GAA on Slugger

[Nally Stand]

Cowardly reply from you mayo but the fact remains. If you oppose political events at GAA grounds then you can't pick and choose, if you think Irish Republican events such as SF commemorations are unacceptable on GAA property but the visit to Croke Park above is fine, you are being a complete hypocrite.

[Rois]

Cowardly reply from you mayo but the fact remains. If you oppose political events at GAA grounds then you can't pick and choose, if you think Irish Republican events such as SF commemorations are unacceptable on GAA property but the visit to Croke Park above is fine, you are being a complete hypocrite.

I disagree - neither the queen nor Mary McAleese represent a political party and they were not invited there by a political party.  The visit was at the invitation of the GAA to heads of state. 
Sinn Fein, on the other hand, is a political party. 

[Nally Stand]

Cowardly reply from you mayo but the fact remains. If you oppose political events at GAA grounds then you can't pick and choose, if you think Irish Republican events such as SF commemorations are unacceptable on GAA property but the visit to Croke Park above is fine, you are being a complete hypocrite.

I disagree - neither the queen nor Mary McAleese represent a political party and they were not invited there by a political party.  The visit was at the invitation of the GAA to heads of state. 
Sinn Fein, on the other hand, is a political party.

Rois, with all due respect, the entire circuis surrounding that visit was political. It could not have been any more political.

Though if you want to go down that road, I could point out that this debate began about the Seamus Woods Commemoration at Pomeroy's GAA ground. That event was run by the Seamus Woods Commemoration Committee, which is also not a political party.

[sheamy]

Cowardly reply from you mayo but the fact remains. If you oppose political events at GAA grounds then you can't pick and choose, if you think Irish Republican events such as SF commemorations are unacceptable on GAA property but the visit to Croke Park above is fine, you are being a complete hypocrite.

I disagree - neither the queen nor Mary McAleese represent a political party and they were not invited there by a political party.  The visit was at the invitation of the GAA to heads of state. 
Sinn Fein, on the other hand, is a political party.

Whilst that is correct, we need to also be realistic. Of course political parties lobbied the GAA to comply with the visit of the queen of england. County boards were also gagged which means GAA members were gagged on the issue. However, that's a whole different type of politics, and one deserving another thread! Or another country. Maybe Soviet Russia.

Funding speaks volumes in these situations and who controls this but political parties be they at government or local government levels.

Let's also be clear. That visit was one of the most political acts in the history of the GAA.

Ideally the GAA is also political, not in the sense of SF, FF, FG etc, but socially - the way it should be.

Realistically and taking traditional irish politics into it, we've always been and always will be a mix so for that reason and the reason above I can understand the difficulties associated with the demonstrations described. However, local clubs may take a decision as to how to use their grounds. I'm not sure anything can be done about that. Someone said fine the clubs involved. Jesus, need to get real here.

GAA clubs simply reflect communities. Austin Stack was a hunger striker and we built a big ground named after him. Kevin Lynch was a hunger striker and we built a smaller ground named after him. There is no black and white here no matter how people attempt to try and impose one. The fact is that to a large extent the communties of both Derry and Kerry are equally proud of the two individuals mentioned. I say large extent because again you can have political differences locally. There are dozens more such examples proving the point that this is not a simple matter of banning this or that.

Do we ban the clergy from having masses or blessing the opening of new pitches on the basis that we wish to attract more protestant lads into our teams? Some would say that would be a start. I would be one of them.

[Banana Man]

Cowardly reply from you mayo but the fact remains. If you oppose political events at GAA grounds then you can't pick and choose, if you think Irish Republican events such as SF commemorations are unacceptable on GAA property but the visit to Croke Park above is fine, you are being a complete hypocrite.

I disagree - neither the queen nor Mary McAleese represent a political party and they were not invited there by a political party.  The visit was at the invitation of the GAA to heads of state. 
Sinn Fein, on the other hand, is a political party.

To be honest Rois that is a very, very naive statement. It was the biggest political manoeuvre in the history of the Irish Republic state since it's formation

Anyhow I am a member of the GAA and I don't remember being consulted on whether I wanted her to come or not, yet MY organisation invited her due to political influence

[Rois]

Oops, didn't realise what I'd started!!

If we're talking about being naive and that the Queen's visit was political (albeit not in a party sense), we should also understand that using GAA clubs for hunger strike commemorations, even if not arranged by Sinn Fein, portrays a significant message to the outside world about the GAA, and particularly in the NI community.  And that's not a message I want my GAA to be involved in, as it will alienate sections of the community and live up to stereotype.  Which is at odds to my opinion of the message it portrayed when the GAA invited the Queen, a positive message that I am happy to associate with. 

I realise that other people's opinions differ from mine, so I'll bow out here. 

[Nally Stand]

Well that's what it boils down to. A lot of people are staunchly opposed too GAA property being used for political events but apparently that only applies to a certain strand of politics. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. What makes it OK to oppose small local political events on rural GAA grounds which might offend unionists, but OK to support a political event like that much publicised visit, which offended many nationalists/republicans? If you supported the political event in Croke Park then as far as I'm concerned, you forfeit the right to complain about other political events on GAA property.

[Banana Man]

Well that's what it boils down to. A lot of people are staunchly opposed too GAA property being used for political events but apparently that only applies to a certain strand of politics. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. What makes it OK to oppose small local political events on rural GAA grounds which might offend unionists, but OK to support a political event like that much publicised visit, which offended many nationalists/republicans? If you supported the political event in Croke Park then as far as I'm concerned, you forfeit the right to complain about other political events on GAA property.

Couldn't agree more with that statement in bold

[sheamy]

Exactly, it's all opinion and we're a broad church even within the association. This could be discussed to death but not worth it. One persons positive message is anothers negative one and one persons 'my gaa' is different from the next persons. I'd imagine there are many people who were greatly offended by the visit, many with valid reason. Others thought it extremely positive and can't knock that either. Most probably have no opinion and that's what prevailed I feel.

We should, I agree, stick to what we're good at - providing facilties for young people and maintaining local community spirit. Let's also run it for the people involved not some image which may or may not prevail around the globe. When the EU look into the GAA as a model of social betterment I think that's all we need to know or be concerned with.

Agree totally with Nally stand who hit the nail on the head from the point of view of technical debate in the last post.

Anyway, enough politics! (until the next time  )

[Eamonnca1]

Disgraceful? Unlike this political event on GAA property?

Nice try, but that was a diplomatic event, not a political one. The British Queen is above politics as is the Irish President.

[Nally Stand]

Disgraceful? Unlike this political event on GAA property?

Nice try, but that was a diplomatic event, not a political one. The British Queen is above politics as is the Irish President.

Yes her visit was totally non-political. Absolutely. I don't know what people were thinking at the BBC/ITV/Channel 4/Time Magazine/New York Times/The Guardian etc when they wrote some of the stuff below:


http://blog.itv.com/news/billneely/2011/05/the-most-political-visit-of-her-reign-the-queen-in-ireland/
"....The Queen then began perhaps the most political tour she has ever undertaken"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13390953
"Queen's visit to Ireland is a political milestone"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/world/europe/21queen.html
"Queen Elizabeth II wrapped up her groundbreaking four-day visit to the Irish Republic on Friday, a trip that ranked among the most politically freighted of her almost 60 years on the throne."

http://search.independent.co.uk/topic/dublin-croke-park
"In Dublin, the Queen will visit several politically and historically significant sites laden with symbolism such as Croke Park."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13410979
"The impending visit was not deemed politically feasible until the peace process was bedded down"

http://www.channel4.com/news/queens-visit-to-ireland-we-are-ready-now-to-move-on
"Historian Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Professor of Modern History at Trinity College Dublin, told Channel 4 News: "....
"It's very much part of the ongoing peace process and it's hugely significant, politically and economically."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/wintour-and-watt/2011/apr/11/queen-ireland
"Memo ahead of Queen's visit to Ireland: mug up on peace process"

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2071566,00.html
"So the announcement last month of her visit was viewed by some as a sign of political maturity."

http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/05/queen%E2%80%99s-visit-an-opportunity-to-look-to-a-better-future-%E2%80%93-mcaleese/
"...the Queen's visit remains both a sensitive and sore subject. With that in mind, political leaders in both the UK and Ireland have sought to demonstrate a united front"

http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/danny_boy/queens-visit-a-milestone-for-ireland-122370343.html
"...the real legacy of the Queen's visit for Ireland is of course a political one."

http://irishecho.com/?p=64966
"It could not have come at a better time. For President McAleese and Taoiseach Enda Kenny, the two prime architects of the queen's visit, it was a personal and political triumph. "

[Banana Man]

Disgraceful? Unlike this political event on GAA property?

Nice try, but that was a diplomatic event, not a political one. The British Queen is above politics as is the Irish President.

Why then must the POLITICAL leader of the UK ask permission to dissolve Parliament? Ask permission to start a new Parliament? Have all new laws signed off by her???

[borderfox]

Take it down from the mast....