Galway player sells 2012 Leinster medal on ebay

mickmackey1

Shocking stuff

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=185526

One of Galway's Leinster SHC winning medals has been sold on eBay for €570.

According to the listing, the medal was one of those issued only to playing members of the Galway panel that made history last year by beating Kilkenny in the Leinster decider.

While it's unusual for such a new medal to be sold to the highest bidder, the sale perhaps places into context the times that are in it with GAA players facing unprecedented financial hardship.

Two questions spring to mind: which player has opted to part with his medal and how much are the Kilkenny hurlers worth?

eyescreamcone

Would this make the seller a professional???

juan.kerr

GAA players facing unprecedented financial hardship

I really hate this sort of crap. What about the rest of the country? We'll be bemoaning the lot of publicans and developers next.

ShamoBuc

I suppose it was his to do what he wanted and if he badly needed the money, then he made the correct decision.

Sad to see though.

eyescreamcone

ShamoBuc wrote: »

I suppose it was his to do what he wanted and if he badly needed the money, then he made the correct decision.

Sad to see though.

Even if he didn't badly need the money it was his to do with as he likes.
You don't have to be hard up to sell a medal. (most go into drawers anyway)

I'm just picking up a few shovels and a few of us are heading to West Kerry - I heard there are 8 All-Ireland medals there for easy picking.
Must be worth a few bob!

ShamoBuc

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Even if he didn't badly need the money it was his to do with as he likes.
You don't have to be hard up to sell a medal. (most go into drawers anyway)

I'm just picking up a few shovels and a few of us are heading to West Kerry - I heard there are 8 All-Ireland medals there for easy picking.
Must be worth a few bob!

That would be illegal though;)...and you'd have to go to Kerry:pac:

Clareman

Right folks, please remember this isn't After Hours, goading/slagging of other counties will not be tolerated on here.

Always_Running

Galway hurler winning Leinster medal wouldn't mean a great deal especially when they were well beaten by the same team in the All Ireland final.

Would the same player sell All Ireland winning medal? very unlikely i think.

Tom Joad

On the one hand the medal is his to do as he likes. It's not uncommon to hear of players selling their medals 20-30 years later. Unusual to see one so recently won come up for sale - probably a sign off the times.

Diabhal Beag

I don't think people should overlook how big losing in the AI dented the glory of the Leinster win in those player's minds. Might even be a sign of a really motivated player wanting nothing to do with second best.

G3467

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I don't think people should overlook how big losing in the AI dented the glory of the Leinster win in those player's minds. Might even be a sign of a really motivated player wanting nothing to do with second best.

From RTE.ie:


A total of 41 bids were made, and it was eventually sold for €570.

Lapin

Apparently the Galway County Board have launched an investigation into the matter.

Whatever that means.

Its the player's medal to do with it what he wishes.

Davin Stand

Very surprised at how much money it made. Poor value for the buyre, I would say.

gaillimh

You'd have to wonder what kind of an idiot would pay €570 for someone else's Leinster hurling medal.
I wouldn't take someone else's medal for free never mind pay good money for it.

neaideabh

G3467 wrote: »

From RTE.ie:


A total of 41 bids were made, and it was eventually sold for €570.

Everything has a price!

davegrohl48

I'v always wondered about people who buy sporting or military medals. I mean you're buying a piece of someone else's glory. Coin collecting I understand, stamps, call cards (remember them). Lots of GAA medals have been bought and sold over the years so no big deal really.
It's the act of winning a game players care about, the physical medal is often pretty lightly regarded.

davegrohl48

gaillimh wrote: »

You'd have to wonder what kind of an idiot would pay €570 for someone else's Leinster hurling medal.
I wouldn't take someone else's medal for free never mind pay good money for it.

Bar sticking it in a box for Lord of the Rings type Gollum obsessing, I don't see how you can even show someone else's medal to someone else without demeaning yourself.
I do see a lot of military medals in car boot sales, I don't know how anyone can buy those. Someone may have taken a bullet in WW2 for what you might pay bugger all for.

washman3

As the saying goes : a fool and his money are soon parted. €570 for a Leinster hurling medal.!! may have been bought by a Galway publican for display, about the only thing that makes sense to me.
As for the player, well it was his to do as he wished. might have the attitude 'its all-ireland or nothing'
doubt if he would sell that one....;)

InchicoreDude

People say the medal belonged to the player and it was his to do whatever he wanted with it. And this is true.

But I still think he should have treated it with far more respect. Galway have won very little in the past few years in hurling so I find it difficult to understand how a member of that panel could give away his medal so easily.

If I was in that panel, I would not sell my provincial medal at any price. Galway's first half performance in the Leinster final was the best hurling display I have ever seen. Surely the player would not want to let go of the souvenir that showed he was a part of that. I just dont understand it and I would question the commitment of a player that so readily gives up his medal. [If the sale was because the player is in a bad financial way, then I feel sorry for him but there are other ways outside ebay that would have been more appropriate]

I'd also question why someone would want to buy a medal for a victory in which they had absolutely no part to play in.

davegrohl48

Sometimes players are just in it purely to win games and represent their county. But are not all that bothered with looking backwards. They win things and they move on.
Most these guys have been winning medals from a young age and often in more than one sport. So it probably takes an All Ireland medal to really add some prestige for them.

Meangadh

Whoever sold it has to be in massive financial trouble, surely. I don't see why anyone would sell it otherwise, I don't care how badly they took the defeat in the All-Ireland or how much they don't want to be 2nd best or whatever other excuses were mentioned already.

And if it was one of those excuses- the person is a disgrace to Galway hurling. I don't care how little regard someone might have for a provincial title- it meant a LOT to Galway hurling people at the time to beat Kilkenny. If it's a financial issue they have, I feel awfully sorry for them- especially if they really didn't want to sell it.

On the other side of it though- who would be bothered to part with the bones of €600 for it? It's hardly the most amazing thing in the world, that's a lot of money for something not even that rare. It should be priceless to the winner, but to someone else it shouldn't really be worth anything.

DARK-KNIGHT

Beautiful medal absolutely worth 570 euro of a Galway mans money..

I heard a rumour sheff lib bought it as he was missing that medal that year from his medal haul lol

aidan24326

InchicoreDude wrote: »

But I still think he should have treated it with far more respect. Galway have won very little in the past few years in hurling so I find it difficult to understand how a member of that panel could give away his medal so easily.

It's a little more understandable if he was a fringe squad player who didn't actually get any game time. Then it might mean a bit less to him than if he contributed directly on the field of play.

Meangadh wrote: »

On the other side of it though- who would be bothered to part with the bones of €600 for it? It's hardly the most amazing thing in the world, that's a lot of money for something not even that rare.

Don't be too surprised. People buy all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff off ebay, and a Leinster Hurling Medal would be a long way from the strangest of them. Someone with more money than sense I'd imagine.

For me (and I'd imagine for any guy that has actually played competitive sport) even an under-14 or schools medal that I won myself would mean infinitely more to me than a medal that is essentially a symbol of someone else's efforts and achievements.

Syferus

Very hard to get behind this. Even if he was a bench player - and the listing clearly states they were only given to playing members of the panel - he still contributed to the team's success. It's dirty even when old retired players in sport do it but this guy likely is still on the panel right now, it sends out all the wrong messages no matter what way you look at it.

Really poor form, I'm afraid.

RoscommonTom

Id say it could end up on the wall of a pub somewhere which is a shame seeing as some fella worked so hard to win it

robbiezero

Very dear for a rather worthless medal in a year where they were not even the best team in Leinster.

antoobrien

Leinster means absolutely nothing to Galway, so it's not surprising that something like this would happen.

DARK-KNIGHT

It could be a case that player had kids and stuck for money.. A medal is a medal he will still have memories. I'm saying this from a parents point I know how tough things are now and if it came down to it I would sell a kidney to look after my family.

I also understand people's negative views as it could be seen as very disrespectful..

Maybe player and reasons might come to public eye with explanation

jossnjuice

antoobrien wrote: »

Leinster means absolutely nothing to Galway, so it's not surprising that something like this would happen.

absolute codswallop.........why were they trying to join leinster for years then??

Also, i think the novelty factor of it being the first time the leinster cup went across the shannon could mean that it'll be worth more as it ages.

h2005

It was the players medal to do as he pleased with. It was him that put in the hard months to win it. I find it funny that the county board are going to conduct an investigation are they going to ask each player to produce his medal?

dzilla

Its his own business

Will prob have been bought by a sports bar

antoobrien

jossnjuice wrote: »

absolute codswallop.........why were they trying to join leinster for years then??

We weren't looking to get in, Galway want an open draw in hurling, but we know that's not going to happen so we settle for Leinster. We were forced into Leinster because Munster want to keep their championship. The first time it came up it was soundly defeated in Galway and it was only after the realisation that an open draw was 20 years away that we accepted it for senior, but then we got nothing from the LHC - no home venues, no finance package, no match expenses.

Starie1975

If it was a Connacht medal I'd be upset.

Utopia Parkway

Players sell medals all the time in all kinds of sports and sadly the main reason they do is almost always because of financial difficulties.

swiftman

h2005 wrote: »

It was the players medal to do as he pleased with. It was him that put in the hard months to win it. I find it funny that the county board are going to conduct an investigation are they going to ask each player to produce his medal?

if the player still wants to play for the county and i was on the panel, if the county board asked every player to bring there medal to training etc to prove they have it, id stick up to my fellow player (guy who sold it) and refuse to show mine. id hope others did the same, what can they do, drop every player that doesnt prove it

InchicoreDude

That idea that a Leinster medal means nothing to Galway is wrong.

I was at that Leinster final, and it meant a lot to Galway fans that day. And it meant a lot to the players on the pitch that day. They performed with a lot of passion in the Leinster championship last year and were duly awarded with winning it and getting their cup / medals.

It shows a lot of dissrepect by the player to so willingly part with his medal that reflects the hard work Galway put into that championship last year. How could somebody so close to the panel be able to do that? I will never understand it.....I have medals from underage club competitions that I would never ever sell. I guess everybody is different though. I do wonder why he couldnt have taken a different approach, like why not apprach a pub and 'rent' it to them, where they just display it. It would seem a far more logical thing to do. And because this person went to ebay, were they actually hoping to create some sort of story and get people talking about him???

iDave

Lets just hope the money raised goes some way to easing this young mans issues. Can the GPA offer any assistance to players in such circumstances?

antoobrien

InchicoreDude wrote: »

It shows a lot of dissrepect by the player to so willingly part with his medal that reflects the hard work Galway put into that championship last year. How could somebody so close to the panel be able to do that?

So what do you think of one of the Dublin footballers from 1983 selling his 18 medal collection, including a medal from one of the most infamous the All-Ireland finals?

http://www.herald.ie/news/dubs-star-puts-his-allireland-medal-on-sale-28964602.html

premierstone

antoobrien wrote: »

Leinster means absolutely nothing to Galway, so it's not surprising that something like this would happen.

If this is true ye have some of the finest acting talent in the country, whatever about hurlers, going by the scenes in Croke Park on Leinster Final day.

antoobrien

premierstone wrote: »

If this is true ye have some of the finest acting talent in the country, whatever about hurlers, going by the scenes in Croke Park on Leinster Final day.

Any time you can beat KK

premierstone

antoobrien wrote: »

Any time you can beat KK

There is absolutely zero historic rivalry between KK and Galway and both counties have never been at the top of the game at the same time untill now.

If Galway beat KK in a practice match will they run around the place like lunatics and then have the county board put on a celebration evening in a hotel and invite the media??

That win last summer meant a hell of alot to Galway hurling anyone claiming otherwise is deluded or lying.

InchicoreDude

antoobrien wrote: »

So what do you think of one of the Dublin footballers from 1983 selling his 18 medal collection, including a medal from one of the most infamous the All-Ireland finals?

The same as the Galway player selling his medal. I do not understand it at all! For someone to have reached that level, and to have been rewarded for it, then just to sell the medal as if it means nothing. Its just something I dont understand! But then we actually do not know the true motives in either case....

To say a Leinster medal means nothing to Galway is silly.

Back in the 90's, there used to be a Connacht championship in hurling between Galway & Roscommon. I wonder if those players could choose between the Connacht titles they won giving hammerings to Roscommon or the Leinster title Galway won last year, which one would they pick? Pretty sure that Leinster title would mean more. And it is certainly the one that I would have picked.

Utopia Parkway

premierstone wrote: »

There is absolutely zero historic rivalry between KK and Galway and both counties have never been at the top of the game at the same time untill now.

Galway and Kilkenny have had plenty of ding dong battles down through the years. Granted most of them in the past 35 years or so but to say there is no rivalry there would be wrong. I still have never seen Brian Cody so pumped up for any match as I did when Kilkenny and Galway played down in a qualifier in Thurles in 2004. Even James McGarry in his book said he never saw him so psyched up. So determined was he to get revenge for 2001. And Cody's teams have lost 2 All-Ireland semi-finals and a Leinster final to Galway so there is certainly a small bit of niggle under the surface there. Especially after having last year's final go to a replay as well.

phkk

What can the co. board do about it? Absolutely nothing! I can see the two sides of the argument- 1. the medal is the possession of the player and he can do anything he wants with it
2. It is sad to see a player selling a medal which he has worked so hard for but I suppose we never know the financial circumstances of any individual, let alone the player in question.
The medal was probably bought for a pub wall somewhere. €570- wow is all I can say! By my reckoning, Shefflin's haul must be worth €50k!!!!!!

signostic

antoobrien wrote: »

So what do you think of one of the Dublin footballers from 1983 selling his 18 medal collection, including a medal from one of the most infamous the All-Ireland finals?

http://www.herald.ie/news/dubs-star-puts-his-allireland-medal-on-sale-28964602.html

The 18 medal collection went 3800, at Whytes
http://www.whytes.ie/AuctionPDFs/20130126PR.pdf

Lot no 408. Lots 401 - 408 were GAA medals

signostic

phkk wrote: »

What can the co. board do about it? Absolutely nothing! I can see the two sides of the argument- 1. the medal is the possession of the player and he can do anything he wants with it
2. It is sad to see a player selling a medal which he has worked so hard for but I suppose we never know the financial circumstances of any individual, let alone the player in question.
The medal was probably bought for a pub wall somewhere. €570- wow is all I can say! By my reckoning, Shefflin's haul must be worth €50k!!!!!!

For all his medals, €50K in my opinion is a conservative estimate.

morcheen k

my grandad gave away some of his hurling medals he won to lads going to america.it gave them that extra chance at getting a job as it had a bit of clout.pity i have such little info on what they were and when this exactly happened .1920/30's i think.

his medal to do as he likes and i suppose some put bigger meaning on the medals than the winning of the game.my old man never really looked after his medals and so i only have a few of them and not even sure how many he had won.

so what are they going to investigate ? wether he was short of a few quid and they might help out , or he sold a medal that was his property ?

dastardly00

I'm quite shocked about this story. The player must be badly, badly stuck.

pownita

Lapin wrote: »

Apparently the Galway County Board have launched an investigation into the matter.

Whatever that means.

Its the player's medal to do with it what he wishes.

it's just rte's way of saying galway county board is just being nosey ! it's the person who sold it to do what ever they wish if they had to ave gave it to charity would there ave been so much upheavel about it??

eyescreamcone

dastardly00 wrote: »

I'm quite shocked about this story. The player must be badly, badly stuck.

Get over yourself will you.
If a player wants to sell any property of his, then let him.

Quite shocked - you gotta laugh!

If a rugby lad sold an AIL medal who would care??

Some people value the memory more than the trinket (which often ends up in a drawer for years)

He's still a Leinster champion isn't he?

Utopia Parkway

Players sell medals and trophies all the time. In all kinds of sports. Not all people are sentimental about things like that and sadly many others do it because of financial pressures.

You can be sure that many All-Ireland medals have been sold that we don't even know about.