Minister gets complaints about 'Greedy Athletic Association' after GAAGO controversy

Minister for Sport Catherine Martin received a series of bitter complaints about the GAAGO service and the unavailability of high-profile games on free-to-air TV.

In correspondence to her department, members of the public accused both RTÉ and the GAA – who jointly operate the subscription service – of trying to “bleed” cash from them.

One email said the GAA was getting nearly €30 million in Government funding and that they were “absolutely disgusted” more games were not available.

“Now these so-called treasures want to bleed more money from the people of Ireland. How has this happened?” they wrote.

Another labelled the GAA the ‘Greedy Athletic Association’ and said the association’s revenues each year were staggering.

A message said: “That these organisations now exclude large swathes of the population who fund them will be a bittersweet pill for those fans and players who've dedicated their lives to [the sports].”

One person said it was deeply unfair that people were expected to pay a licence fee and then pay RTÉ on the double for a subscription service.

Another said they were “fuming” and that both the broadcaster and the GAA received very significant support from the taxpayer.

They wrote: “Irish people have supported this national game down through the ages and it just seems very unfair to me that they can't see it played at the highest level.

“I've always admired the way the GAA have supported inclusion and keep fit programmes for people but this is just greedy!”

One person said their mother was in a nursing home and loved to watch matches, especially when her beloved Mayo were playing.

An email said: “We are in the fortunate position that we could afford to pay for a streaming service. However, the Wi-Fi in the