Scurrilous attack on all Gaels and Nationalists by O'Reilly's rag

[T Fearon]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2831612.ece

This opinion column panders deeply to the prejudices of the Belfast Telegraph's Unionist readership as the Belfast Telegraph invariably does on all issues( on one alleged incident of sectarian abuse) links us all in with paramilitaries, and laughingly infers that soccer has eradicated sectarianism and that the NI team enjoys increased cross community support. It also ignores the fact that the GAA community from the President downwards has already rallied round the victim.

The Belfast Telegraph also has a serious credibility with the nationalist population given that it was cited in recent times by the Fair Employment Commission for an imbalanced workforce (ie very few taigs) and of course it never features GAA sport as the main story on the back page

Isn't it time all O'Reilly's rags were banned from the press boxes of GAA grounds?

[Chrisowc]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2831612.ece
and laughingly infers that soccer has eradicated sectarianism

Just one example of Tony's twisted logic.  What the article does say is......This campaign has had quite a degree of success

[Square Ball]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2831612.ece

Isn't it time all O'Reilly's rags were banned from the press boxes of GAA grounds?

[/b]

yeah, you can just imagine the uproar about the bigoted GAA and the banning of freedom of speech and all that, more fuel to the fire

[Drumanee 1]

have to say the article is not over the top,but reports the facts of what happened to one individual.i myself would call myself a republican,coming from bellaghy i have seen quite alot of the troubles and i for one would love to see protestants in our community get involved with our club,indeed in the 50's and 60's we had several players that came from the protestant community but due to the troubles there membership declined but more recently high profile protestants from th town have given us support wheather it be sponsorship or use of there ground it bodes well for the furture so therefore any abuse to a protestant player or supporter can not be tolerated and not just brushed under the carpet,this has to be dealt with and our ignorant people educated that these people have alot to offer our organisation and developement of our games.

[GweylTah]

Those of us big enough and ugly enough to admit to give and take criticism are do something about it owe Mr Fearon a debt of service for bringing articles like thos to the attention of ostrich/in denial types like Mr Fearon himself and other mono-culturalists.

[T Fearon]

I disagree. I feel that the statement inferring that Darren Graham could well have shunned the nationalist community in Fermanagh owing to having relatives killed by the IRA is outrageous in that it makes no distinction between the IRA and ordinary nationalists. As someone said previously sectarianism is endemic in the 6 counties (ffs being a bigot is the main prerequisite for membership of our First Minister's political party) but does one isolated incident of sectarianism justify an opinion column given that the rampant sectarianism in local soccer which has been ongoing for decades and has caused teams (never mind individual players) to quit, never attracted a similar opinion column from the same source. Also the last paragraph fails to acknowledge the fact that the GAA, from the President down, has already rallied round the player, now compare and contrast that with the ack of support given to Neil Lennon from the IFA and his manager, when he was on the receiving end of sectarian abuse from his own team's supporters, yet the Telegraph never printed a similar opinion column criticising them.

Also the Telegraph has a seriously imbalanced workforce and never features GAA stories as the lead on its backpage, despite of the fact that it is Ulster's most popular sport. The unionist bias of the paper is blatant and this isolated incident is just being used as an excuse to gratuitously attack the GAA

[Main Street]

It's a fair enough article.
The GAA is the biggest sporting organization in the land.

Who can doubt that this whole episode and publicity will only be for the better.

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

I agree with Tony, that the "Tele" is a unionist paper (rag-if you want) and because of this I never buy it, therefore I am saved from reading the tripe that they print.

[GweylTah]

Actually the Belfast Telegraph provides very comprehensive coverage of gaelic games (so does Sunday Life, 4-6 pages of it during the season), it's often on the back-page, and at some risk of alienating the majority population in the North, though presumably they just turn the other cheek.  The GAA is not like other 'sports', as members and supporters often like to remind people.

This Darren Graham business is a wake-up call, soccer in the North realised it had a big problem and is tackling it, GAA in the SOuth seems to have been oblivious to it or unable or unwilling to tackle the elephant in the room, while the Northern GAA in general seems to have been happy to thrive on its assocaitions with the 'national liberation struggle' and its exclusivist outlook and exclusion of the Northern Protestant-British community. Graham has caused embarrassment, but maybe done a major service to those who would like this to just be a uniquely Irish, brilliant range of sports, but without the whiff of sulphur, in the longer-term.  If its forgotten about, the GAA will remain as attractive and relevant to Northern Protestants as the Orange Order is to Northern Catholics.

[nifan]

Tony, there has been copious discussions of sectarianism in football in NI across the media - including the belly tele.
Lets not forget its even printed some of your drivel, so i guess we can never accuse it of taste

[Aerlik]

 

Drumanee you wrote: ..."more recently high profile protestants from th town have given us support wheather it be sponsorship or use of there ground".   

Man are you trying to tell me Black Bob O (if he's still alive) is now a Tone's supporter?  Jayzus I mine the craic when he would come out with the lambeg and march around the garden within a few dozen yards from the main stand at your pitch.

[Yer Ma]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2831612.ece

This opinion column panders deeply to the prejudices of the Belfast Telegraph's Unionist readership as the Belfast Telegraph invariably does on all issues( on one alleged incident of sectarian abuse) links us all in with paramilitaries, and laughingly infers that soccer has eradicated sectarianism and that the NI team enjoys increased cross community support. It also ignores the fact that the GAA community from the President downwards has already rallied round the victim.

The Belfast Telegraph also has a serious credibility with the nationalist population given that it was cited in recent times by the Fair Employment Commission for an imbalanced workforce (ie very few taigs) and of course it never features GAA sport as the main story on the back page

Isn't it time all O'Reilly's rags were banned from the press boxes of GAA grounds?

I know one Catholic who works for the Tele and I mentioned the readership demographics - he said that it is split 55% Protestant and 45% Catholic, which surprised me slightly. Going by this and your Unionist readership talk, it would infer there are a lot of Catholic unionists.

[Fiodoir Ard Mhacha]

I agree with Tony, that the "Tele" is a unionist paper (rag-if you want) and because of this I never buy it, therefore I am saved from reading the tripe that they print.

Aye, but you expect me to get ye the JobFinder for you!!

[T Fearon]

I would describe myself as a regular Telegraph reader but if you care to read what I posted you will see I referred to the pandering towards its Unionist readership, the clear inference being that this was done at the expense of its nationalist readership. If the demographics are true then the opinion column is even more shameful. If this opinion column had appeared in the Orangeletter, sorry Newsletter, one could understand it as that paper is more or less the voice of the Orange Order.

Besides that the column is full of fcukwittery logic. On the one hand it claims GAA has never had a problem with sectarianism due to the relatively small number of protestants involved (that comment alone is outrageous as it infers that if protestants did become involved en masse they would be subject to sectarian abuse which is an insult to all gaels), then says the GAA should do more to attract protestants, which would increase sectarianism according to the writer's own logic.

[Drumanee 1]

Drumanee you wrote: ..."more recently high profile protestants from th town have given us support wheather it be sponsorship or use of there ground".   

Man are you trying to tell me Black Bob O (if he's still alive) is now a Tone's supporter?  Jayzus I mine the craic when he would come out with the lambeg and march around the garden within a few dozen yards from the main stand at your pitch.

naw def not bob,he's stil banging away at his drum when theres a match on,i was refering to a well know shop keeper.cant see the day when bobs walks in to our ground