Charity match for former Glory player Liam Miller moved to bigger venue

A CHARITY match for former Perth Glory player Liam Miller, who died of cancer in February, has been moved to a bigger venue after the resolution of a conflict of sporting codes in his home town.

Attempts to hold the fund-raising match on September 25 for his family — featuring former Republic of Ireland, Manchester United and Celtic players at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the biggest sporting stadium in Miller’s hometown of Cork — has been stymied by the rules of the Gaelic Athletic Association which owns the 45,000-capacity venue which usually hosts hurling and gaelic football contests.

That meant the match would have been played at the Turner’s Cross soccer ground which can only hold 7000 fans. Tickets for the Turner’s Cross game were sold out within minutes of going on sale last week.

The game will raise money for Miller’s widow, Clare, and their children, Kory, Leo and Belle. Some of the proceeds will go to a local hospice.

The decision not to allow the use of Páirc Uí Chaoimh had provoked a furious backlash for across many sectors of Irish life, including from within the GAA itself.

But yesterday the GAA’s central council backed the decision by the organisation’s management committee to allow the game at the Cork venue, the independent.ie reported.

The GAA had insisted that it was prohibited from hosting games other than those under its control in its stadiums but have performed a u-turn after meeting with the organising committee for the event and agreeing that there will be a GAA element to the evening.

The Independent.ie reported that the GAA’s Rule 5.1 (a) that prohibits use of property for any games other than those controlled by the association.

A move to change the rule was defeated at the GAA’s annual congress in 2016, meaning any motion to change the rules regarding the use of GAA property cannot be submitted again until 2020.

The GAA’s main stadium, Croke Park in Dublin which with a capacity of 82,300 is Europe’s third biggest stadium, has in the past hosted soccer and rugby internationals and is due to be used as a venue for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The GAA’s reluctance to allow other sporting codes at its venues stems from its origins in the late 19th century when it sought to protect Irish cultural and sporting activities from the threat of what it called “foreign games”.

Its players were not permitted to play sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket which were derided as “garrison games” and members of the police and British armed forces were banned from membership of the GAA. Those bans have since been lifted.

Miller, who died of of pancreatic cancer at the age of 36, played 44 games for Perth Glory between 2011-2013. He also played for Glasgow Celtic, Manchester United, Leeds, Sunderland, QPR and Hibernian before moving to the A-League where he also played for Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory. He was capped 21 times for the Republic of Ireland.