Hunger strike commemoration at a GAA ground

[Zapatista]

People with long memories will also remember when Sinn Fein used GAA clubs as recruitment grounds for volunteers at the time of the hunger strikes.
Now I was about a year old, and can only go on what I've been told by my father. But he fought to keep Sinn Fein out at the time, and luckily succeeded.

Why does being Irish have to involve some sort of political struggle? All my nationalist tendancies have been and are based on the Irish culture:  language, sport, music, dance. Similar to what I believe the GAA is based on. Irish by what we do in our everyday lives, not by aligning ourselves with past 'heroes'. 

Maybe this is a generation thing. And it's prob right and good that the generation who weren't around at the time are coming along behind.   

SF recruiting at a GAA ground in the 80s makes perfest sense. I'd say they were doing the same at mass. People trying to keep them out makes sense too.


I feel lucky that I'm not a Nationalist and therefore not caught up in a silly Nationalist struggle. However, I do like to commemorate the hungerstrikers who give their lives for Human Rights.

[JMohan]

I'm not sure which are worse - The Unionists who look for any excuse to be offended or the Pro-Unionist-West-Brit-Huggers in the Free State supporting them who take their freedom and freedom of expression for granted and.

Easy to know none of them have been harassed or abused going to training or mass down through the years, have had innocent colleagues shot through the back of the head going for cigarettes, been stopped and cars stripped to bits for no reason, denied basic human rights or have not been able to get work because their 'face doesn't fit'.

These are the same people are all too happy to condemn Sinn Fein, the IRA and the like but sing Provo songs on holidays in the Canaries and clap when a few drug dealers get summary justice when the Gardai do nothing about it.   

Get over it, sure the GAA shouldn't be used nor should it be politicized and we'd all love to keep politics and sport apart, but we don't all have the benefit of 70 years of democracy to be able to do it. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have screwed around more with the GAA and used it more than anyone so get over it and move on.

[glens abu]

Great credit has to be given to the Gallbally Gaa and the local community for helping to stage a great tribute to the brave men who gave their lives on hunger strike for the greater good.Who cares what Nelson and all other anti republicans think.Martin Hurson and the other hunger strikers were part of our community so they will always be remembered in the best way possible and if that means using GAA property then so be it.

[lynchbhoy]

They shouldnt be involved in organising political events, no.

I dont believe it was a political event. It was a commemoration to mark the death of one of the Hunger Strikers.

If a political party thinks centre stage it's a political event.

Why? If the Green part Organised tree planting in Galbally would that make the planting of trees a political event?

SF (or any other party) do not own the Hungerstrikers. The Hunger strike is a huge part of our history and one Worth educating all the people of the island on, in particular the young. To highlight it by way of commemoration and generate discussion around it is a success. We might do better to remember the Hungerstrikers rather than the side show of SF, the SDlP, rule 7a and McCausland.

you'd have a job convincing sinn fein of that...

a bit daft n'est pas?
as the hunger strikers pre-date the current sf format.
What was there was hastily thrown up to participate in the 1981 Irish general election

so sf can claim all they like, its a bit like england claiming part of Ireland - without merit or real ownership and eventually to go back to the real owners!

[glens abu]

Sinn Fein don't claim the hunger strikers,they commemorate them and always will as a lot of the present leadership were their comrades both inside and outside the prison.I would love to see the day that everyone on this island would get out, organise or take part in commemorations to the strikers.

[lynchbhoy]

Luckily, not everyone has short memories!

People with long memories will also remember when Sinn Fein used GAA clubs as recruitment grounds for volunteers at the time of the hunger strikes.
Now I was about a year old, and can only go on what I've been told by my father. But he fought to keep Sinn Fein out at the time, and luckily succeeded.

Why does being Irish have to involve some sort of political struggle? All my nationalist tendancies have been and are based on the Irish culture:  language, sport, music, dance. Similar to what I believe the GAA is based on. Irish by what we do in our everyday lives, not by aligning ourselves with past 'heroes'. 

Maybe this is a generation thing. And it's prob right and good that the generation who weren't around at the time are coming along behind.   

political parties will use any events (IFA, spring show, ploughing championships etc etc) to garner supporters if there is something they can ride on the coat tails of.
Right now when things are bad in the economy, enda kenny appears to lambast ff at any high profile event from teacher conferences to the aforementioned ploughing championships.
Sure the parties even collect for their own coffers outside the gates of mass once a year! Or used to at least.Dont see it as much if at all in dublin.

The GAA kept out of the political thing at that time too.

While a lot of people dont like the notion of GAA grounds being used, this obv does not transgress the current ruling.
Maybe a motion needs to go to congress next year. Then there will be a bit of a row as ff/fg et al wont be happy that they can no longer use GAA grounds and have a central location in each and every parish in the country in the 32 counties. I dont know what the percentage is as to who doesnt mind our grounds being used,but I would not expect enough support for the current rule to be overturned.

Also I didnt see any objection to Jimmy Deenihan, Sean Kelly and John omahony who were very much high profile GAA men in their respective couties and roles yet were known to be heading over to run for FG in elections (and all got elected).
If there is anything borderline political , then surely this is the example rather than idle grounds and buildings being called 'political.

Until the GAA rule is broken, then its all just personal dislike of the usage. No more. No less.

[lynchbhoy]

Sinn Fein don't claim the hunger strikers,they commemorate them and always will as a lot of the present leadership were their comrades both inside and outside the prison.I would love to see the day that everyone on this island would get out, organise or take part in commemorations to the strikers.

true enough, but only because no one else makes the effort to commemorate them.
Eventually as you say , with reunification, the Irish Gov will then do something about it like the 1916 men who are only in recent years being venerated and commemorated instead of being villified.
Sf wont be able to continue to hijack it then.

[glens abu]

don't think they hijack anything,I think they help organise them as I think the IRSP and others organise as well its only that more attend the Sinn Fein events as they are the bigger party.Seven of the hunger strikers were members of the same Republican movement as Sinn Fein but they commemorate all 10 but don't try to hide the fact that the other 3 were INLA members and had nothing to do with their movement.

[DuffleKing]

Until the GAA rule is broken, then its all just personal dislike of the usage. No more. No less.

Surely the foollwing is direct evidence of a contravention of GAA rules:

I  was at the commemoration in Galbally on sunday the 16th August and can understand the opposition to the event by a number of posters . First and foremost yes It was sinn fein organised commemoration . secondly it was in the  grounds of the football field as well as the community centre and thirdly it dd involve sppeches from politicians reiterating the struggles of the hunger strikers and the relevant political views held by Sinn Fein.  Lets not beat about the bush here that what it was .

while i commend much of what rionach says about the hunger strikers, it is entirely irrelevent to this debate.

[DuffleKing]

I'm not sure which are worse - The Unionists who look for any excuse to be offended or the Pro-Unionist-West-Brit-Huggers in the Free State supporting them who take their freedom and freedom of expression for granted and.

Easy to know none of them have been harassed or abused going to training or mass down through the years, have had innocent colleagues shot through the back of the head going for cigarettes, been stopped and cars stripped to bits for no reason, denied basic human rights or have not been able to get work because their 'face doesn't fit'.

These are the same people are all too happy to condemn Sinn Fein, the IRA and the like but sing Provo songs on holidays in the Canaries and clap when a few drug dealers get summary justice when the Gardai do nothing about it.   

Get over it, sure the GAA shouldn't be used nor should it be politicized and we'd all love to keep politics and sport apart, but we don't all have the benefit of 70 years of democracy to be able to do it. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have screwed around more with the GAA and used it more than anyone so get over it and move on.

You see, it's gobshites like you who give northerners a bad name.

I'd wager rightly that i've suffered at least as much as the next man at the hands of the brits and had football interfered with by them far too many times to mention. that is irrelevent.
making the GAA some sort of totem poll for militancy, particularly at a time when we're inching closer to a more entwined community makes no sense in either a sporting or political sense.

[lynchbhoy]

Until the GAA rule is broken, then its all just personal dislike of the usage. No more. No less.

Surely the foollwing is direct evidence of a contravention of GAA rules:

I  was at the commemoration in Galbally on sunday the 16th August and can understand the opposition to the event by a number of posters . First and foremost yes It was sinn fein organised commemoration . secondly it was in the  grounds of the football field as well as the community centre and thirdly it dd involve sppeches from politicians reiterating the struggles of the hunger strikers and the relevant political views held by Sinn Fein.  Lets not beat about the bush here that what it was .

while i commend much of what rionach says about the hunger strikers, it is entirely irrelevent to this debate.

aw come on
where in that piece does it say that GAA people are making or endorsing what anyone from sf says ?
THAT would be breaking the rules.

re-read that rule you posted. From what rionach describes above there is still nothing tha contravenes the rule.
Do you not read what you post yourself ?
Unless something political eminates from GAA mouths or on behalf of the GAA or that GAA people in their capacity as GAA representatives endorse what political stuff has been said, then there still as yet and to my knowledge has never been, a breaking of the rules.
If that was the case then the culprit should be taken to task.
However so far this is all peoples reaction to their dislike of GAA premises and grounds being used.
Ergo, the GAA are NOT a political organisation and these are NOt politicising the GAA !
If anyone can come up with something different, no amount of rewording or whinging about this will make it so.

[DuffleKing]

You don't think the Galbally club has "taken part" in this event?

[lynchbhoy]

You don't think the Galbally club has "taken part" in this event?

was the clubhouse waving sf banners or something?
PEOPLE took part in the event who could be members of the GAA as well as members of the master bakers of Ireland association, it does NOT indicate or mean that the GAA have supported or endorsed this (or that the master bakers of Ireland support ay political event or support sf etc etc etc).
as I said you can try to word and indicate where you like but so far there has been nothing that contravenes the GAA rules and nothing that politicises the GAA .
FFS !

You are going a bit dougal-esque here !

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Barry McElduff in the Irish News yesterday said that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have both recently held political events in GAA grounds in the South. If that is true then I don't see the issue with Sinn Féin doing the same thing though it would be fair to say I think that there would be have been historically more SF events at GAA grounds / clubhouses in the north than FF / FG events at GAA venues in the South.

Basically I think Croke Park needs to provide some clarification and guidance here. Does the hiring of GAA grounds / property to a political party for their use for a limited period of time for events organised by that party breach the GAA rules? If so, then the practice should stop and there should be no hiring of venues by SF, FG, FF, the SDLP or indeed the DUP or UUP were they so inclined.

My own view would be that it would be preferable to allow clubs to continue to hire their property to political parties. As well as enforcing our role as a provider of community facilities, it is a small income stream. But obviously this should apply to all parties.

[rrhf]

Rightly or wrongly there would be those who would see the playing of the  English Anthem at Croke Park as more offensive than a hungerstrike commemoration at Pearse Park, and Im sure the opposite applies.  Each to their own is probably the best way forward.