Former GAA president Liam O’Neill feels there is an onus on RTÉ to show the big championship games.

The Laois man, whose term as president coincided with the launch of GAAGO and the signing of the first broadcasting rights deal with Sky Sports, told RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland that “better choices” need to be made around GAA coverage on TV.

His comments come after former Cork goalkeeper and Sunday Game panellist Dónal Óg Cusack claimed the "GAA has failed hurling" by opting to show the recent Munster SHC blockbusters between Clare and Limerick, and Cork and Tipperary, on GAAGO instead of free-to-air TV.

"It's very easy to say that all games should be free-to-air," O'Neill said.

"We have 15 games next weekend. No television station could cover all those. And indeed, not every game is probably worthy of being put on national television.

"GAAGO was first introduced along with the Sky deal a number of years ago. It was for overseas people who wanted to access the games and it worked very well. It was a pay-per-view situation, as it is now. But there was no great controversy because it was people outside Ireland who were paying it.

"The solution is simple. RTÉ prioritise the games as they come and do not leave important hurling games out of the schedule. GAAGO will work really well if the important games are given priority (on RTÉ) and GAAGO broadcast the games that wouldn't otherwise get coverage if it wasn't there.”

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