Simon Harris is being “totally populist” in his call for more GAA games to be free to watch, Shane Coleman has said.

Currently, 38 Championship matches are aired on the GAAGO streaming platform, set up by the GAA and RTÉ, which costs €79 for a season pass. 

Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, the Taoiseach described the issue of paywalls as “very important” and urged the GAA to “please listen to the grassroots” on the matter. 

On Newstalk Breakfast today, Shane said he felt his “eyes rolling” when he heard Mr Harris’ comments. 

“Look, the Taoiseach is a brilliant communicator, he’s a fine politician, he’s done a good job since he came in - particularly for Fine Gael,” he said. 

“But I’m a little bit nervous about his inability to pass a microphone - this is TikTok Taoiseach stuff - without first sticking his finger in the air and seeing what way the wind is blowing, then rowing in accordingly.” 

Simon Harris. Image: European Union

When asked by fellow presenter Ciara Kelly if he thought the Taoiseach was being populist, Shane said he had reached that conclusion.

“I think totally he is being populist,” he said. 

“There are issues with GAAGO and the obvious game was the Cork - Limerick game that… wasn’t on RTÉ and there was a pretty meaningless football game on at the same time. 

“So, there are issues. 

“A lot of it is about the condensed calendar now, that a lot of matches are packed into a small number of weekends and the GAA provincial bodies that the Leinster Final, the Connacht Final [are all] on tele.” 

Croke Park, as seen from the Royal Canal. Image: Joe Dunckley / Alamy Stock Photo

Shane said there are “definitely issues to be tweaked” but that the GAA has to make money somehow. 

“The GAA lost a lot of revenue when Sky pulled out,” he said. 

“That revenue has to be recouped somewhere.” 

Co-presenter Ciara Kelly described the cost of a season pass as “modest fee” compared to other streaming platforms such as Netflix. 

“A full year is available for €79 a year or about two quid a game,” she said. 

“You can also get, if you’re a GAA member, a discount, so it’s actually €71 a year. 

“It’s not big money.” 

Alternatively, GAA fans can pay €12 to watch a single match or €24 for a bundle of three games.

Main image: Split of Shane Coleman and Mark Heffernan. Image: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile