When Charles Darwin boarded the Beagle and set off for the Galapagos I wonder if he knew what a seismic change his travels would bring, not only to science but also the wider world.

I doubt it.

But there is no doubt that his theory of evolution is right up there with Newton and the falling apple when it comes to scientific discovery that has transcended its way into popular imagination. Darwin’s theoretical principles on evolution have been attached to the worlds’ of business, government, and of course sport.

Survival of the fittest. Adapt to survive. Evolve or die. Just three neat little phrases that would sit well in the Tory lexicon of short sharp messaging, bereft of any real meaning. The truth of course is that everything is a little more complicated than three or four word slogans.

Indeed, evolution itself is more complicated than a simple notion of an adaptation of a species over a long period of time.

There is a chaos theory that demonstrates that a sudden change to environmental factors brings about a sudden change in a species.

The peppered moth in the industrial revolution is a prime example where the dust and soot and fog saw a mutation and the exponential rise of the black peppered moth and the converse decimation of the white peppered moth. It happened quickly, chaotically and certainly brutally for the poor white moth.

Evolution

I mention this because when it comes to evolution within the GAA it can seem to happen at glacial pace, particularly when it comes to the inter county calendar, which has steadfastly been locked into a farcical nine or ten month cycle for at least 20 years.

But we have an opportunity now to force the hand of those decision makers, and that opportunity comes out of the chaos of the last six months.

It has long been my opinion, and indeed I have beaten the drum as loudly as possible, that a split season between club and county would transform so many areas of our association in a positive manner.

The problem with making that argument has always been a lack of evidence that it would in fact help. And those making decisions around the calendar made the crystal ball argument that it was not the desires of either players at county or club level or indeed the wider GAA population to split the seasons.

They also made the strawman argument that shortening the inter county season would have a devastating effect on the promotion of the game. We will put a match to that in just a moment, but for now let’s look at what people actually want.

Number one the inter county players want it. The GPA have gone so far as to actually make a proposal to the Croke Park Fixtures Review Task Force that would see the playing season reduced from nine months to six. A radical change. It is clear what inter county players want.

They not only want a shortened season but crucially they also want a split season that will allow them to properly commit to their clubs. The commitment required for county football has increased year on year and for players it is becoming increasingly incompatible with any sort of activity with their clubs.

Never possible before

County players want to play with their clubs but in recent years we had the frankly unhealthy situation where they were being asked to play matches for their clubs within 24 hours of brutally hard physical training sessions with the county. This was not safe and many county players were simply unable to play. That is not the fault of the county manager. They have to have the team in the best possible condition for competition. The fault lies in the ludicrous current system that goes against every tenet central to player welfare.

This season, because of Covid-19, county players were able to focus entirely on their clubs for the entirety of the club season. And they loved it. There was no pull on their attention. They could train with their clubs and as such club managers were able to work on tactics and game plans with their full squad available for a prolonged period of time. This was never possible before.

The club players also want a split season. At the moment pre-season for club players begins in mid to late January and they are usually still playing league games as late as November. A ridiculous situation. Added to that is the black hole in the middle of the season where fixtures are rarely adhered to. And of course club players want the county players at training. It makes it all the more worthwhile.

A split season would also be warmly welcomed by supporters who would get to see their club’s best player pull on the jersey for every game, fitness permitting. Each game would be more meaningful and the current unhealthy situation of starred games would be consigned to the dustbin.

It would also, despite what the GAA thinks, actually enhance the promotion of our games. A split season would raise the level of club competition and produce an continued excitement and interest for the entire length of club competition. This does not happen now where club supporters, by and large, see the return of their county players as the real start to the season.

And this is where the argument around the supposed diminished promotion of the game due to a split season, so often put forward by those in charge, falls down. It would in fact have the reverse effect. A shortened season in both club and county would raise the excitement levels of supporters and keep them invested in the GAA for longer. Currently due to the prolonged nature of the club season and the drawn out start to the inter county championship there are large periods of each season where supporters enthusiasm dwindles.

The final two benefits of the split season are perhaps the most important. One, it would lengthen careers for both club and county players, who due to having to commit for shortened and more structured periods of time would find the motivation to ‘go again’ much easier to come by.

And secondly a split season would vastly reduce the expenditure of both clubs and counties, which can only benefit everyone in the long run.

The last six months have been chaotic for the GAA, but there has been some good to come out of it if we choose to learn from it. We must choose to evolve from the chaos.