SDLP defends suspending MLA Justin McNulty for leaving to manage GAA game

brokenbad

First day back in his "job" as an MLA and he leaves early without permission to attend a GAA match in a helicopter from Down to Wexford at a cost of £3,340.

Looks like SDLP is getting in the way of his "real job" as manager of Laois footballers.....

High flying Justin McNulty causes huge headache for SDLP… – Slugger O'Toole (sluggerotoole.com)

shocs07

Absolutely crazy stuff

Uncle Pierre

I'm probably in the minority in siding with the SDLP on this one.

McNulty was told he was needed for an important day with what's actually his "real" job, and he basically said "feck that, I'm going to a match instead".

I wouldn't get away with it in my job, and I doubt many others here would get away with it either.

Treble double

I agree with you, someone else could have ran the line for him for the day if he was required at work. The GAA has lost the run of itself when it comes to inter county teams preparation and backroom staff. It's an amateur game!!

munchkin_utd

also mentioned in the independent (possibly originally from the Kerryman) and they are implying that its right to walk out of your paid job, without permission, to go to an unpaid leisure persuit. They also seem to think its crazy for their party for having expected him to stay as part of his elected and paid job and petty that they are punishing him.

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerry/sport/gaa/damian-stack-could-the-dup-derail-laois-promotion-bid/a1604161203.html

rolling boh

I don't think he can do both jobs ,he might have a chance if it was a local county but not the one he is with .

brokenbad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739541#Comment_121739541

Agree 100%

If an ordinary Joe Soap walked out of his workplace without permission during working hours to attend a match - he would be sacked and rightly so.

McNulty is obviously on a good retainer from Laois GAA to top us his salary as a MLA - would love to know who funded the helicopter cost though??

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739660#Comment_121739660

That's a column from The Kerryman all right (The Kerryman being one of the regional titles owned by the Independent Group).

FWIW, I reckon the two jobs are probably compatible 90% or more of the time, if McNulty is willing to put in the hours and the different work involved in both. But Saturday was still a case of him choosing to go to a match over the role he was elected to do, and so it stands to reason that a party leader might not be best pleased about it.

brokenbad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739541#Comment_121739541

McNulty was told by Laois GAA he was needed for an important day in Wexford with what's actually his "real" job!

munchkin_utd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739853#Comment_121739853

if he is getting 51k sterling for his parttime job in the Parliament, whats Laois paying that puts that in the shade ?

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739853#Comment_121739853

Well, if he does actually see being manager of Laois as his real job, and his role as MLA as just something to do at other times, then that's true.

It does illustrate the point though that there'll surely be other times too when both roles clash, and he'll have to choose which one takes priority. And whichever one he chooses, the other won't be happy.

brokenbad

Imagine the uproar if Laois lost the match he skipped off work for 😂

StormForce13

For me, it's completely outrageous of the SDLP to try to come between a man and the county that he has loved since birth. Surely everyone knows that for any true GAA man, his county is much more important to him than the gullible voters who selected him to represent them in the Assembly.

brokenbad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740702#Comment_121740702

It was Justin McNulty's boyhood dream to manage Laois....

circadian

Completely with the SDLP on this one. He was elected long before being appointed Laois manager with the population of his consituency in the region of 120,000 people sitting in a government for 1.9 million people. Ack, sure, Laois GAA is far more important, right?

billyhead

At least the electorate will see where his priorities lie.

dxhound2005

Getting elected and then refusing to attend Parliament is a vote winner.

Gusser09

He's probably getting 100k cash from Laois.

Hard to blame him for going to the game really.

We really need a proper financial ombudsman within the GAA.

The funny thing is Laois could probably pay a local guy a fraction of that and be no worse than they are.

I'm a gael. But i'm fallling out of love with club and county. Clubmen and ordinary people getting gouged to pay for McNulty and his like.

My club are paying a manager 40k this year. And they want 350 euro membership off me? Haha. They can get fucked.

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121741409#Comment_121741409

Jesus, I thought it was supposed to be an amateur sport. 40k!

easygoing39

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121741389#Comment_121741389

Worked for Sf for decades!!

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121744782#Comment_121744782

At the risk of offending @Gusser09, am not sure I'd go rushing to believe that figure. It may well be the figure he was told, but such things have a way of being exaggerated by those doing the telling, and I'd love to know of any club (outside of maybe the Dublin 'Superclubs') who could manage that for just one person.

Am aware of payments to club managers myself, but none that come anywhere near to even approaching that. Even my own club has an outside manager, from another county and who we've had some success with, and who has a round trip of some 200km for each training session or match. He works out at about €10k per year. That's a far cry from €40k.