Conway unmoved by grants makeover

Conway says another challenge to the DRA is on the cards

Prominent player grants opponent Mark Conway has said that the GAA's makeover to the proposed scheme has not led him to change his mind over the issue.

The GAA is now describing the grants as "vouched expenses" after it made changes to the proposals in order to safeguard the sport's amateur status.

However, Conway believes another challenge to the DRA is on the cards.

"Here we are presented with another means of doing the same thing," Conway told BBC Sport on Wednesday.

"That is to put hard cash into the pockets of a number of our elite players, simply because they play gaelic games at an elite level.

"I still think for an awful lot of people, that is unacceptable and goes totally against the GAA grain.

"Pay-for-play, grant award or eligible expenses...I think it's long past time to stop digging on this one."

Under the Of One Belief banner, Conway and a number of other prominent GAA personalities have attempted to rally a campaign against player grants.

One hundred and sixty two out of 163 at the Tyrone convention voted against Mark Conway

Of One Belief does not have an organisational structure as such but Conway believes that he and others will be heading back to the DRA in the near future.

"It's the only option we have because of the way this whole thing has been dealt with.

"There are three weeks and one day to Congress and one of those weeks is Easter week.

"For there to be any time for clubs, let alone counties or provinces to discuss this thing and come to a conclusion and mandate their people going to Congress...that's just not possible.

"Some of us in our more cynical moments would feel that was part of the strategy all the way along."

Conway does believe that he and other grants opponents have made an impact in forcing the GAA to look at the original document published in December.

"It might be absolutely arrogant of us to say it but we would ask the rhetorical question in terms of what was come up with in December,'Who was right and who was wrong?'.

"We were told back in December that this agreement totally copperfastened amateur status. Well...it appears that it didn't copperfasten it for too long. Three months later, it's gone to oblivion."

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Conway acknowledged that he had been left "bitterly disappointed" by the failure of Tyrone to register any objection to the "vouched expenses scheme" at Monday's Central Council meeting when a unanimous vote in favour was apparently registered.

"My club brought a motion to the Tyrone county convention last December on the grants/play-for-play, call it what you will and it was totally opposing it.

"One hundred and sixty two out of 163 (at the Tyrone convention) voted against it.

"In the light of that, we still have somebody going to represent Tyrone on Monday and voting for this!

"Some people are saying that Tyrone wasn't represented there (on Monday) and I suppose that would be just as bad.

"It's suggesting to me that our systems are dysfunctional. If this view is not brought to the Central Council table, there is something very, very badly wrong."

Ironically, Conway has been picked to represent Tyrone at Congress and despite the apparent mixed message coming from the Red Hand county, he still intends to be part of the Tyrone delegation in Sligo.

"The old-fashioned GAA man that I am regards it as an honour so I'll be delighted to be there."