Are Michael O Neill and Gerry Armstong Off Their Heads??

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

It suggests that playing for Doire Colmcille is self-evidently incompatible with going on to play international football for Northern Ireland (or even seeing oneself as a "Northerner"...? not a label I ascribe to anyway but still...). I know literally nothing about the club he mentions but it's not an entirely helpful impression he manages to give.

Also I don't know why you try to pretend it's a geographical reference - actually there are a fair few Northern Ireland fans in Derry/Londonderry.

Your statement suggests that members of DC might be angry with Joe because of their ref to them, my retort was that they wont. My basis for that is that DC are based in the Westbank of Derry which is anout 97% nationalist and where suporting NI is foreign to most people's tastes. They simply won't mind, you really are not in touch with grass roots nationalist opinions in some areas. And on the geographical thingy there are areas where catholics are much less likely to give support to NI than others, Derry would be one of them. Joe refers to this point himself in the article. I stand corrected though on saying NI supporters are like hen's teeth in Derry, I should have clarified that I meant that I was talking about amongst the Cathloic community.

[Jim_Murphy_74]

In the course of this thread I've already named 2, namely Brolly and Burns. How many do you want? These two may or may not hold an official post within the organisation, but in many ways they are the public face of the GAA. They are broadcasters and journalists who talk about the GAA on television and at public functions. They are both columnists for 'Gaelic Life'. So far, I've yet to hear of the GAA publicly distancing itself from their comments. When Burns went on a pro IRA rant on behalf of MMcG, I didn't hear any GAA 'official' step forward and say that he wasn't speaking on behalf of the organisation. Until I do, I'll assume his comments meet with general approval within the organisation. Ditto Brolly's anti NI rant.

This thread has a lot of nonsense on both sides of the argument but this rubbish takes the biscuit.  The GAA are responsible for anything  "broadcasters and journalists who talk about the GAA on television and at public functions" and you regard what they say as official views of the GAA?   Why in the name of all that is holy would the GAA have and official view on eligibility rules for international soccer?

Can you qualify that or outline how it might work? 

Should the GAA have a committee to monitor all broadcasters and journalists?  They can add them to a list if the "talk about the GAA on television or at public functions" then the comittee would be responsible  to monitor their views on other issues (maybe a further comittee to decide the issues that are important like eligibility rules for international soccer teams).   Once a member of the list gives a view on said issues then they would report to Central Council who would decide if the odds are at variance with the official position of the GAA and issues a statement "distancing the GAA" from the comments.

/Jim.

[Main Street]

The unofficial Northern Ireland supporters' anthem has echoed around Windsor Park since time immemorial.

Until the new Millennium, you could buy the CD in the Windsor Park shop. Now, the supporters' store has been cleansed of overtly sectarian material, but the culture lingers and the ghosts of the recent past still hover over the stadium.'

True enough, NI fans use to sing the Billy Boys at WP.

But that's not what he said, though, is it? He quotes the lyrics (if you can call them that) of the song in full at the start of his article and refers to it as "the unofficial Northern Ireland supporters anthem" - which is garbage. You simply will not hear it at a NI match, that thankfully having been stamped out over a decade ago now, and if any song could be called the "unofficial NI supporters anthem", it would be "We're Not Brazil", or perhaps "We'll Support You Evermore", or (until the rugby boys nicked it) "Stand up for the Ulstermen".

This cuts to the heart of what Brolly's article is - a pretty spiteful, bigoted, ill-informed piece which reflects poorly on him as being rather prejudiced and also reflects very poorly on the Derry Journal for promoting what pretty much amounts to hate speech.

BTW that "buy the CD" stuff seems to be pure fiction.

I understand that Brolly writes in the past tense when referring to singing of the Billy Boys at WP, and that understanding is confirmed (imo) when he states that ghosts of the pasts still hover over the stadium.
In Brolly's opinion and his perceptions, the ghosts of the past still hover over WP -  even if the Billy Boys is not sung any more.
That's Brolly's opinion,  that the 'old attitudes' still manifest themselves, for example in those petty dismissals of the validity of Irish nationality and what it means for those Irish nationals in NI.

[Ulick]

BTW that "buy the CD" stuff seems to be pure fiction.

Maybe this is what he was referring to:

http://www.linfieldfc.com/latestnews.asp?nid=2841

"Linfield Football Club have withdrawn a CD containing twenty songs one of which contained material which could offend and may be deemed to encourage violence.

We would make it clear that this CD was produced independently by supporters.

Once we were made aware of the contents of this song, the CD was immediately withdrawn."

[Maguire01]

A bit of poetic license then.

[AQMP]

BTW that "buy the CD" stuff seems to be pure fiction.

Maybe this is what he was referring to:

http://www.linfieldfc.com/latestnews.asp?nid=2841

"Linfield Football Club have withdrawn a CD containing twenty songs one of which contained material which could offend and may be deemed to encourage violence.

We would make it clear that this CD was produced independently by supporters.

Once we were made aware of the contents of this song, the CD was immediately withdrawn."

April Fool

[Ulick]

A bit of poetic license then.

Well that press release was 2008, Joe was mentions 2000, so it would be a fair guess that if they were selling CDs about "hammers and hatchets" in 2008 there would have been a fair amount of "Billy Boys" 8 years before that and before the much heralded "Football For All" campaign.

[MW]

BTW that "buy the CD" stuff seems to be pure fiction.

Maybe this is what he was referring to:

http://www.linfieldfc.com/latestnews.asp?nid=2841

"Linfield Football Club have withdrawn a CD containing twenty songs one of which contained material which could offend and may be deemed to encourage violence.

We would make it clear that this CD was produced independently by supporters.

Once we were made aware of the contents of this song, the CD was immediately withdrawn."

If he was, then he's talking nonsense, since that was nothing to do with The Billy Boys, or indeed any sectarian or loyalist song.  And the offending lyric was actually aimed against Glentoran fans, so it's hard to see how he could have made the mistake unless he was plucking any old muddled memory out of this head - which would explain I guess why a fictional occurrence from a play became a real-life incident to him too, I guess...

[Main Street]

Hammers, hatchets and .... stanley knives

But they were to be used to slice up Glentoran fans, so that wouldn't be a sectarian issue, would it?

[MW]

Hammers, hatchets and .... stanley knives

But they were to be used to slice up Glentoran fans, so that wouldn't be a sectarian issue, would it?

It's an ecumenical song alright...originates in Birmingham I believe!

[michaelg]

The point below was taken from a post on the OWC website:

"There were more Catholic players playing for Linfield last Saturday, and more Catholic players playing for Northern Ireland in their last International match than the total number of Protestants that have represented Derry GAA at senior level since partition".

Not sure if this has been verified, but if true it is an interesting point

[Myles Na G.]

In the course of this thread I've already named 2, namely Brolly and Burns. How many do you want? These two may or may not hold an official post within the organisation, but in many ways they are the public face of the GAA. They are broadcasters and journalists who talk about the GAA on television and at public functions. They are both columnists for 'Gaelic Life'. So far, I've yet to hear of the GAA publicly distancing itself from their comments. When Burns went on a pro IRA rant on behalf of MMcG, I didn't hear any GAA 'official' step forward and say that he wasn't speaking on behalf of the organisation. Until I do, I'll assume his comments meet with general approval within the organisation. Ditto Brolly's anti NI rant.

This thread has a lot of nonsense on both sides of the argument but this rubbish takes the biscuit.  The GAA are responsible for anything  "broadcasters and journalists who talk about the GAA on television and at public functions" and you regard what they say as official views of the GAA?   Why in the name of all that is holy would the GAA have and official view on eligibility rules for international soccer?

Can you qualify that or outline how it might work? 

Should the GAA have a committee to monitor all broadcasters and journalists? They can add them to a list if the "talk about the GAA on television or at public functions" then the comittee would be responsible  to monitor their views on other issues (maybe a further comittee to decide the issues that are important like eligibility rules for international soccer teams).   Once a member of the list gives a view on said issues then they would report to Central Council who would decide if the odds are at variance with the official position of the GAA and issues a statement "distancing the GAA" from the comments.

/Jim.

Why not? They seem to have a committee for most other things. Jarlath Burns sits on a couple of them in fact...
http://ulster.gaa.ie/council/committees/
Of course, he's not a GAA official, Lord no.

[mylestheslasher]

In the course of this thread I've already named 2, namely Brolly and Burns. How many do you want? These two may or may not hold an official post within the organisation, but in many ways they are the public face of the GAA. They are broadcasters and journalists who talk about the GAA on television and at public functions. They are both columnists for 'Gaelic Life'. So far, I've yet to hear of the GAA publicly distancing itself from their comments. When Burns went on a pro IRA rant on behalf of MMcG, I didn't hear any GAA 'official' step forward and say that he wasn't speaking on behalf of the organisation. Until I do, I'll assume his comments meet with general approval within the organisation. Ditto Brolly's anti NI rant.

This thread has a lot of nonsense on both sides of the argument but this rubbish takes the biscuit.  The GAA are responsible for anything  "broadcasters and journalists who talk about the GAA on television and at public functions" and you regard what they say as official views of the GAA?   Why in the name of all that is holy would the GAA have and official view on eligibility rules for international soccer?

Can you qualify that or outline how it might work? 

Should the GAA have a committee to monitor all broadcasters and journalists? They can add them to a list if the "talk about the GAA on television or at public functions" then the comittee would be responsible  to monitor their views on other issues (maybe a further comittee to decide the issues that are important like eligibility rules for international soccer teams).   Once a member of the list gives a view on said issues then they would report to Central Council who would decide if the odds are at variance with the official position of the GAA and issues a statement "distancing the GAA" from the comments.

/Jim.

Why not? They seem to have a committee for most other things. Jarlath Burns sits on a couple of them in fact...
http://ulster.gaa.ie/council/committees/
Of course, he's not a GAA official, Lord no.

Do you know anything about the GAA or do you come on here specifically to show your complete ignorance?

[andoireabu]

The point below was taken from a post on the OWC website:

"There were more Catholic players playing for Linfield last Saturday, and more Catholic players playing for Northern Ireland in their last International match than the total number of Protestants that have represented Derry GAA at senior level since partition".

Not sure if this has been verified, but if true it is an interesting point

How so?

What I would take from it is that Catholics played both sports while Protestants don't, however they have the opportunity to.  I have played matches where members of the other team have been Protestant lads and they were very good at it.  The lad who pointed it out to me said they were welcomed straight away when they moved to the area and have never had any bother.  They just wanted to play football.  I asked a fella I worked his opinion of the GAA.  He said that they (I'm guessing he meant him and his friends) didn't play or watch it because they had no interest in it growing up.  Never played it at school or anything.  Soccer was always the sport they followed.  That may have more to do with the point you raise than any perceived or perhaps real exclusion.   

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

The point below was taken from a post on the OWC website:

"There were more Catholic players playing for Linfield last Saturday, and more Catholic players playing for Northern Ireland in their last International match than the total number of Protestants that have represented Derry GAA at senior level since partition".

Not sure if this has been verified, but if true it is an interesting point

And there were more Catholics playing for Linfield last Saturday than the total number of Orange Order members with Catholic spouses since the foundation of that organisation in 1796.