are still huge resources going into inter-county teams.

Times have become a lot more uncertain too in the last few years with the pandemic and war and what's not - that's surely a factor in securing sponsorship or not securing sponsorship.

It's unlikely all that much has changed in the the rankings over the last few years with some counties seemingly willing to lavish small fortunes in the often forlorn quest for success - but it is the way to go?