Protestants and The GAA

[deiseach]

While beating ourselves up over the displays of Popery that infest the GAA (and I'll admit that at best they're corny, at worst they're off-putting), the issue of Protestant schools and the GAA always seems be be glossed over. I've recently added to the Protestant population of Ireland and while it is going to be a few years before it is something that needs to be addressed, I'm wondering whether sending him to the local CoI primary school might clash with a desire to play Gaelic games. If you're only playing hurling at the club and all other things are equal, are you worse off than those who play in their schools as well? It might never be an issue - maybe he'll be into ballet - but when the school of a Tipperary All-Ireland hurling winning captain and Dublin football captain doesn't have a hurling or a football team, something is not right.

[Mayo4Sam]

We've had a prodestant head of the GAA

I've lived in the north and its much more of an issue up there, understandably so.
At home its not really, I still see my parents generation would reference someone if they were CoI, usually followed by "but they're decent people", its a generation thing I suppose, their parents would have fought for Ireland.
I have a presbeterian brother in law, south african, and another sister seeing a CoI man, neither is an issue in our house, but my gf used to date a prodestant and would say it was an issue for her, she wants her kids raised catholic

[Milltown Row2]

I've been married to a prod for years, kids go to the local school which is mixed, not intergrated. They came to the club tried and aren't fussed on camogie or ladies football, mad keen on hockey now and I'm just happy they are playing sport. Though they do play hockey in their Naomh Gall tops (sponsored by a Prod firm).

A lot of my friends from where I reside now are mad rugby men who are keen on Gaelic games and would be up to date on the bigger games and would ask me regularly how my team would be getting on. In the estates I know it is a lot different and this is fed by the parents who lived on the 'Gaa is the IRA at play' slogans, which has been used to kill many a Gaa clubman over the years.

Prods here in the north won't accept it in the main, I would love it to be different as Antrim as a county would benefit from having a wider pool of players to pick from but I can't see it happening unless it's through more mixed marriages (mixed marriages but we both aren't practicing any religion)

I remember getting a call from the wife telling me there was a full scale hurling match going on in the street, my kids got all the sticks and helmets from the garage and handed them out to their friends and they had an organised hurling match in the street!! they could only find a first touch ball which possibly saved me a few pounds in broken windows which would have been the case with ordinary ball.

If the kids were allowed to think for themselves we'd have a better place, unfortunately they are fed crap all their days and that's all they know

[deiseach]

Thanks for the insight, Milltown Row2, +1.

[Jinxy]

Protestants make great wing forwards.

[Fuzzman]

Myself & a Derry man used to live in the middle of a very loyalist area in Rosetta Belfast.
There were UVF flags often on display and whilst we never had any problems we were always wary of showing our colours even in our cars.

One day we were going to Casement to a Derry v Armagh game and when we walked out to the car, one of the neighbours, a man in his 60's, shouts over to us
"Good luck in the big game today boys"

[Lecale2]

a very loyalist area in Rosetta Belfast.

The same Rosetta area where you see kids carrying hurls & wearing GAA tops every day?

[glens abu]

As I have said before played for a St.Endas team in the 70,s at the height of our troubles and we had at least 4/5 Prods playing for us along with guys who went to jail for involvement with the IRA.St Endas had a few bomb attacks by Loyalists during this time and have had members killed but it never stopped these guys being part of the club.Have never known of anything of a sectarian nature that has  been said to them over the years and feel very proud of that.

[Applesisapples]

Time the GAA side lined religion. Although as I've said on another thread the national identity woven into gaelic games in the north is very important to the nationalist community. on a side issue I've always felt myself more anglican than catholic in terms of belief but I object to the COI praying for the Queen (or president in the ROI) and its fondness for flying flags both in side and out.

[AQMP]

As I have said before played for a St.Endas team in the 70,s at the height of our troubles and we had at least 4/5 Prods playing for us along with guys who went to jail for involvement with the IRA.St Endas had a few bomb attacks by Loyalists during this time and have had members killed but it never stopped these guys being part of the club.Have never known of anything of a sectarian nature that has  been said to them over the years and feel very proud of that.

I always wondered who it was put the broken glass on the pitch!

[screenexile]

Talking about Religion and the GAA Mickey Harte is a wile man for the auld Religion!!

[Fuzzman]

The same Rosetta area where you see kids carrying hurls & wearing GAA tops every day?

Maybe it has changed since I lived there
There was no way I was gonna wear my Tyrone shirt down here despite the red hand symbol they all love.
http://goo.gl/maps/1UFc0

[johnneycool]

The same Rosetta area where you see kids carrying hurls & wearing GAA tops every day?

Maybe it has changed since I lived there
There was no way I was gonna wear my Tyrone shirt down here despite the red hand symbol they all love.
http://goo.gl/maps/1UFc0

That's the road from Rosetta down into the Cregagh road, had a look at a few houses in there way back in the early 00's, quickly decided getting the hurls in and out of the boot of the car on a july evening wouldn't be a good idea. I think I viewed a house in under 5 minutes down there.

[snoopdog]

The same Rosetta area where you see kids carrying hurls & wearing GAA tops every day?

Maybe it has changed since I lived there
There was no way I was gonna wear my Tyrone shirt down here despite the red hand symbol they all love.
http://goo.gl/maps/1UFc0

what ground would the floodlights in the distance be as a matter of interest

[fingerbob]

The same Rosetta area where you see kids carrying hurls & wearing GAA tops every day?

Maybe it has changed since I lived there
There was no way I was gonna wear my Tyrone shirt down here despite the red hand symbol they all love.
http://goo.gl/maps/1UFc0

what ground would the floodlights in the distance be as a matter of interest

Ravenhill. You'll also notice that area is a stones throw from cherryvale which is where Bredagh play.