GAA Outreach in Action...

[Myles Na G.]

Wonder what Joe feels about loyalist flute bands which carry the names of dearly departed sectarian killers on their drums / uniforms? Wonder if he feels that's noone else's business too? Wonder if he'd feel it was noone else's business if those same bands were receiving public funding for their activities and claiming to be 'reaching out' to nationalists at the same time?

You're a t**t, Joe. Sorry, but you are. If you can't see that naming grounds after members of the organisation responsible for La Mons, Shankill, Enniskillen, Teebane, Darkley, Kingsmill, etc etc etc while holding your hand out for tax payers money might be an issue, then you're a t**t.

Was Kevin Lynch a sectarian killer? McDonnell or Doherty sectarian killers?

I mean if Loyalists named their flutebands after a UVF man that died on hungerstrike then may be you'd have a point. If the GAA named clubs after individuals who actively engaged in sectarian killings then you'd have a point.

These men died on hungerstrike which was an emotive issue for the broader nationalist community, not just republicans. If you are unable to differentiate between the circumstances in which these men died (whether you agree or not with their politics) and the likes of the much eulogized Brian Robinson who randomly shot the first fenian he could find then maybe you are the t**t.

Kingsmill was sectarian, was it not? Prods lined up against a van, the sole Catholic identified and told to take himself off. If that isn't sectarian murder, then I don't know what is. Maybe not as random as Brian Robinson's attack, but hey, no brownie points for being better organised sectarian killers, eh? Darkley, an attack on prods in a prod church. Is that not sectarian? That's the organisation that the hunger strikers belonged to. One of the guns used at Kingsmill was linked to hunger striker  Raymond McCreesh.  The GAA should not allow itself to be linked to an organisation which committed such sectarian atrocities. It should not receive public funding while it does. Joe's an intelligent man, he should be able to see that. The fact that he can't makes him a t**t.

This has been done to death but....

As Joe Brolly clearly stated, Kevin Lynch hurled for both Derry and Dungiven with distinction.

Their decision to rename their club reflects the sentiment held in Dungiven at that time that a former and well decorated player such as KL was worthy of commemoration. Given the exceptional circumstances of his death, and that of the other hungerstrikers, I don't see anything untoward with ONE out of thousands of GAA clubs being re-named after a hungerstriker given the links he had with that club.

As for your examples of Darkley and Kingsmill; yes they were abhorrent sectarian crimes. Are they being glorified? NO. It's the exact same as me saying the laying of a wreath at a British Army war memorial is somehow glorifying Bloody Sunday or The Ballymurphy Massacre. Should wreath laying be discontinued because of the hurt, pain and killings inflicted on Nationalists by the British Army? What do you think?

The decision to name the club after Kevin Lynch has nothing to do with his talent as a hurler. There must be countless players down through the decades who have served their club and county longer and with more distinction - why not honour them? Lynch was singled out because of his activities off the pitch and therein lies the problem: some people within the GAA think that a member of the provisional IRA is a suitable person to commemorate. The vast majority of people throughout the 32 counties view that organisation as  a bunch of murderers, on the same level as the UDA or UVF, rather than on the same level as the British Army, which is the comparison republicans (and only republicans) like to make.

I literally do not know what else to say.

The club is named so because he was a former member who died on hungerstrike. That is why it is named so.

They don't commemorate him because of the actions of the organisation with which he was a member. The sentiment isn't to celebrate INLA violence or killings. Kevin Lynch was never convicted of killing anyone. He was a local who died on hungerstrike. It is literally as simple as that. If you are saying that KL HC is named so simply because he was an INLA member then why aren't there clubs named after other PIRA/INLA members in Belfast, South Armagh, East Tyrone, South Derry etc.?

And yes you're correct, on occasion Republicans do like draw comparisons with the British Army; because some Unionists like yourself tend to forget that the role the British Army played here i.e. killing Nationalists, or helping Loyalists kill Nationalists.

1. I'm not a unionist
2. I'm well aware of the actions of the British Army here
3. The actions of the British Army do not excuse or justify IRA / INLA atrocities
4. What difference does it make that Kevin Lynch was never convicted of killing anyone? He joined the INLA, didn't he? I'm pretty sure that means he was willing to kill people. Whether or not he achieved what he set out to do is irrelevant.
5. Kevin Lynch 'was a local who died on hunger strike'. Is it as simple as that? Is everyone who goes on hunger strike and dies worthy of commemoration? If Lynch had been a convicted paedophile and had gone on hunger strike to protest about his prison conditions, would the local club still have been named after him had he died? No, I don't think so either. Honouring Lynch is not just about the hunger strike. It's about showing support and solidarity with the man and what he stood for. That's why it causes such a fuss. A national organisation like the GAA is allowing itself to be linked with the Droppin Wells bombers. 

[Myles Na G.]

Wonder what Joe feels about loyalist flute bands which carry the names of dearly departed sectarian killers on their drums / uniforms? Wonder if he feels that's noone else's business too? Wonder if he'd feel it was noone else's business if those same bands were receiving public funding for their activities and claiming to be 'reaching out' to nationalists at the same time?

You're a t**t, Joe. Sorry, but you are. If you can't see that naming grounds after members of the organisation responsible for La Mons, Shankill, Enniskillen, Teebane, Darkley, Kingsmill, etc etc etc while holding your hand out for tax payers money might be an issue, then you're a t**t.

Was Kevin Lynch a sectarian killer? McDonnell or Doherty sectarian killers?

I mean if Loyalists named their flutebands after a UVF man that died on hungerstrike then may be you'd have a point. If the GAA named clubs after individuals who actively engaged in sectarian killings then you'd have a point.

These men died on hungerstrike which was an emotive issue for the broader nationalist community, not just republicans. If you are unable to differentiate between the circumstances in which these men died (whether you agree or not with their politics) and the likes of the much eulogized Brian Robinson who randomly shot the first fenian he could find then maybe you are the t**t.

Kingsmill was sectarian, was it not? Prods lined up against a van, the sole Catholic identified and told to take himself off. If that isn't sectarian murder, then I don't know what is. Maybe not as random as Brian Robinson's attack, but hey, no brownie points for being better organised sectarian killers, eh? Darkley, an attack on prods in a prod church. Is that not sectarian? That's the organisation that the hunger strikers belonged to. One of the guns used at Kingsmill was linked to hunger striker  Raymond McCreesh.  The GAA should not allow itself to be linked to an organisation which committed such sectarian atrocities. It should not receive public funding while it does. Joe's an intelligent man, he should be able to see that. The fact that he can't makes him a t**t.

This has been done to death but....

As Joe Brolly clearly stated, Kevin Lynch hurled for both Derry and Dungiven with distinction.

Their decision to rename their club reflects the sentiment held in Dungiven at that time that a former and well decorated player such as KL was worthy of commemoration. Given the exceptional circumstances of his death, and that of the other hungerstrikers, I don't see anything untoward with ONE out of thousands of GAA clubs being re-named after a hungerstriker given the links he had with that club.

As for your examples of Darkley and Kingsmill; yes they were abhorrent sectarian crimes. Are they being glorified? NO. It's the exact same as me saying the laying of a wreath at a British Army war memorial is somehow glorifying Bloody Sunday or The Ballymurphy Massacre. Should wreath laying be discontinued because of the hurt, pain and killings inflicted on Nationalists by the British Army? What do you think?

The decision to name the club after Kevin Lynch has nothing to do with his talent as a hurler. There must be countless players down through the decades who have served their club and county longer and with more distinction - why not honour them? Lynch was singled out because of his activities off the pitch and therein lies the problem: some people within the GAA think that a member of the provisional IRA is a suitable person to commemorate. The vast majority of people throughout the 32 counties view that organisation as  a bunch of murderers, on the same level as the UDA or UVF, rather than on the same level as the British Army, which is the comparison republicans (and only republicans) like to make.

You are an absolute idiot. He wasn't a member of the IRA, he was a member of the INLA. If you're going to get all high and mighty about something then why not actually research it properly beforehand.

What the people of the 32 counties feel about the IRA or INLA is completely and utterly secondary to what the members of Kevin Lynch's want their club to be named.

Judean People's Front, People's Front of Judea...

Their club is a member of the GAA, which a 32 county body. So really, it isn't just a matter for people in Dungiven, or at least it shouldn't be.

[stibhan]

Wonder what Joe feels about loyalist flute bands which carry the names of dearly departed sectarian killers on their drums / uniforms? Wonder if he feels that's noone else's business too? Wonder if he'd feel it was noone else's business if those same bands were receiving public funding for their activities and claiming to be 'reaching out' to nationalists at the same time?

You're a t**t, Joe. Sorry, but you are. If you can't see that naming grounds after members of the organisation responsible for La Mons, Shankill, Enniskillen, Teebane, Darkley, Kingsmill, etc etc etc while holding your hand out for tax payers money might be an issue, then you're a t**t.

Was Kevin Lynch a sectarian killer? McDonnell or Doherty sectarian killers?

I mean if Loyalists named their flutebands after a UVF man that died on hungerstrike then may be you'd have a point. If the GAA named clubs after individuals who actively engaged in sectarian killings then you'd have a point.

These men died on hungerstrike which was an emotive issue for the broader nationalist community, not just republicans. If you are unable to differentiate between the circumstances in which these men died (whether you agree or not with their politics) and the likes of the much eulogized Brian Robinson who randomly shot the first fenian he could find then maybe you are the t**t.

Kingsmill was sectarian, was it not? Prods lined up against a van, the sole Catholic identified and told to take himself off. If that isn't sectarian murder, then I don't know what is. Maybe not as random as Brian Robinson's attack, but hey, no brownie points for being better organised sectarian killers, eh? Darkley, an attack on prods in a prod church. Is that not sectarian? That's the organisation that the hunger strikers belonged to. One of the guns used at Kingsmill was linked to hunger striker  Raymond McCreesh.  The GAA should not allow itself to be linked to an organisation which committed such sectarian atrocities. It should not receive public funding while it does. Joe's an intelligent man, he should be able to see that. The fact that he can't makes him a t**t.

This has been done to death but....

As Joe Brolly clearly stated, Kevin Lynch hurled for both Derry and Dungiven with distinction.

Their decision to rename their club reflects the sentiment held in Dungiven at that time that a former and well decorated player such as KL was worthy of commemoration. Given the exceptional circumstances of his death, and that of the other hungerstrikers, I don't see anything untoward with ONE out of thousands of GAA clubs being re-named after a hungerstriker given the links he had with that club.

As for your examples of Darkley and Kingsmill; yes they were abhorrent sectarian crimes. Are they being glorified? NO. It's the exact same as me saying the laying of a wreath at a British Army war memorial is somehow glorifying Bloody Sunday or The Ballymurphy Massacre. Should wreath laying be discontinued because of the hurt, pain and killings inflicted on Nationalists by the British Army? What do you think?

The decision to name the club after Kevin Lynch has nothing to do with his talent as a hurler. There must be countless players down through the decades who have served their club and county longer and with more distinction - why not honour them? Lynch was singled out because of his activities off the pitch and therein lies the problem: some people within the GAA think that a member of the provisional IRA is a suitable person to commemorate. The vast majority of people throughout the 32 counties view that organisation as  a bunch of murderers, on the same level as the UDA or UVF, rather than on the same level as the British Army, which is the comparison republicans (and only republicans) like to make.

You are an absolute idiot. He wasn't a member of the IRA, he was a member of the INLA. If you're going to get all high and mighty about something then why not actually research it properly beforehand.

What the people of the 32 counties feel about the IRA or INLA is completely and utterly secondary to what the members of Kevin Lynch's want their club to be named.

Judean People's Front, People's Front of Judea...

Their club is a member of the GAA, which a 32 county body. So really, it isn't just a matter for people in Dungiven, or at least it shouldn't be.

Sorry but if you're going to start claiming that the organisation he was affiliated to was 'responsible' for a number of atrocities, then you are going to have to admit that you were wrong. It also demonstrates the casual relationship your posts seem to have with the truth - you're pretending to be offended on the basis of something Jim Allister said.


Nobody in the GAA is going to start drawing those lines, but can I ask if you're affiliated to the GAA? If so please feel free to bring a motion to your club or county AGM and see what support it wins.

How many other clubs were named after 1981 Hunger Strikers, by the way?

[qubdub]

There is little point arguing with this clown.

I had a look through his previous postings and on the same topic a number of years ago he referred to the GAA in NI as "basically Sinn Fein in football boots".

This from a man who claims not to be a Unionist.

[CD]

From a PR perspective the custom of commemorating those who fought and died for their beliefs is a major headache for the GAA. I have no issue with it whatsoever but I am very proud of the GAA and what it stands for as a cultural and sporting organisation. I want to see my association portrayed in the best possible light at all times and I feel that naming a GAA ground, competition or team after a deceased member of the IRA or any other organisation, is counterproductive. It goes against the inclusive message that we are trying our damnedest to get out there and it is used by others to demean and belittle our beloved organisation AND the memories of those we are attempting to commemorate.
I just don't feel it is appropriate in 2013 - the GAA is a modern and forward thinking organisation that continues to grow from strength to strength and has become the very backbone of many of our communities.

Maybe we should grow with it.

[Farrandeelin]

Wonder what Joe feels about loyalist flute bands which carry the names of dearly departed sectarian killers on their drums / uniforms? Wonder if he feels that's noone else's business too? Wonder if he'd feel it was noone else's business if those same bands were receiving public funding for their activities and claiming to be 'reaching out' to nationalists at the same time?

You're a t**t, Joe. Sorry, but you are. If you can't see that naming grounds after members of the organisation responsible for La Mons, Shankill, Enniskillen, Teebane, Darkley, Kingsmill, etc etc etc while holding your hand out for tax payers money might be an issue, then you're a t**t.

Was Kevin Lynch a sectarian killer? McDonnell or Doherty sectarian killers?

I mean if Loyalists named their flutebands after a UVF man that died on hungerstrike then may be you'd have a point. If the GAA named clubs after individuals who actively engaged in sectarian killings then you'd have a point.

These men died on hungerstrike which was an emotive issue for the broader nationalist community, not just republicans. If you are unable to differentiate between the circumstances in which these men died (whether you agree or not with their politics) and the likes of the much eulogized Brian Robinson who randomly shot the first fenian he could find then maybe you are the t**t.

Kingsmill was sectarian, was it not? Prods lined up against a van, the sole Catholic identified and told to take himself off. If that isn't sectarian murder, then I don't know what is. Maybe not as random as Brian Robinson's attack, but hey, no brownie points for being better organised sectarian killers, eh? Darkley, an attack on prods in a prod church. Is that not sectarian? That's the organisation that the hunger strikers belonged to. One of the guns used at Kingsmill was linked to hunger striker  Raymond McCreesh.  The GAA should not allow itself to be linked to an organisation which committed such sectarian atrocities. It should not receive public funding while it does. Joe's an intelligent man, he should be able to see that. The fact that he can't makes him a t**t.

This has been done to death but....

As Joe Brolly clearly stated, Kevin Lynch hurled for both Derry and Dungiven with distinction.

Their decision to rename their club reflects the sentiment held in Dungiven at that time that a former and well decorated player such as KL was worthy of commemoration. Given the exceptional circumstances of his death, and that of the other hungerstrikers, I don't see anything untoward with ONE out of thousands of GAA clubs being re-named after a hungerstriker given the links he had with that club.

As for your examples of Darkley and Kingsmill; yes they were abhorrent sectarian crimes. Are they being glorified? NO. It's the exact same as me saying the laying of a wreath at a British Army war memorial is somehow glorifying Bloody Sunday or The Ballymurphy Massacre. Should wreath laying be discontinued because of the hurt, pain and killings inflicted on Nationalists by the British Army? What do you think?

The decision to name the club after Kevin Lynch has nothing to do with his talent as a hurler. There must be countless players down through the decades who have served their club and county longer and with more distinction - why not honour them? Lynch was singled out because of his activities off the pitch and therein lies the problem: some people within the GAA think that a member of the provisional IRA is a suitable person to commemorate. The vast majority of people throughout the 32 counties view that organisation as  a bunch of murderers, on the same level as the UDA or UVF, rather than on the same level as the British Army, which is the comparison republicans (and only republicans) like to make.

How do you know that?

[stibhan]

Out of interest, do any members from Portglenone think that their club name actively encourages homosexual activity? Do Antrim GAA have a case to answer on this ground also?

[muppet]

Wonder what Joe feels about loyalist flute bands which carry the names of dearly departed sectarian killers on their drums / uniforms? Wonder if he feels that's noone else's business too? Wonder if he'd feel it was noone else's business if those same bands were receiving public funding for their activities and claiming to be 'reaching out' to nationalists at the same time?

You're a t**t, Joe. Sorry, but you are. If you can't see that naming grounds after members of the organisation responsible for La Mons, Shankill, Enniskillen, Teebane, Darkley, Kingsmill, etc etc etc while holding your hand out for tax payers money might be an issue, then you're a t**t.

Was Kevin Lynch a sectarian killer? McDonnell or Doherty sectarian killers?

I mean if Loyalists named their flutebands after a UVF man that died on hungerstrike then may be you'd have a point. If the GAA named clubs after individuals who actively engaged in sectarian killings then you'd have a point.

These men died on hungerstrike which was an emotive issue for the broader nationalist community, not just republicans. If you are unable to differentiate between the circumstances in which these men died (whether you agree or not with their politics) and the likes of the much eulogized Brian Robinson who randomly shot the first fenian he could find then maybe you are the t**t.

Kingsmill was sectarian, was it not? Prods lined up against a van, the sole Catholic identified and told to take himself off. If that isn't sectarian murder, then I don't know what is. Maybe not as random as Brian Robinson's attack, but hey, no brownie points for being better organised sectarian killers, eh? Darkley, an attack on prods in a prod church. Is that not sectarian? That's the organisation that the hunger strikers belonged to. One of the guns used at Kingsmill was linked to hunger striker  Raymond McCreesh.  The GAA should not allow itself to be linked to an organisation which committed such sectarian atrocities. It should not receive public funding while it does. Joe's an intelligent man, he should be able to see that. The fact that he can't makes him a t**t.

This has been done to death but....

As Joe Brolly clearly stated, Kevin Lynch hurled for both Derry and Dungiven with distinction.

Their decision to rename their club reflects the sentiment held in Dungiven at that time that a former and well decorated player such as KL was worthy of commemoration. Given the exceptional circumstances of his death, and that of the other hungerstrikers, I don't see anything untoward with ONE out of thousands of GAA clubs being re-named after a hungerstriker given the links he had with that club.

As for your examples of Darkley and Kingsmill; yes they were abhorrent sectarian crimes. Are they being glorified? NO. It's the exact same as me saying the laying of a wreath at a British Army war memorial is somehow glorifying Bloody Sunday or The Ballymurphy Massacre. Should wreath laying be discontinued because of the hurt, pain and killings inflicted on Nationalists by the British Army? What do you think?

The decision to name the club after Kevin Lynch has nothing to do with his talent as a hurler. There must be countless players down through the decades who have served their club and county longer and with more distinction - why not honour them? Lynch was singled out because of his activities off the pitch and therein lies the problem: some people within the GAA think that a member of the provisional IRA is a suitable person to commemorate. The vast majority of people throughout the 32 counties view that organisation as  a bunch of murderers, on the same level as the UDA or UVF, rather than on the same level as the British Army, which is the comparison republicans (and only republicans) like to make.

I literally do not know what else to say.

The club is named so because he was a former member who died on hungerstrike. That is why it is named so.

They don't commemorate him because of the actions of the organisation with which he was a member. The sentiment isn't to celebrate INLA violence or killings. Kevin Lynch was never convicted of killing anyone. He was a local who died on hungerstrike. It is literally as simple as that. If you are saying that KL HC is named so simply because he was an INLA member then why aren't there clubs named after other PIRA/INLA members in Belfast, South Armagh, East Tyrone, South Derry etc.?

And yes you're correct, on occasion Republicans do like draw comparisons with the British Army; because some Unionists like yourself tend to forget that the role the British Army played here i.e. killing Nationalists, or helping Loyalists kill Nationalists.

1. I'm not a unionist
2. I'm well aware of the actions of the British Army here
3. The actions of the British Army do not excuse or justify IRA / INLA atrocities
4. What difference does it make that Kevin Lynch was never convicted of killing anyone? He joined the INLA, didn't he? I'm pretty sure that means he was willing to kill people. Whether or not he achieved what he set out to do is irrelevant.
5. Kevin Lynch 'was a local who died on hunger strike'. Is it as simple as that? Is everyone who goes on hunger strike and dies worthy of commemoration? If Lynch had been a convicted paedophile and had gone on hunger strike to protest about his prison conditions, would the local club still have been named after him had he died? No, I don't think so either. Honouring Lynch is not just about the hunger strike. It's about showing support and solidarity with the man and what he stood for. That's why it causes such a fuss. A national organisation like the GAA is allowing itself to be linked with the Droppin Wells bombers.

If you feel strongly enough you could:

1: Join your local Gaa club;
2: Propose a motion regarding all club names at it's AGM;
3: If your motion succeeds you could then bring it to Congress;
4: If it succeeds at Congress you are laughing.

OR

1. You could argue strongly about it anonymously on the internet.

[Myles Na G.]

There is little point arguing with this clown.

I had a look through his previous postings and on the same topic a number of years ago he referred to the GAA in NI as "basically Sinn Fein in football boots".

This from a man who claims not to be a Unionist.

An Irish nationalist is someone who believes that Ireland is one country which should be independent and governed as a 32 county state. It is possible to hold that view and, simultaneously, to be indifferent about gaelic games and Sinn Fein. So what point are you trying to make, clown?

[Main Street]

There is little point arguing with this clown.

I had a look through his previous postings and on the same topic a number of years ago he referred to the GAA in NI as "basically Sinn Fein in football boots".

This from a man who claims not to be a Unionist.

An Irish nationalist is someone who believes that Ireland is one country which should be independent and governed as a 32 county state. It is possible to hold that view and, simultaneously, to be indifferent about gaelic games and Sinn Fein. So what point are you trying to make, clown?

It's even possible to be a nationalist and be a right wing reactionary, idiot and a liar.
What are your probabilities, clown? A liar for sure and not just indifferent about gaelic games, totally ignorant about gaelic games. Never had  anything more than the slightest contact with gaelic games. It's not a question of  liking or having indifference to gaelic games, it's that you have what can only be regarded as a chronic  unionist antagonist connection to gaelic games one that is only associated with reactionary unionists. Usually, no matter what antipathy a person has to gaelic games, one can scratch a bit and see what's under it.
it's like your name,  a 99.9% probability that you  had not read Brian O'Nolan, before picking a pen name of his when registering here. It was picked to create a false impression.

[Myles Na G.]

There is little point arguing with this clown.

I had a look through his previous postings and on the same topic a number of years ago he referred to the GAA in NI as "basically Sinn Fein in football boots".

This from a man who claims not to be a Unionist.

An Irish nationalist is someone who believes that Ireland is one country which should be independent and governed as a 32 county state. It is possible to hold that view and, simultaneously, to be indifferent about gaelic games and Sinn Fein. So what point are you trying to make, clown?

It's even possible to be a nationalist and be a right wing reactionary, idiot and a liar.
What are your probabilities, clown? A liar for sure and not just indifferent about gaelic games, totally ignorant about gaelic games. Never had  anything more than the slightest contact with gaelic games. It's not a question of  liking or having indifference to gaelic games, it's that you have what can only be regarded as a chronic  unionist antagonist connection to gaelic games one that is only associated with reactionary unionists. Usually, no matter what antipathy a person has to gaelic games, one can scratch a bit and see what's under it.
it's like your name,  a 99.9% probability that you  had not read Brian O'Nolan, before picking a pen name of his when registering here. It was picked to create a false impression.

I'm indifferent to gaelic games, not antagonistic towards them at all. The actual games, that is. I played both gaelic football and hurling as a child, both at school and with a club. I lost interest as I got older, preferring both soccer and rugby. I still watch the odd gaelic football match on tv, but I wouldn't call myself a fan. The GAA as an organisation does antagonise me because I see it as a reactionary body stuck in the past and too close in politics to Sinn Fein. As for my interest in Myles - I've a decent 2:1 degree in English from a reputable British university that says that I have more than a passing interest in literature. What have you got, amadon?

[red hander]

There is little point arguing with this clown.

I had a look through his previous postings and on the same topic a number of years ago he referred to the GAA in NI as "basically Sinn Fein in football boots".

This from a man who claims not to be a Unionist.

An Irish nationalist is someone who believes that Ireland is one country which should be independent and governed as a 32 county state. It is possible to hold that view and, simultaneously, to be indifferent about gaelic games and Sinn Fein. So what point are you trying to make, clown?

It's even possible to be a nationalist and be a right wing reactionary, idiot and a liar.
What are your probabilities, clown? A liar for sure and not just indifferent about gaelic games, totally ignorant about gaelic games. Never had  anything more than the slightest contact with gaelic games. It's not a question of  liking or having indifference to gaelic games, it's that you have what can only be regarded as a chronic  unionist antagonist connection to gaelic games one that is only associated with reactionary unionists. Usually, no matter what antipathy a person has to gaelic games, one can scratch a bit and see what's under it.
it's like your name,  a 99.9% probability that you  had not read Brian O'Nolan, before picking a pen name of his when registering here. It was picked to create a false impression.

I'm indifferent to gaelic games, not antagonistic towards them at all. The actual games, that is. I played both gaelic football and hurling as a child, both at school and with a club. I lost interest as I got older, preferring both soccer and rugby. I still watch the odd gaelic football match on tv, but I wouldn't call myself a fan. The GAA as an organisation does antagonise me because I see it as a reactionary body stuck in the past and too close in politics to Sinn Fein. As for my interest in Myles - I've a decent 2:1 degree in English from a reputable British university that says that I have more than a passing interest in literature. What have you got, amadon?

Oooooh, get her! What a complete w**ker you are...

[brokencrossbar1]

Brolly's f**king dead right, it is nobodies business if a nationalist based organisation commemorates individuals who fought and died for their nation's independence. Queen's University, Craigavon and  many other 'namings' could be deemed offensive to nationalists, I don't see them shouting their mouths off about it.  It is time for people to accept that the 'Troubles' was a war and that there are people who died during it are deemed as heros by a lot of people.  The GAA should not be used as a political tool for tools like Allister. If you have a problem with it do what we were told to do with the RUC, join up and change from within,  if you're not prepared to that piss off with your opinions.

[Applesisapples]

Wonder what Joe feels about loyalist flute bands which carry the names of dearly departed sectarian killers on their drums / uniforms? Wonder if he feels that's noone else's business too? Wonder if he'd feel it was noone else's business if those same bands were receiving public funding for their activities and claiming to be 'reaching out' to nationalists at the same time?

You're a t**t, Joe. Sorry, but you are. If you can't see that naming grounds after members of the organisation responsible for La Mons, Shankill, Enniskillen, Teebane, Darkley, Kingsmill, etc etc etc while holding your hand out for tax payers money might be an issue, then you're a t**t.

Was Kevin Lynch a sectarian killer? McDonnell or Doherty sectarian killers?

I mean if Loyalists named their flutebands after a UVF man that died on hungerstrike then may be you'd have a point. If the GAA named clubs after individuals who actively engaged in sectarian killings then you'd have a point.

These men died on hungerstrike which was an emotive issue for the broader nationalist community, not just republicans. If you are unable to differentiate between the circumstances in which these men died (whether you agree or not with their politics) and the likes of the much eulogized Brian Robinson who randomly shot the first fenian he could find then maybe you are the t**t.

Kingsmill was sectarian, was it not? Prods lined up against a van, the sole Catholic identified and told to take himself off. If that isn't sectarian murder, then I don't know what is. Maybe not as random as Brian Robinson's attack, but hey, no brownie points for being better organised sectarian killers, eh? Darkley, an attack on prods in a prod church. Is that not sectarian? That's the organisation that the hunger strikers belonged to. One of the guns used at Kingsmill was linked to hunger striker  Raymond McCreesh.  The GAA should not allow itself to be linked to an organisation which committed such sectarian atrocities. It should not receive public funding while it does. Joe's an intelligent man, he should be able to see that. The fact that he can't makes him a t**t.

This has been done to death but....

As Joe Brolly clearly stated, Kevin Lynch hurled for both Derry and Dungiven with distinction.

Their decision to rename their club reflects the sentiment held in Dungiven at that time that a former and well decorated player such as KL was worthy of commemoration. Given the exceptional circumstances of his death, and that of the other hungerstrikers, I don't see anything untoward with ONE out of thousands of GAA clubs being re-named after a hungerstriker given the links he had with that club.

As for your examples of Darkley and Kingsmill; yes they were abhorrent sectarian crimes. Are they being glorified? NO. It's the exact same as me saying the laying of a wreath at a British Army war memorial is somehow glorifying Bloody Sunday or The Ballymurphy Massacre. Should wreath laying be discontinued because of the hurt, pain and killings inflicted on Nationalists by the British Army? What do you think?

The decision to name the club after Kevin Lynch has nothing to do with his talent as a hurler. There must be countless players down through the decades who have served their club and county longer and with more distinction - why not honour them? Lynch was singled out because of his activities off the pitch and therein lies the problem: some people within the GAA think that a member of the provisional IRA is a suitable person to commemorate. The vast majority of people throughout the 32 counties view that organisation as  a bunch of murderers, on the same level as the UDA or UVF, rather than on the same level as the British Army, which is the comparison republicans (and only republicans) like to make.

Are you Gregory Campbell? You certainly sound like him.

[Wildweasel74]

Dungiven just up the road from me, kevin Lynchs have have won alot of hurling championships in derry, the lads playing now will maybe be only vaguely aware of why the hurling is not called dungiven, they not care they are there to play hurling, the committee who renamed the hurling club and the reasons and political climate at the times it was understandable why they renamed the club, these days no club would name a club under a players name been guilty of certain activities, changed times, but to ask to rename the club now after 30 odd yrs who now has a hurling tradition that is wrong, should they have named the club after him, looking at it 30yrs later probably no but at the time its what Dungiven wanted.

My issue with renamed the club is that unionists are only using this to bitch about over the past couple of yrs when they cant get their ownway any more. Its up to Dungiven what they want to do with the name in the future, no the Gaa nobody brought it up to recently, why no southern outcry before.

The washington redskins are getting the same hassle to rename their team to was it deemed racist. On another matter was Eamon de Valera not in the Ira and responsible for peoples death, yet u picked him president of ireland, like i said circumstances change over time!!