Protestants and The GAA

[Eamonnca1]

Of course they were, Sam Maguire wasn't made unwelcome in the GAA because he was a Protestant.

The sad thing, though, is that a large proportion of Irish Protestants have themselves opted out of society and preferred to work against it. As you should know a horse cannot be made drink.

Er, what?

[muppet]

Whether we like it or not the GAA has at it's heart the catholic parish system and in many of those clubs their religion goes hand in hand with the club. It is what made the association strong, it united all strands of society in a way Protestants in Ireland could only look at with envy. I don't believe we should suddenly ditch this part of our heritage. That is not to say that we should force religion down anyone's throat. It is a part of Irishness that is being left behind, a process obviously accelerated by the scanals in the Irish church. However the way forward for the GAA is to create a situation where clubs who no longer have that affinity with the parish or who have members from other religions and none can have an ecumenical service or none as they see fit. I've read a lot of the posts on here and the common thread on this issue seems to be a blind hatred on the part of some of the catholic church, either because of the scandals or because they no longer see religion as being important to them. Which is fine and in a democracy this is their right. But those who still hold religion dear and who see beyond the Bishops to the good honest priests who did their best for the parish it's people and their club also have a right to see this refected in some way and it does not have to be shoved down the throats of the dissenters.

You could also argue that the Gaa also has built itself around the county system in Ireland, which was introduced by the Normans to mimic the English county system. I don't see either the Norman or the English county system as part of my heritage but I have no wish to ditch the county system in the Gaa.

Likewise, basing Gaa clubs on the Catholic Parish system is an interesting historical footnote, but that is about it.

[armaghniac]

Of course they were, Sam Maguire wasn't made unwelcome in the GAA because he was a Protestant.

The sad thing, though, is that a large proportion of Irish Protestants have themselves opted out of society and preferred to work against it. As you should know a horse cannot be made drink.

Er, what?

this

[armaghniac]

GAA Anti-Sectarian and Anti-Racist Policy
At Congress in 2009, rule 1.12 of the Official Guide was amended to state the following:

GAA Official Guide, Rule 1.12: The Association is Anti-Sectarian and Anti-Racist. Any conduct by deed, word or gesture of a sectarian or racist nature against any player, official, spectator or anyone else, in the course of activities organised by the Association, shall be deemed to have discredited the Association.
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The conduct of religon is not in itself sectarian. If the GAA ask the Salvation Army to play at half time in Croke Park then this is not a sectarian act.

Likewise, basing Gaa clubs on the Catholic Parish system is an interesting historical footnote, but that is about it.

This provided a complete coverage of the country and as the church had used well defined local areas for its parishes these were places people identified with and so were suited to the GAA. This is no diffferent to Burger King in America using the locations of McDonalds as convenient place for fast food places, on the basis that McDonalds had probably chosen a good site.

As noted above they used counties for a similar reason.

[Applesisapples]

Whether we like it or not the GAA has at it's heart the catholic parish system and in many of those clubs their religion goes hand in hand with the club. It is what made the association strong, it united all strands of society in a way Protestants in Ireland could only look at with envy. I don't believe we should suddenly ditch this part of our heritage. That is not to say that we should force religion down anyone's throat. It is a part of Irishness that is being left behind, a process obviously accelerated by the scanals in the Irish church. However the way forward for the GAA is to create a situation where clubs who no longer have that affinity with the parish or who have members from other religions and none can have an ecumenical service or none as they see fit. I've read a lot of the posts on here and the common thread on this issue seems to be a blind hatred on the part of some of the catholic church, either because of the scandals or because they no longer see religion as being important to them. Which is fine and in a democracy this is their right. But those who still hold religion dear and who see beyond the Bishops to the good honest priests who did their best for the parish it's people and their club also have a right to see this refected in some way and it does not have to be shoved down the throats of the dissenters.

Gawd!  Where do I start?

The catholic church initially opposed the GAA because they thought it threatened mass attendances. Croke was the exception to that rule and he had a hand in changing the church's mind, which is why he's so revered.

The idea that you can't be a proper Irishman unless you're a practicing catholic is outdated and offensive.  There's over a million protestants in Ireland, I'm quite sure that they don't see catholicism as part of their Irish identity.

I say again that if you narrow an organization's appeal to an increasingly narrow segment of society, you shouldn't be surprised if the organization doesn't grow to its full potential.  If you disconnect the organization from narrow affiliations with churches and politics then it'll have much broader appeal and stronger for it.

Do I hate the catholic church? Of course.  But that's not the main reason I'm making this point.  I'm making this point because I want the GAA to be strong, not shackled to an outdated deference to an outdated overgrown cult.

Please read my post, no where have I said that being catholic is a prerequisite to being Irish. But to many Irish people (not me I should add) it is an important part of their make up. You can not expect clubs to totally ditch their ethos and history, this in no way shackles all clubs or the GAA.

[Rossfan]

The idea that you can't be a proper Irishman unless you're a practicing catholic is outdated and offensive. 
Who said that?


I say again that if you narrow an organization's appeal to an increasingly narrow segment of society,  -
The GAA have never appealed to a "narrow segment of society". If it had it would have died years ago.

an outdated overgrown cult.
You're true colours are showing now as you insult 70% of the people of Ireland.