New details emerge from the Clare County board meeting that declared war on Twitter

Mad stuff in the Banner county.

Last week we brought you the news that the Clare County Board's September meeting was a rather strange affair. Journalists present were asked at one point to stop tweeting proceedings while, at another time, they were asked to leave the meeting. But it seems that we may have heard only half the tale when it comes to what Clare GAA clubs think of Twitter and internet forums if this report in the Clare People this week is concerned. Journalist Joe Ó Muircheartaigh was the man at the centre of live-tweeting last week's strange scenes, and he's published more detailed discussions of what took place when the thorny issue of social media was discussed. Former Clare senior hurling selector Danny Chaplin claimed that there is personal abuse being aimed at players on internet fan forums, and it needs to be rooted out

"I go back when I was involved with Ger O'Loughlin. We had a serious problem with An Fear Rua. That website supposedly had Claremen castigating Clare players for over two years." "It was so bad we had to try and find out who they were to ask them to desist. These people are now on a website called Clare Hurlers Forum. I don't think they represent anyone in this room."

Lissycasey's Anne Hayes was  also very unhappy with accounts on Twitter or Facebook claiming to be associated with Clare GAA,

"Groups have labelled themselves as Clare GAA or Clare Forum. They are not representative of Clare GAA. I think we can get these people taken down. We did it in Comhaltas, we got them taken down. We as the GAA should get them taken down. I would go further and propose that we take them down. We know who they are."

County board chairman Michael McDonagh claimed at the meeting that he 'was never on a website or computer in my life' despite having a Twitter account https://twitter.com/muirioch/status/639540918073327616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw While vice-chairman Joe Cooney expressed his disappointment at the live-tweeting of the meeting by some of those present

"I'm disappointed by the media side of it. The tweeting that is going on. When we have a meeting, we have a meeting with the press if they want to and if they want to have it in the local paper afterwards that's fine." "But leave it inside these four walls. They should not be reporting while the meeting is going on." "If we have people outside these four walls knowing what's going on and the whole word  going around the county and country, what's going on in the Clare County Board meetong that is a disgrace and that should not happen.

Cooney's feeling were echoed by Cooraclare delegates PJ McGuane

"I have a serious problem with what I said twenty minutes ago being on the internet. I need to come in and give my mind without it being at home in Cooraclare before I arrive there. "

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