Burns wants rid of Tricolour & Anthem to attract Protestants to GAA

[foxcommander]

I'm not an idiot

Steady on there....

[foxcommander]

I do like the anthem and the flag but I reckon a compromise could be reached. Say maybe only from quarter final stage???
Also, if they were done away with, how many Protestants/unionists would we attract

You have to think long term though. By itself it isn't going to get many unionists to play GAA but given how heightened in importance anthems and flags are in the north removing that obstacle makes efforts to be more inclusive in the future less likely to die on the rocks of something silly and not really of any functional importance to the sport's the GAA promotes and organises.

I fail to see the rush...some of you are tripping over yourselves to appease the british army and unionists..

[Eamonnca1]

I fail to see the rush...some of you are tripping over yourselves to appease the british army and unionists..

"Appease"? You make it sound like they just invaded Czechoslovakia.

[armaghniac]

I fail to see the rush...some of you are tripping over yourselves to appease the british army and unionists..

"Appease"? You make it sound like they just invaded Czechoslovakia.

They've invaded Ireland. In the view of some people here if you recently started abusing someone or someplace, that's a disgrace, if you've been doing it for years that's no problem (unless it is the Catholic church, of course).

[Eamonnca1]

Jesus Christ.

[T Fearon]

Interestingly the Protestant religious commentator of the Belfast Telegraph commended Jarlath in his column yesterday and said that many Protestants and Unionists like himself admire Gaelic Games but that the more people like Jarlath and Trevor Ringland attempt to depoliticise sport the better.

[6th sam]

I think the issue re the flag and anthem definitely needs exploration. I think it probably presents a bigger difficulty for the IRFU , as you have a situation where a significant percentage of players and supporters are from a unionist background, and yet play under a flag and anthem which , rightly or wrongly,  is perceived as being antagonistic towards their British community. But, interestingly the same could be said of "oh flower of Scotland " ,and that's often the nature of anthems.
The GAA is not , nor ever likely to be , a major global sport, this is for practical as opposed to sporting reasons . In Ireland however , GAA punches well above its weight, blowing major global sports out of the water, despite the obvious advantages these other sports enjoy from a marketing and financial perspective.
Why is this? I think the main reason for this , is that for a significant number of members ( and particularly those that organise and do the hard work in our  clubs ) the GAA is not just a sport, it's different, it's a manifestation of our national identity. This is a cultural as opposed to a political nationalism, as GAA members  come from a wide variety of political backgrounds eg Sinn féin, Sdlp , alliance and believe it or not, even unionist !
For many of us , we have a strong affinity to  our clubs, county and GAA as a whole , which no other sport enjoys in Ireland . I suppose the nearest you get to that depth and breadth of passion is supporters of some top historic soccer clubs eg Liverpool , Man United , Celtic , Newcastle etc, and in this country , both international soccer teams and the provincial and national rugby teams.
What I am trying to say , without being in anyway political, is that the GAA would be playing a very risky game if they dilute that sense of national pride .
Throughout the troubles, our own club had several players from Protestant and , I  imagine unionist backgrounds . I would like to think, the reason they played was that we were friends , and they felt as welcome and comfortable as anybody else. They were playing and enjoying sport among their mates, and their religious and political persuasion was irrelevant, we did not have to dilute our national identity to get them on board.
Speaking from a purely practical perspective, removing the flag and anthem is unlikely to attract droves of players and workers from the unionist community, but runs the risk of alienating GAA members , many of whom are the tireless workers whose sense of Irishness is an important part of their commitment to their club and the GAA as a whole.

[armaghniac]

Jesus Christ.

Nice to see some recognition of Sunday.

[Eamonnca1]

The identity that the GAA reinforces is more of a local and regional one rather than a national one. The traditional 32 counties of Ireland are long gone as far as local government is concerned, but their identity remains as strong as ever thanks mainly to the GAA and the sense of territorial allegiance that it thrives on. Local communities have inter-club rivalries that are deep rooted several generations back.

The national identity doesn't really come into play until you reach an all-Ireland final since it's a national occasion, but it's the culmination of a lot of regional scraps. Dropping the anthem and flag form a few games in the north isn't going to undermine anyone's pride in being an Armagh man or Down man or whatever. I think the association would soldier on just fine, just like it did after the peelers were allowed to play, just like it did after GSTQ was played before a soccer match in Croke Park, and just like it did after Queen Elizabeth paid a visit. All of these things that were going to "destroy the GAA as we know it," and here we are with an association that's never been stronger.

[omaghjoe]

The identity that the GAA reinforces is more of a local and regional one rather than a national one. The traditional 32 counties of Ireland are long gone as far as local government is concerned, but their identity remains as strong as ever thanks mainly to the GAA and the sense of territorial allegiance that it thrives on. Local communities have inter-club rivalries that are deep rooted several generations back.

The national identity doesn't really come into play until you reach an all-Ireland final since it's a national occasion, but it's the culmination of a lot of regional scraps. Dropping the anthem and flag form a few games in the north isn't going to undermine anyone's pride in being an Armagh man or Down man or whatever. I think the association would soldier on just fine, just like it did after the peelers were allowed to play, just like it did after GSTQ was played before a soccer match in Croke Park, and just like it did after Queen Elizabeth paid a visit. All of these things that were going to "destroy the GAA as we know it," and here we are with an association that's never been stronger.

We'd have to give the Orange Order a fair bit of credit for the county identity as well Eamonn, and sure wouldn't the apple chompers still be playing in their jumpers only for them.

[ashman]

As a southerner I find that if you meet someone abroad from PUL community and ask what part are they from they often identify town and city. Most CNRs generally say whatever county.

[rrhf]

The identity that the GAA reinforces is more of a local and regional one rather than a national one. The traditional 32 counties of Ireland are long gone as far as local government is concerned, but their identity remains as strong as ever thanks mainly to the GAA and the sense of territorial allegiance that it thrives on. Local communities have inter-club rivalries that are deep rooted several generations back.

The national identity doesn't really come into play until you reach an all-Ireland final since it's a national occasion, but it's the culmination of a lot of regional scraps. Dropping the anthem and flag form a few games in the north isn't going to undermine anyone's pride in being an Armagh man or Down man or whatever. I think the association would soldier on just fine, just like it did after the peelers were allowed to play, just like it did after GSTQ was played before a soccer match in Croke Park, and just like it did after Queen Elizabeth paid a visit. All of these things that were going to "destroy the GAA as we know it," and here we are with an association that's never been stronger.

Bollicks we are shafting our clubs and their  players to suit intercounty . There's no money in the club games and the approach is wrong and shortsighted because the club people bring undying loyalty and a conveyor belt of talent and support to the GAA.  That is being walked over year in year out and will cost the GAA dearly.  That supercedes any other issue the GAA faces

[ashman]

The identity that the GAA reinforces is more of a local and regional one rather than a national one. The traditional 32 counties of Ireland are long gone as far as local government is concerned, but their identity remains as strong as ever thanks mainly to the GAA and the sense of territorial allegiance that it thrives on. Local communities have inter-club rivalries that are deep rooted several generations back.

The national identity doesn't really come into play until you reach an all-Ireland final since it's a national occasion, but it's the culmination of a lot of regional scraps. Dropping the anthem and flag form a few games in the north isn't going to undermine anyone's pride in being an Armagh man or Down man or whatever. I think the association would soldier on just fine, just like it did after the peelers were allowed to play, just like it did after GSTQ was played before a soccer match in Croke Park, and just like it did after Queen Elizabeth paid a visit. All of these things that were going to "destroy the GAA as we know it," and here we are with an association that's never been stronger.

Bollicks we are shafting our clubs and their  players to suit intercounty . There's no money in the club games and the approach is wrong and shortsighted because the club people bring undying loyalty and a conveyor belt of talent and support to the GAA.  That is being walked over year in year out and will cost the GAA dearly.  That supercedes any other issue the GAA faces

Great post !

[armaghniac]

Only 6, or maybe 7, of the traditional counties are gone as far as local government is concerned, but in a lot of these discussions 6 > 26, it seems, or maybe things are different in California.

The strength of the GAA is that you have your local identity, club, you combine for county, and counties combine in the national association.

[From the Bunker]

The identity that the GAA reinforces is more of a local and regional one rather than a national one. The traditional 32 counties of Ireland are long gone as far as local government is concerned, but their identity remains as strong as ever thanks mainly to the GAA and the sense of territorial allegiance that it thrives on. Local communities have inter-club rivalries that are deep rooted several generations back.

The national identity doesn't really come into play until you reach an all-Ireland final since it's a national occasion, but it's the culmination of a lot of regional scraps. Dropping the anthem and flag form a few games in the north isn't going to undermine anyone's pride in being an Armagh man or Down man or whatever. I think the association would soldier on just fine, just like it did after the peelers were allowed to play, just like it did after GSTQ was played before a soccer match in Croke Park, and just like it did after Queen Elizabeth paid a visit. All of these things that were going to "destroy the GAA as we know it," and here we are with an association that's never been stronger.

Bollicks we are shafting our clubs and their  players to suit intercounty . There's no money in the club games and the approach is wrong and shortsighted because the club people bring undying loyalty and a conveyor belt of talent and support to the GAA.  That is being walked over year in year out and will cost the GAA dearly.  That supercedes any other issue the GAA faces

Great post !

Agreed (Greed!)