Once dismissed as a fringe crusade, the GPA’s rise has reshaped intercounty life, chipped away at amateurism and forced the Association to confront issues from image rights to under-the-table payments.
The stand off between the GAA and the GPA over expenses also exposes many of the governing myths about the GAA and shines a light on the most hallowed belief of all: amateurism.
Navigating your way through GAA congress can be tricky for those outside the administrators' world but what happens there can have real meaning.
Michael Lillis has led an extraordinary life from his role as a civil servant to his period as a key executive with Guinness Peat Aviation. There were audiences with the pope, Franco and Castro and a lot more in between.
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