Please Ulster Council grow a pair of balls!

[Feckitt]

Tom Daly recently stepped down as president to glowing newspaper articles in the Irish News & Gaelic Life about what a great president he was, and I have no doubt that he did a fine job in most of the duties he was responsible for. 
However his presidency coincided with an unprecedented campaign of hostility and bitterness against the GAA in the North from the DUP, UUP, BBC & UTV.
However, not once did I ever hear the Ulster Council really try to counteract this.  The BBC are completely unable to discuss any GAA related matter without bringing in Barry McElduff (SF), and someone from the DUP to argue about how sectarian the GAA is.  Enough is enough. 
Even when Tyrone won their historic 3rd All-Ireland in 2008, the next mornings discussion on BBC was not about, Sean Cavanagh, Joe McMahon, Mulligan's mullet, Declan O'Sullivan,Tommy Walsh or Mickey Harte.  It was about Kevin Lynch's, national anthems and cold house for unionists.  But that is just one of dozens of examples.
No-one from the GAA had the balls to say STOP.  That eejit McElduff is seen by the BBC as the GAA's Ulster Spokesman.
I am hoping that new president Aogan O'Fearghail will do better.  I heard him speaking before, and he is a charismatic character.  He can't do any worse.

[T Fearon]

Does Aogan speak in tongues?

Seriously I agree with your point. The Ulster Council has been arse licking DUP Sports Ministers and tolerating their rudeness and insulting behaviour, like staying indoors (whenever they condescend to attend GAA fixtures at all) until after the national anthem is played. It seems the Ulster Council fears challenging this lest it leads to a withdrawl of funding/ grants etc.

SF and SDLP's role should be confined to opposing the appoinments of DUP Ministers to the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Lesiure when they (ie DUP Ministers) wont even attend fixtures on Sundays.

[armaghniac]

Feckitt, I fully agree with you. There is an agenda in NI to make the GAA some sort of off centre activitiy that should be regarded as the flip side of the Orange Order. The GAA has been too inclined to accept this role for itself. It should clearly position itself as a major sport, of interest to everyone and look to legal routes if the likes of BBC tries to position itself differently. This may require a bit of extra work, to reach out to people whose predjudice means that your efforts are not fruitful, but this is needed in the long term.

[Feckitt]

Exactly, I mean I don't want to labour the point re - Tyrone 2008.  I am an Armagh man FFS.

But if Cork, Galway or Meath won the All Ireland you could righlty expect to turn on local radio to hear about the great team, the great scores and great acheivements.  Instead Tyrone are afforded the chance to listen to the likes of Gregory Campbell or Nelson McCausland ridicule the GAA and to spew their vile sectarian views in an attempt to near criminalise every gaa supporter.

Meanwhile the Ulster Council do nothing!

[rionach 4]

I agree with you totally Feckitt and I have been arguing this point for many many years. It's time  to stop the "And Finally Gaa" syndrome . There is a culture within the media of this statelet to view the G.a.a with suspicion mistrust . The elitism of  the programme controllers  executives all methody BRA boys etc stinks to the high heaven. They see the GAA as a cloak of nationalism intertwined with shady elements of republicanism  and backed by the Roman catholic church masquerading as a sport with anti Unionist overtones. In their minds it's our Orange order. If you ever have  a chance to chat to A former Tyrone Utv presenter he would shock you by some of the thinking at havelock house towards the Gaa. I had a long discussion with him at a recent event and what he said was shocking. The attitude of the media is to at best look down their noses at us and at worse actively discriminate  against us . One point in question was the down Armagh game last saturday night at Newry .. I00 yrds from the pitch is Newry city's soccer ground. Glentoran ( that bastion of croos community support) were playing Newry city  at 3 pm on sat evening. Approx 300 were at the game yet it recieved twice the press coverage and Tv coverage of the armagh Down game where an estimated 15000 people attended. Maybe I am missing something here.
The medai here need to realise that there is another part of "this wee country" that operates outside of the Stephen Nolan and talk Back shows. In fact there is a huge culture out there that is all but ignored by the Bangor brigade . John Taylor  mp famously once said. "we dont dance at crossroads or play diddly music and speak gibberish or hit each other with sticks. we are a separate breed, We are a superior breed". Thats to me says it all and that type of thinking still prevails.
Joel Thompson , another "super" sports presenter couldnt report on the Gaa even if the station wanted him to . He is a well known never on a sunday Brigade boy.

[cornafean]

I agree with you totally Feckitt and I have been arguing this point for many many years. It's time  to stop the "And Finally Gaa" syndrome . There is a culture within the media of this statelet to view the G.a.a with suspicion mistrust . The elitism of  the programme controllers  executives all methody BRA boys etc stinks to the high heaven. They see the GAA as a cloak of nationalism intertwined with shady elements of republicanism  and backed by the Roman catholic church masquerading as a sport with anti Unionist overtones. In their minds it's our Orange order. If you ever have  a chance to chat to A former Tyrone Utv presenter he would shock you by some of the thinking at havelock house towards the Gaa. I had a long discussion with him at a recent event and what he said was shocking. The attitude of the media is to at best look down their noses at us and at worse actively discriminate  against us . One point in question was the down Armagh game last saturday night at Newry .. I00 yrds from the pitch is Newry city's soccer ground. Glentoran ( that bastion of croos community support) were playing Newry city  at 3 pm on sat evening. Approx 300 were at the game yet it recieved twice the press coverage and Tv coverage of the armagh Down game where an estimated 15000 people attended. Maybe I am missing something here.
The medai here need to realise that there is another part of "this wee country" that operates outside of the Stephen Nolan and talk Back shows. In fact there is a huge culture out there that is all but ignored by the Bangor brigade . John Taylor  mp famously once said. "we dont dance at crossroads or play diddly music and speak gibberish or hit each other with sticks. we are a separate breed, We are a superior breed". Thats to me says it all and that type of thinking still prevails.
Joel Thompson , another "super" sports presenter couldnt report on the Gaa even if the station wanted him to . He is a well known never on a sunday Brigade boy.

Well said, although the problem exists just as much south of the border as north. For example RTE, Today FM and Newstalk have sports news every hour after their main news bulletins. I would guess that apart from championsip Sundays in summer, 95% of the stories they cover concern soccer and rugby. Yesterday morning, the dramatic Justin McCarthy story from Limerick got barely a look in, while the Wolves game got saturation coverage.