The 42FM

• Should inter-county GAA players be paid?

  The amateur filling an 82,000-capacity stadium before returning to the day job on Monday morning is one of the sources of pride among GAA folk.But how long will players be content to train as professionals and generate tens of millions in gate receipts and commercial revenue and go unpaid - while all around them are earning money? Perhaps not long if you go by what Limerick hurler Tom Morrissey wrote in the Irish Times at the weekend.Everybody on All-Ireland final days, he says, from management teams to media to food vendors and security staff are professional. But the main actors are doing it for nothing but the honour of representing their county and a modest grant payment.Morrissey cites a recent GPA-commissioned report which claims intercounty players generate €591 million annually for the economy and support more than 4,000 jobs but are out-of-pocket by an average of €4,500 each year.The players union says this issue must be addressed urgently - which effectively means that the taxpayer has to make up the shortfall through grants and tax breaks. Is this fair to the exchequer, or should the GAA use their revenue to compensate players? But if that happens are we in a world of open professionalism, as opposed to the more covert kind which has existed for decades?Gav and Sinead get into the details of the debate and try to work out the best Irish solution for this most Irish of problems.Gav wonders if the GPA has gone full Flann O’Brien in their request for more money to preserve their amateur status. Just do away with the pretence of amateurism, which is long since dead, he says.Sinead fears a Pandora’s Box if payments to players are regularised and argues that all-powerful county managers making unsustainable demands on amateur players need to be brought into line.Also, in the name of economic impact reports - of the which the GPA is the latest purveyor - Gav calculates the considerable value to the Irish economy of this podcast.Get in touch with the show: email [email protected] and [email protected] week’s episode of The 42FM is brought to you by An Post Money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Is it fair to ban trans women from female sport?

  Last week, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order banning transgender women from female sport, beneath the title, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sport”, and on Monday of this week, World Athletics issued updated eligibility rules for the female category.On this week’s podcast, Gavin and Sinéad explain what these rulings actually mean, and then explore the broader debate: is it fair to ban trans women from female sport?They tease out the reasoning behind World Athletics’ new rules, and question some of its basis and forecast some potential, unintended consequences.They also ask: why does a complex, sensitive issue such as this get so much media coverage? They look at the political reasons the topic gets so much media coverage, why Trump was so moved to sign an executive order on the subject, why Graham Linehan and JK Rowling have become so combative on the issue, and ask whether sport is really the right prism through which to look at trans issues.Get in touch with the show: email [email protected] and [email protected] week’s episode of The 42FM is brought to you by An Post Money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• What has happened to Marcus Rashford?

  This week’s show kicks off with some Six Nations chat: is the Irish team too dominated by Leinster, and is Jack Crowley the fall guy? Sinéad and Gavin dive into the Prendergast/Crowley debate.The biggest story of football’s January transfer window was Marcus Rashford’s move to Aston Villa from Manchester United. How did this happen? How did United’s local hero, to whom they handed a lucrative contract 18 months ago, become such a diminished figure?Sinéad and Gavin discuss Rashford’s status and celebrity in England, his use of social media, and how he has been treated by the tabloid press. How has his off-field campaigning affected how he is viewed, and is his cautionary tale that there is no price of fame that doesn’t price in tabloid criticism?They also discuss how the tabloid press is also used and manipulated by celebrities’ representatives for the sake of fame and money.Can Rashford rebuild his career away from Manchester United, or is his a cautionary tale about the modern football industry, in which the price to pay for wealth and success is just too high?Get in touch - [email protected], and [email protected] week’s episode of The 42FM is brought to you by An Post Money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• What is the new government going to do for sport?

  On this week's episode, Sinéad gives Gavin the lowdown on last week's farcical Dáil scenes, and what is says about this government's hopes of lasting for a full term.They discuss how politics works when it comes to sport (10:35) - who makes the decisions, and why. Is sport underserved by not having its own, standalone department? And how important is it that a sports minister actually likes sport?They take a look at the new minister, Patrick O'Donovan (17:35), and then run through some highlights and lowlights from previous sports ministers (19:10) , from attending John Delaney's birthday party to praising Dominant Puspure.They also parse the Programme for Government (31:30): what is promised for sport over the next five years, and will the government actually deliver on their promises? And why happened to some of the manifesto promises that have since gone missing?Get in touch - email [email protected] and [email protected] week’s episode of The 42FM is brought to you by An Post Money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Media training is not a ‘personality transplant’: Leinster's side of the story

  There was a big reaction to last week’s episode off the back of Mack Hansen’s punishment for criticising officials, specifically on the nature of media training, which Gavin and Sinéad described as being akin to a “personality transplant.”Among those getting in touch to raise their objections to the episode was Marcus O Buachalla, who is Head of Communications at Leinster Rugby.Marcus accepted our invitation onto the podcast to debate the issue and give his insights from a different perspective.He tells us how and why Leinster are changing their players’ approach to the media, and what he believes the media should do better to ensure better access.We debate why content is often bland: why are athletes wary of the media? Are athletes under orders not to reveal too much in interviews? And how much of this is the media’s fault?Get in touch - [email protected] and [email protected] episode of The 42FM is brought to you by An Post Money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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