Guardian editorial on GAA

[seafoid]

In praise of ... Gaelic sports

Football is supposed to be the people's game in the UK. But the real 'people's sports' are those across the Irish Sea
   
Editorial The Guardian, Tuesday 21 September 2010

On Sunday about 80,000 football fans gathered in Dublin's Croke Park to watch Cork defeat Down. There was no segregation of supporters, no need for stewards in high-visibility jackets or even police officers. It's a sport without agents or stars driving Ferraris. Moreover, 85 cents out of every euro that the devotees put into the game is reinvested in grassroots clubs. Football is supposed to be the people's game in the UK. But the real "people's sports" are those across the Irish Sea. The Gaelic sports of hurling and Gaelic football represent a real link between people, players and the governing association. Although Gaelic football attracts tens of thousands to its national championship, the players who turn out for Down, Cork and the other 30 counties of Ireland do so on a voluntary basis. A few have formed the Gaelic Players Association in an effort to extract more payments. But the GPA has generally been unsuccessful in creating a professional wage structure. Some stars earn money advertising everything from milk to fertiliser, but the overwhelming majority will turn up for training after a day at the factory or working on the farm. The Gaelic Athletic Association has had many proud achievements of late: the construction of Croke Park stadium, the end of its ban on members of the security forces playing its sports in Northern Ireland, and the generous decision to allow Ireland's national rugby and soccer teams to use its HQ as a temporary home. But the most notable is the survival of its amateur status. Long may it continue.

[Zapatista]

Half an hour reading through this forum and you'd come out with the opposite opinion.

[BennyHarp]

No mention of  the massive fences erected to keep the great unwashed off the pitch then!

[bcarrier]

The GAA is one of the few remaining things that makes me proud to be Irish.

[Billys Boots]

The GAA is one of the few remaining things that makes me proud to be Irish.

In the midst of all the attendant noise, it's easy to forget this important point.

[Jinxy]

In praise of ... Gaelic sports

Football is supposed to be the people's game in the UK. But the real 'people's sports' are those across the Irish Sea
   
Editorial The Guardian, Tuesday 21 September 2010

On Sunday about 80,000 football fans gathered in Dublin's Croke Park to watch Cork defeat Down. There was no segregation of supporters, no need for stewards in high-visibility jackets or even police officers. It's a sport without agents or stars driving Ferraris. Moreover, 85 cents out of every euro that the devotees put into the game is reinvested in grassroots clubs. Football is supposed to be the people's game in the UK. But the real "people's sports" are those across the Irish Sea. The Gaelic sports of hurling and Gaelic football represent a real link between people, players and the governing association. Although Gaelic football attracts tens of thousands to its national championship, the players who turn out for Down, Cork and the other 30 counties of Ireland do so on a voluntary basis. A few have formed the Gaelic Players Association in an effort to extract more payments. But the GPA has generally been unsuccessful in creating a professional wage structure. Some stars earn money advertising everything from milk to fertiliser, but the overwhelming majority will turn up for training after a day at the factory or working on the farm. The Gaelic Athletic Association has had many proud achievements of late: the construction of Croke Park stadium, the end of its ban on members of the security forces playing its sports in Northern Ireland, and the generous decision to allow Ireland's national rugby and soccer teams to use its HQ as a temporary home. But the most notable is the survival of its amateur status. Long may it continue.

I couldn't agree more.

[Shamrock Shore]

When Rangers played ManU recently in the Champions League their supporters had to assemble in Wigan's stadium and then be shipped, under tight security to Old Trafford and the same for the return journey.

Imagine if Down supporters had to assemble in, say, Tolka Park, and then herded like animals to Croker.

We are blessed in the way that 99.9% of rival supporters can mingle, mix and have the craic. The knobs in Croke Park need to reassess where they are going with these barriers and fences before it's too late.

[magpie seanie]

That article is good and we must not lose sight of those things.

[JMohan]

The GAA is one of the few remaining things that makes me proud to be Irish.

In the midst of all the attendant noise, it's easy to forget this important point.

+1

[seafoid]

When Rangers played ManU recently in the Champions League their supporters had to assemble in Wigan's stadium and then be shipped, under tight security to Old Trafford and the same for the return journey.

Imagine if Down supporters had to assemble in, say, Tolka Park, and then herded like animals to Croker.

We are blessed in the way that 99.9% of rival supporters can mingle, mix and have the craic. The knobs in Croke Park need to reassess where they are going with these barriers and fences before it's too late.

I have been to soccer matches in Scotland , Italy and Germany where the fans are separated in the stadium and outside, police are mounted and one set of supporters is held behind a barrier while the other set passes. No chance of any mingling.

A big soccer match is an experience once in a while but it can't hold a candle to the buzz at a GAA match. Throw in the local aspect of the games and there is no comparison. 

[ziggysego]

SOCCER legend Roy Keane says the All-Ireland SFC final beats anything his own game can offer after seeing his native Cork collect the Sam Maguire Cup at Croke Park on Sunday.

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/keane-all-ireland-bigger-than-world-cup-final-131391.html#ixzz10AEr8tCo

[deiseach]

When Rangers played ManU recently in the Champions League their supporters had to assemble in Wigan's stadium and then be shipped, under tight security to Old Trafford and the same for the return journey.

Imagine if Down supporters had to assemble in, say, Tolka Park, and then herded like animals to Croker.

We are blessed in the way that 99.9% of rival supporters can mingle, mix and have the craic. The knobs in Croke Park need to reassess where they are going with these barriers and fences before it's too late.

Mrs d would happily be herded like a beast if it meant not having to sit next to a supporter of the opposition. Different strokes . . .

[AZOffaly]

When Rangers played ManU recently in the Champions League their supporters had to assemble in Wigan's stadium and then be shipped, under tight security to Old Trafford and the same for the return journey.

Imagine if Down supporters had to assemble in, say, Tolka Park, and then herded like animals to Croker.

We are blessed in the way that 99.9% of rival supporters can mingle, mix and have the craic. The knobs in Croke Park need to reassess where they are going with these barriers and fences before it's too late.

That's cause she's a soccer supporter.
Mrs d would happily be herded like a beast if it meant not having to sit next to a supporter of the opposition. Different strokes . . .

[deiseach]

When Rangers played ManU recently in the Champions League their supporters had to assemble in Wigan's stadium and then be shipped, under tight security to Old Trafford and the same for the return journey.

Imagine if Down supporters had to assemble in, say, Tolka Park, and then herded like animals to Croker.

We are blessed in the way that 99.9% of rival supporters can mingle, mix and have the craic. The knobs in Croke Park need to reassess where they are going with these barriers and fences before it's too late.

That's cause she's a soccer supporter.
Mrs d would happily be herded like a beast if it meant not having to sit next to a supporter of the opposition. Different strokes . . .

It's funny cos it's true

[haranguerer]

The vast majority of times I've seen any 'trouble' at gaa matches (that is, verbals getting out of hand) its been women involved