But let's examine the reasons why the split season was introduced in the first place. Undoubtedly, ordinary GAA Club players weren’t getting fair play under the old system, where the Inter County Championships ran from May until September. A club championship game was fixed, then the County team were involved on a draw and replay, and the Club game went off. This happened repeatedly — first rounds of Club championships were often played in May and it could be September before the next game. Certainly there was no certainty for the Club players who make up around 92% of all hurlers and footballers — they couldn’t plan holidays, weddings, honeymoons or other social occasions. There was a major problem and as a Club Officer for decades, I am well aware of what pertained. The so-called solution — the Utopia, the panacea — the much-lauded split season has solved one problem but caused many others far more serious than the old postponement of fixtures. Has the GAA ever commissioned a cost-benefit analysis of the split season? Maybe secretly, but I never heard of it anyway. I don’t simply mean cost-benefit in terms of finance, but in terms of developing our games and promotion. Our promotion in the GAA is woeful. Take the Munster Final next week. After great games in the early round, we now play our top game at 6 o'clock of a Saturday evening — have we a curtain raiser? Have we a band? Have we a price hike for tickets? The club championships in every county are the ‘bread and butter’, the lifeblood of the GAA in every parish. Our Inter County games then should be our shop window, our Champions League, our premiership, something to attract youngsters to Gaelic Games and foster a love of our native pastimes. Here we are at the end of May and over 60% of all our Inter County Hurling teams are ‘wrapped up’ for 2025. Promotion — how are ya! Fair play to one of the Munster rugby bosses who lately commented on the ‘promotional value’ to rugby of big games in Croke Park and Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Fair play to the GAA, we truly are sportingly ecumenical, but it isn’t it time we saw after our own? Losing the absolute grasp we had on the minds and hearts of the country every September has been an unmitigated disaster. Is the GAA too proud to admit ‘We made a mistake’ and admit the same in regards the decoupling of minor and senior inter-county games. Ad nauseam I have proposed a dual ‘side-by-side’ Club and Inter County games programme running from April until September — like the song says ‘When will they ever learn?’ John Arnold, Bartlemy, Co Cork Time to honour our Defence Forces heroes Commandant (retired) Ray Cawley once again draws attention (Letters, Irish Examiner) to continuing “failure” of various Irish governments to ensure the heroic actions of the members of the Irish Defence Forces and the brilliant leadership displayed in the defence of Jadotville are properly acknowledged. Cmdt Cawley, in my opinion, correctly criticises our Government, senior civil servants, and military hierarchy for their continuing failure in this regard. I can confirm that during my time with the United Nations peacekeeping operations, I met several civilian and military personnel who were in the Congo at the time of the siege of Jadotville. All spoke in glowing terms of the performance of Irish military personnel. Several military officers from various nations confirmed to me that the defence of Jadotville is used in their training academies as an example of outstanding defensive actions. Yet successive Irish governments in the past 60 years have failed to properly recognise the actions of those brave men. Shame on them all, government ministers and ministers for defence — beginning with Micheál Martin, former minister for defence, and Simon Harris, current minister for defence. Recently, Fergus Finlay wrote: “Our leaders are running a ‘do-nothing’ parliament and it’s offensive.” Any wonder that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael between them could not form a government after the last general election? The people of Ireland deserve better. Over to you, Micheál and Simon. Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork Cruel impact of Catholic Church’s negative labels The Irish Catholic Catechism of 2014 states homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law”. Sadly, this teaching can unfairly put gay people off having any gay friendships, and it can also prevent normal friendships forming between gay people and straight people. In turn, Catholic straight people also get to hear false biology teaching from their own Church — a false type of lesson that is easily apt to mischievously get under their skin and make Catholic straight people feel uncomfortable to be in social settings with gay people. This can cruelly be the case, I feel, no matter how talented and nice gay people may strive to appear to be. The Catholic Church often says gay people should be loved by everyone else in society. But this will, I fear, never fully make up for the harm such an offensive and divisive term as ‘unnatural’ can cause this significant minority. Many acts committed against the law of our land are not considered unnatural and so may soon enough be forgiven and forgotten. But, I believe, unfortunately, when some people are labelled as being unnatural, then this negative label may unhappily never leave them at all. Seán O’Brien, Carnanes South, Kilrush, Co Clare