GAA Outreach in Action...

[Wildweasel74]

Myles if as you have said you haven't much of an interest in the gaa would do you bother with this forum, i have noticed on other topics u bring aloot of friction with certain posters, sometimes i agree with u other times not, i have a big interest in the gaa and can understand why i post on here, i don't know why u bother if u have only a passing interest. Are u not better posting on soccer or rugby forums if that's what u into??

[muppet]

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!!

Agree.

There is a difference, from a Gaa Club using a name offensive to Unionists which let's face it, has little or no impact on them versus their long history of demonstrations which cause chaos to everyone, including the economy on which they themselves rely.

[michaelg]

Myles if as you have said you haven't much of an interest in the gaa would do you bother with this forum, i have noticed on other topics u bring aloot of friction with certain posters, sometimes i agree with u other times not, i have a big interest in the gaa and can understand why i post on here, i don't know why u bother if u have only a passing interest. Are u not better posting on soccer or rugby forums if that's what u into??

He is posting in the Non-GAA Discussion section.

[T Fearon]

Reading this thread I would make the following observations.

Technically Brolly and others are right.It's no one's business other than the individual club's, who they choose to name themselves after.

But,unfortunately this does have wider ramifications about how the club, and by extension, the association is perceived by non GAA communities.

Now we know all about the arguments, discrimination,abuse meted out to GAA members by security forces,loyalist paramilitaries,but we are where we are,in 2013, and if we are seeking to build bridges,it might be better if clubs steered clear of politics altogether in terms of names,tournaments etc.

Would we not all be up in arms (pardon the pun) if Shankhill Lenny Murphys were competing in a local junior soccer league.Would any of us think of even joining such a club?

[brokencrossbar1]

Ok lads own up,  who worked out Tonys password?

[Wildweasel74]

yes it doesnt sit well with some, even when i was young i didnt know why dungiven hurling was Kevin lynchs, i thought it was a team outside dungiven, i didnt know any better, to come now to this club and tell them to change their name for the better good of the gaa will not work, it will actually have the opposite effect round dungiven and they will never drop it and would probably just stop hurling if forced to change it by the gaa authorities. the gaa is been getting lotto funding etc but has dungiven ever got any which seems to be an easy brush to beat them with. Abit of tact from J brolly was required on the issue, but asking a gaa man and not a dungiven man would probably have went down better, the bbc knew brollys stance before they even asked him given his father background.

Compare this to Robinson underhand outbrust about selling land to Catholics, which deserved the more air time saying Robinson supposed to represent all of the north communities, but is as sectarian as they come only in a very underhand way, too worried about the money more than anything

[grounded]

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.

If you take your argument to its logical conclusion you will have to include Sam Maguire, Dan Breen, Casement Park, Sarsfields, Wolfe Tone's, John Mitchels etc and rename the lot of them. If not, were do you want to draw the line? Who gets to define who were the Good Republicans and who were the Bad ones? Like you say at the heart of the GAA are the small Parishes dotted throughout the country. The clubs themselves are defined by the people that live in that area and their experiences. Like it or not, in the North many of those experiences involved the troubles and the memories are still fairly painful on both sides. Time heals all wounds. View if any people would bat an eyelid at the Dan Breen Cup. Who's to say in 15 - 20 years time it won't be the same for the Kevin Lynch's Club. I often feel that as an organisation we in the GAA are obsessed with the opinions of others and how we are perceived.  I mean considering what some members of the Clergy perpetrated against the people should we start removing Religious names from grounds/trophies as well? 
            In my opinion Joe Brolly was right, it really is no one else's business.         

[theticklemister]

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?

I never seen a worse post on this board in my life.

[T Fearon]

So we have Robinson misquoted (he never said land shouldn't be sold to Catholics/republicans/ nationalists,merely pointed out Allister's hypocrisy) and whataboutery.

As I said,I don't think any GAA clubs should be named after anyone with political affiliations,as to do so will obviously leave it open to accusations of being partisan.

[dillinger]

Reading this thread I would make the following observations.

Technically Brolly and others are right.It's no one's business other than the individual club's, who they choose to name themselves after.

But,unfortunately this does have wider ramifications about how the club, and by extension, the association is perceived by non GAA communities.

Now we know all about the arguments, discrimination,abuse meted out to GAA members by security forces,loyalist paramilitaries,but we are where we are,in 2013, and if we are seeking to build bridges,it might be better if clubs steered clear of politics altogether in terms of names,tournaments etc.

Would we not all be up in arms (pardon the pun) if Shankhill Lenny Murphys were competing in a local junior soccer league.Would any of us think of even joining such a club?

Tony, i think you are correct in all your points there.

I as a Unionist don't expect or even dare i say it, believe these clubs should be re named.

I don't believe any more clubs or trophies in the future should be named after people
who most people view as terrorists though.

To do this in the future only gives ammo to GAA haters.

Jim Allister is a twat anyway and Joe Brolly just loves to get him-self in print/press.

[T Fearon]

The GAA is not about appeasing unionists or anyone else.If is about outreach though,hey there was a big dinner last Thursday celebrating this! Unfortunately though this is being hampered somewhat by the names controversy.

I think it's also unfair to name any club after a deceased member.After all,who is to say that any deceased member is better than any other or more deserving than any other as an accolade.

No doubt the names issue will go, as did the ban on foreign games,playing foreign games at Croke Park,ban on British forces etc, all went, in the name of progress and ensuring grant money flows on.

[T Fearon]

That's back to whataboutery again I'm afraid.

[glens abu]

I'm gonna be honest here. Since when was the GAA about appeasing Unionists?

+1

[Aaron Boone]

Never had time for Brolly, never will.
He's sitting now on Malone Road laughing at the new debate he's caused.

[armaghniac]

Are they going to rename Craigavon?