The GAA - A Good or Bad Influence in Ireland

gooch2k9

hotmail.com wrote: »

That was the intention of the rule when it was founded in the 1880s - to ban English sports. They used the term "foreign" specifically to dig at soccer and rugby being English sports and to undermine that England was a foreign country.

So the GAA realises that the sport is extremely vulnerable to soccer.

Thats true, as evidenced by areas of Ireland where soccer is the dominant sport. No denying that.

The GAA's purpose is to promote Gaelic games, which cricket, rugby and soccer aren't. They are the games of a foreign people, especially true at that time. Less so now, globalisation and so on.

As I said, it just so happens that the competing sports were English ones, what other ones would there be?

On an aside I love rugby and like playing soccer, so I don't have any grudge against them or anything, but I can see a good reason for Rule 42.

hotmail.com

gooch2k9 wrote: »

Thats true, as evidenced by areas of Ireland where soccer is the dominant sport. No denying that.

The GAA's purpose is to promote Gaelic games, which cricket, rugby and soccer aren't. They are the games of a foreign people, especially true at that time. Less so now, globalisation and so on.

As I said, it just so happens that the competing sports were English ones, what other ones would there be?

On an aside I love rugby and like playing soccer, so I don't have any grudge against them or anything, but I can see a good reason for Rule 42.

What sort of message does it send out to children to hear that a fundamental rule of the GAA is to ban English sports from playing in GAA facilities...hardly the most inclusive message.

jonniebgood1

hotmail.com wrote: »

What sort of message does it send out to children to hear that a fundamental rule of the GAA is to ban English sports from playing in GAA facilities...hardly the most inclusive message.

You are too hung up on this. It is not a ban on 'english' sports so you are incorrect to assert this. Also it is a ridiculous rule that you are referring to, i.e. the GAA are rightly ridiculed for it and have been since the 1940's.

gooch2k9

hotmail.com wrote: »

What sort of message does it send out to children to hear that a fundamental rule of the GAA is to ban English sports from playing in GAA facilities...hardly the most inclusive message.

Fundamental rule of life more so. Don't assist your competitors. Its stupid they don't capitalise on the facilities they have by renting them out, which would give them funds to reinvest but they obviously feel this would do more harm than good.

jonniebgood1

hotmail.com wrote: »

Looking into the context of the situation seems like you're trying to excuse their disgraceful past. They had the ban on members of the RIC, then the RUC, in place from the beginning...not as some people think as a reaction to the Troubles. The police in the North picked on the GAA because the GAA had aligned themselves politically with the nationalist cause. The GAA were to blame for that (not excusing the behaviour of the police).

Can you please provide examples of this and sources.

hotmail.com wrote: »

They still have in their rulebook the rule regarding English sports being played in GAA facilities. I find this deeply offensive to our nearest neighbour.

Please provide example of the rule with specific regard to 'english' sports. I am not aware of this reference but am quite open to being corrected as I am not totally up to date with their rules.

hotmail.com wrote: »

So many people have bought into this concept, because I can't see any other reason for intelligent people supporting a sport that is so fundamentally flawed, that it makes it silly to watch.

This is just a foolish point. People play tiddlywinks because they enjoy it. People play and watch cricket because they enjoy it. GAA sport is the same.

overshoot

hotmail.com wrote: »

Even the use of the term "parish" which you mention is a sign of close religious ties that the organisation has, something that I feel is unhelpful in a modern republic.

Plus, isn't the sport itself totally flawed, dysfunctional, disorganised and inconsistent?

i reckon its a bit harsh to have a go at parish link. the plan was to inbed clubs in every local community. in the late 1800s when a formal gaa was set up how many other formal systems of division were there on that scale?
i think your last line would work much better with the FAI. seeing how the handle everything from internationals to LOI they are a mess, the standard of refereeing is abysmal.
i dont think the gaa can be called dysfunctional and disorganised when you look at the 82,300 stadium they hold along with how many other 30-56000 stadiums(and another 40k all seater on the way in belfast). most fairly basic but who goes to matches for facilities when they enjoy the sport? (those who do i dont consider a loss) either way something is definately working for them.

WesternZulu

I think that if you are from the North you view the GAA differently to that of people in the Republic.

Like say a person from Mayo like me, when I was growing up Gaelic Football was just viewed as a sport like any other.
There was no sectarianism associated with the sport as why would there, there id no divide down here like there is in the North.
People down here don't see a person in a GAA jersey and think he/she is a Catholic, just there is a person wearing a sports top.

To say the GAA has not been historically important to the island of Ireland would be pretty ignorant.
No doubt some of its policies have been shameful but that can be said for a lot of sports associations, eg South African Rugby Union. No sporting organisation that I know of is whiter than white.

I do not know how you can say that the sports are not skillful, hurling is probably one of the most skillful games in the world where even the basics of the game cannot be just picked up on a whim.
Football on the other hand does offer a great balance between skill and physicality.

Judgement Day

WesternZulu - people down here may not think like that but the chances are that the person wearing the jersey is a Roman Catholic. I don't have a single Protestant friend/acquaintance or relative who plays/played GAA or attends matches and I live in the Republic. GAA is like the Irish language the preserve of the native Irish with a few high profile exceptions and that's just the way things are.
I agree with you about the skills required to play the game - no different to any other sport in that respect.

mossyc123

hotmail.com wrote: »

Are Catholics the only real Irish people in your view?

No.

Wasn't aware of a ban on Protestants playing Gaelic Games.

People who supported the oppresive State apparatus in NI were banned.

Not Protestants as a whole.

hotmail.com

Judgement Day wrote: »

WesternZulu - people down here may not think like that but the chances are that the person wearing the jersey is a Roman Catholic. I don't have a single Protestant friend/acquaintance or relative who plays/played GAA or attends matches and I live in the Republic. GAA is like the Irish language the preserve of the native Irish with a few high profile exceptions and that's just the way things are.
I agree with you about the skills required to play the game - no different to any other sport in that respect.

Good post. The cultural/political/religious is part and parcel of the GAA and I don't think it provides a good example to children. It promotes segregation, resists change at every chance and has political leanings.

A sport should be about the sport and that's it. Two teams, best side wins. No baggage.

hotmail.com

mossyc123 wrote: »

No.

Wasn't aware of a ban on Protestants playing Gaelic Games.

People who supported the oppresive State apparatus in NI were banned.

Not Protestants as a whole.

Thus, the GAA got involved in politics. Sporting organisations should stay away from politics.

Well what are the real Irish in your view?

hotmail.com

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Can you please provide examples of this and sources.


Please provide example of the rule with specific regard to 'english' sports. I am not aware of this reference but am quite open to being corrected as I am not totally up to date with their rules.


This is just a foolish point. People play tiddlywinks because they enjoy it. People play and watch cricket because they enjoy it. GAA sport is the same.

Tiddlywinks and cricket have clear and defined rules. GAA doesn't.

Here's just one link for you. This is taken from an Irish Times artice:

The tendency for the GAA to take conflicted positions was most visible in the wake of the 1998 Omagh bomb. Many of its members were among the dead and injured, and the GAA was the single biggest contributor to the appeal fund set up for the families of the victims and the wounded. But at the same time the association could not sanction playing a series of fundraising soccer friendlies involving English Premiership sides on its grounds in Omagh, just a few hundred metres from the scene of last Saturday’s bomb attack. The games were played instead on a soccer pitch in the town with a significantly smaller capacity. As a result the GAA was widely criticised

Now, this was in 1998, not in some far distant era. Is this the type of organisation children should get involved in?

mossyc123

hotmail.com wrote: »

Thus, the GAA got involved in politics. Sporting organisations should stay away from politics.

Well what are the real Irish in your view?

People who aren't Unionists.

People who have an inherent belief that Ireland should be governed from Ireland (despite how we might have fecked it up!) whether from just Dublin or from Dublin and Belfast.

Anyone who takes a contrary view to this puts their Britishness ahead of their Irishness and can feck off to their "Mainland" as far as im concerned.

hotmail.com

mossyc123 wrote: »

People who aren't Unionists.

People who have an inherent belief that Ireland should be governed from Ireland (despite how we might have fecked it up!) whether from just Dublin or from Dublin and Belfast.

Anyone who takes a contrary view to this puts their Britishness ahead of their Irishness and can feck off to their "Mainland" as far as im concerned.

So people that don't want an independent Ireland can't play GAA according to you. Are you serious? It's meant to be a sport, not a political movement.

jonniebgood1

hotmail.com wrote: »

Tiddlywinks and cricket have clear and defined rules. GAA doesn't.

Your whole argument is poorly informed as illustrated by this.

The quoted comment by you states that the GAA does not have clearly defined rules. This link is part of the GAA's defined rules.

Now I agree that there are problems with the GAA officialdom with foolish rules like not letting other sports use facilities, etc. But the problem here is that people are assuming that the problems with sectarian divisions in sport in Northern Ireland are reflective of the whole country which I do not accept. They do exist in the north which is unfortunate but this is true also of other sports- look at the NI soccer team when Neil Lennon played.

From a moderation point of view this thread is in the history forum so it should look at this from a historical point of view. If it does not cover the historical context then I will have to move it to either the GAA forum or elsewhere. The title of the thread should be explored in this way.

mossyc123

hotmail.com wrote: »

So people that don't want an independent Ireland can't play GAA according to you. Are you serious? It's meant to be a sport, not a political movement.

You asked me who I thought the Real Irish were and I answered honestly.

I don't really care what the political affiliations are of anyone who plays/is involved in GAA.

jonniebgood1

mossyc123 wrote: »

Anyone who takes a contrary view to this puts their Britishness ahead of their Irishness and can feck off to their "Mainland" as far as im concerned.

This is trolling mossy and not welcome on this forum. Any more of this and you will get infraction. Refer to our forum charter.

Moderator

BrianBoru00

Basic Aim
The Association is a National Organisation which has as
its basic aim the strengthening of the National Identity
in a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and
promotion of Gaelic Games and pastimes.

hotmail.com , Are you a wum???

Seriously, Your original question Is the GAA A Good or Bad Influence in Ireland?
Unquestionably and Undeniably and overwhelmingly GOOD influence.

Its original aims could quite fairly be called sectarian - a combat to effects the penal laws.

You have a problem with the parish - Why? It s a pretty logical division to base a club on. And while the church has traditionally had a link with the GAA, the influence has waned significantly.
as for sectarianism, there is an official rule that prohibits and carries with it a minimum 8 week ban and a maximum of debarment from the association. A relatively new rule I believe.

What sort of message does it send out to children to hear that a fundamental rule of the GAA is to ban English sports from playing in GAA facilities...hardly the most inclusive message.
What an ignorant and ill informed post.
The "fundamental rule" makes no mention of England or the English. It mentions by name horse racing and greyhound racing - now are you telling me that horse racing and greyhound racing are foreign sports???????


The GAA has approximately 1 000 000 members - so it can be quite slow moving at times but it has moved with the times. It got rid of "The Ban" sometime in the 70' s and removed the rule prohibiting RUC / Army members from playing. . . It has made huge strides in being more inclusive. I cannot speak for the North and I m aware there is a distinct divide up there but sown south there is no excluding of protestants. Traditionally games were played on a Sunday and so Protestants would not have played for that reason. And tradition does have a lot to do with it. School is where most guys develop as footballers and protestants would have been more volumous in protestant schools which played rugby and not Gaelic Football.

Today I think most GAA people would see the aims of the GAA as simply to promote Gaelic Games and Irishness. But nobody sees this as being an anti English thing anymore. It s promoting pride in your parish, your county and your country. In the early days of the state when the government had no money, "The GAA" provided a social outlet and facilities in every parish in the country - I know some people have personal issues on a local level but surely only a fool would try to argue that it has had a negative influence on the country.

hotmail.com

But is it the place of a sport to be so political. I don't think so.

The promotion of Irishness means that the organisation is a political one, one that will inevitably lead to division. That's why sport should have nothing to do with politics.

One person's version of Irishness differs from another. A big part of the GAA's version of Irishness is the Irish language. A langauge that is spoken by about 80,000 people. I don't see the Irish language as having anything to do with being Irish.

Edit: The ban on RUC members joining the GAA which dates back to the 1880s was only discontinued after the Good Friday Agreement, not the 1970s.

BrianBoru00

The promotion of Irishness means that the organisation is a political one, one that will inevitably lead to division. That's why sport should have nothing to do with politics.
The GAA isn't political today.
"Politics: The assumptions or principles relating to or inherent in a sphere, theory, or thing, esp. when concerned with power and status in a society"
To take this definition, every organisation is political including for example FIFA, IRFU, Red Cross Amnesty etc...


One person's version of Irishness differs from another. A big part of the GAA's version of Irishness is the Irish language. A langauge that is spoken by about 80,000 people.I don't see the Irish language as having anything to do with being Irish.

With all possible respect, that is a stupid comment. Does the French language have nothing to do with being French? ITs spoken by about 500 000, but 80 000 approx use it every day and virtually exclusively. Again the penal laws and British rulers of the 17-1800s almost forced the language into extinction, hence the revival in the late 19th/early 20th century with the Gaelic League, GAA etc. to protect and revive the cultures, customs and language.




Edit: The ban on RUC members joining the GAA which dates back to the 1880s was only discontinued after the Good Friday Agreement, not the 1970s. "The Ban" I referred to , is one which anybody with involvement in the GAA wil no about. It refers to a previous rule which forbade the PLAYING or SPECTATING of "foreign sports".It was removed in the 1970 s . But again it was a rule widely flaunted with countless stories of GAA players playing both Rugby and Soccer under assumed names.

hotmail.com

BrianBoru00 wrote: »

The promotion of Irishness means that the organisation is a political one, one that will inevitably lead to division. That's why sport should have nothing to do with politics.
The GAA isn't political today.
"Politics: The assumptions or principles relating to or inherent in a sphere, theory, or thing, esp. when concerned with power and status in a society"
To take this definition, every organisation is political including for example FIFA, IRFU, Red Cross Amnesty etc...


One person's version of Irishness differs from another. A big part of the GAA's version of Irishness is the Irish language. A langauge that is spoken by about 80,000 people.I don't see the Irish language as having anything to do with being Irish.

With all possible respect, that is a stupid comment. Does the French language have nothing to do with being French? ITs spoken by about 500 000, but 80 000 approx use it every day and virtually exclusively. Again the penal laws and British rulers of the 17-1800s almost forced the language into extinction, hence the revival in the late 19th/early 20th century with the Gaelic League, GAA etc. to protect and revive the cultures, customs and language.




Edit: The ban on RUC members joining the GAA which dates back to the 1880s was only discontinued after the Good Friday Agreement, not the 1970s. "The Ban" I referred to , is one which anybody with involvement in the GAA wil no about. It refers to a previous rule which forbade the PLAYING or SPECTATING of "foreign sports".It was removed in the 1970 s . But again it was a rule widely flaunted with countless stories of GAA players playing both Rugby and Soccer under assumed names.

Wow thanks, there's another medieval rule that they had which I haven't mentioned so far.

The British didn't force the language into extinction. People chose to speak English rather than Irish.

How does a language that is spoken by about 80,000 people (your 500,000 figure is rubbish) make people feel Irish? In France the whole country speaks French. Here English is spoken. Language isn't a sign of a national identity.

If a sport gets involved in politics, it's going to lead to division.

The RFU, the FAI etc, have never, ever got involved with politics. They don't support any languages and don't ban members of society from joining their clubs. The RFU is particuarly sensitive about the anthem issue. They don't feed off being anti-English.

KeithAFC

mossyc123 wrote: »

People who aren't Unionists.

People who have an inherent belief that Ireland should be governed from Ireland (despite how we might have fecked it up!) whether from just Dublin or from Dublin and Belfast.

Anyone who takes a contrary view to this puts their Britishness ahead of their Irishness and can feck off to their "Mainland" as far as im concerned.

Why should I feck off to the mainland? I was born in Ulster and I consider myself British. Which I am entitled to.

This is one of the big reasons so many Protestants/Unionists will not join the GAA. That exact post summed it up.

dixiefly

KeithAFC wrote: »

Why should I feck off to the mainland? I was born in Ulster and I consider myself British. Which I am entitled to.

This is one of the big reasons so many Protestants/Unionists will not join the GAA. That exact post summed it up.

There are some bigots in the GAA but that viewpoint would not be representative of the vast majority of members/players/ supporters.

listermint

TBH,

I believe Owen , Kevin and Hotmail are choice picking items at the extreme ends of the spectrum, Mossy has displayed extreme opinions some that are clearly displayed by owen and kevin.

But there are extreme opinions in every society. Mostly ignored by the vast majority of people. I think the GAA has to be viewed in the context of the overall island and not just examining the northern context. Because as we are all clearly aware to put the north into context of normal society does not work.

It is true to say the GAA was originally setup as an organisation to promote an identity that people found was being quashed by the input from our nearest neighbour. The organisation wished to promote all things the viewed as uniquely irish. (a noble goal in the context of the island at the time) Admittedly there was aspects and rules that are purely reactionary in part of the non inclusiveness of native irish in huge areas of the country. Governance being one. But that is the human condition, You exclude me, ill exclude you...etc. Rightly or Wrongly.


Aside from the initial standings of what organisation was setup to achieve, to hang on these ideas is a fallacy in itself. And shows poor knowledge of how organisations can implement change based solely on changing conditions. For this alone the GAA must be commended on its ability to change. We all know none of the rules affore mentioned in this thread exist anymore. This is down to the attitudes of grass roots members. The day to day people within the GAA, those ladies and gents who paint the pitch, serve the sandwhiches, turn on the lights in the changing rooms. These people are not sectarian they are the community on which it has thrived. The believe in inclusiveness, they are out there to help neighbours friends and enjoy there locality.

As for the community in the north, well tbh there is no fixing that on either side its only going to disappear through generations. So you can never give a proper analysis of the GAA within that extreme regional aspect.



@ Hotmail - If you really believe that FIFA have no political motivations or are some sort of un-corruptable entity it really shows your distinct lack of knowledge to the sporting world. But hey FIFA arent an organisation started in Ireland so we cant really Self Loath them can we.......

Nhead

KeithAFC wrote: »

Why should I feck off to the mainland? I was born in Ulster and I consider myself British. Which I am entitled to.

This is one of the big reasons so many Protestants/Unionists will not join the GAA. That exact post summed it up.

This is rather a reductivist view, you can't simply say everyone in the GAA is the same because of the view of one single poster on boards. As for no other sporting organisation on the island becoming involved in politics: There used to be only one association over soccer on the island until the FAI was created as they viewed the IFA as biased. The FAI also claimed it could recruit members from the north due to articles two and three ( which weren't removed from the constitution till the Good Friday agreement). See Neal Garnham Association Football and society in pre-partition Ireland and also Sean Ryan The Boys in Green: the FAI international story. There is also tension between the FAI/IFA over, what the IFA views as, the FAI stealing Northern Irish players. At the very heart of this debate is a political question: does the individual born on the island of Ireland have a right to decide which football team he or she plays for? The IFA have brought the case to FIFA on a number of occasions.

The IFA have programmes to stamp out sectarianism at it's games, which shows that it is a problem one which was seen when a small minority of NI fans were caught singing sectarian songs at a game in Dublin in Feb. 2011. There was also, as someone mentioned, the Neil Lennon incident and various problems between Glentoran and Linfield. Derry City FC were also made play their games in Coleraine due to the political situation (1971-72) and eventually joined the League of Ireland due to the IFA not letting them return to the Brandywell. All of the above illustrates how politics is part of the history of clubs and associations and is still an issue for both the IFA and the FAI.

R P McMurphy

hotmail.com wrote: »

Wow thanks, there's another medieval rule that they had which I haven't mentioned so far.

The British didn't force the language into extinction. People chose to speak English rather than Irish.

How does a language that is spoken by about 80,000 people (your 500,000 figure is rubbish) make people feel Irish? In France the whole country speaks French. Here English is spoken. Language isn't a sign of a national identity.

If a sport gets involved in politics, it's going to lead to division.

The RFU, the FAI etc, have never, ever got involved with politics. They don't support any languages and don't ban members of society from joining their clubs. The RFU is particuarly sensitive about the anthem issue. They don't feed off being anti-English.

Please do try to inform yourself before making statements such as the one in bold. There are vast resources available to educate yourself in relation to this issue but perhaps you could start by reading a copy or attending a performance of Translations by Brian Friel as this may prove to be illuminating for you

HellsAngel

owenc wrote: »

Hi i'm unionist and i live in northern ireland i think i can answer your questions. I think that it was ok to bring back the irish sports which is the GAA but they did not do that they brought it in as a political sectarian organisation a bit like the orange order and i am not supported of organisations like that so i don't agree with it. I think they were very sectarian and disrespectful to Protestants and still are to an extent, i have catholic cousins and they play all that nonscence and my mother forced me to goto a party in one of them clubs and i hated it, the whole time i was there they constantly bitched about protestants and it was just awful, so i defiantly think that it has made republicans more bitter, it reminded me on them meetings they have in orange halls, it was exactly like that type of mood except republican. I still view it as a republican organisation because it is and i've yet to see any neutral people in there. And whats this nonscence about them wearing those shirts everywhere i'm sorry but they look very tacky and in my opinion they are just wearing them to shove their culture down our throats a bit like people wearing rangers shirts , i know some of them aren't like that but the minute i see someone in that shirt its a complete turn off to me and i do my best to avoid them because i know that they will be the bitter type.

hotmail.com wrote: »

It certainly has a sectarian element, despite what the GAA supporters claim. They had one Protestant President in the 1990s and they use this token to show their openness.

The North has the Orange Order, the South has the GAA. Why anyone would support either baffles me.

Ah, unionists have the orange order, not "the north" and also have lodges in the border counties though how you equate the OO with the GAA is beyond me, has the GAA a ban against Protestants joining :rolleyes: :rolleyes: . Funny how the GAA names it's main trophy in honour of a Protestant ( Sam Maguire), names some it's grounds and teams after Protestants such as Parnell Park, Wolfe Tones, John Mithcells ??

BrianBoru00

your 500,000 figure is rubbish

Because you say so?
Because you want to create figures to suit your argument??
Because your going to claim the cso is propaganda machine????

Get real, the 500 000 is actually far short - 1.5 million people can speak Irish as of 2002. The 80 000 figure refers to the inhabitants of the Gaeltacht - people who speak it every day at home, at work in the community - it also includes (older) people who cannot speak any English.
I and many of my friends speak English on a daily basis. I also speak Irish, I use many Irish words and phrases while speaking English and everyone of my (Irish) colleagues/neighbours and friends will understand. I also have Irish conversations with different friends and family - but I use English most of the time . Using English as a daily language does not mean that a person cannot or does not use a language.

The British didn't force the language into extinction. People chose to speak English rather than Irish

Again, your ignorance of history is astounding.The reason people chose to speak English is resulting from the penal laws of the 1600s hence the revival movement of the late 1800s
Your coming across as a Bigot , someone brought up to believe the GAA and Irish people are evil.
Irishness or being Irish would have the same definition of being English or being French or being of any other nationality of ethnic group.

Ethnicity : The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition
Part of the Irish tradition is speaking Irish- you don t get to define what Irishness is (Or englishness or welshness...)
The fact that you might not have all of the traits does not mean your not Irish but it doesn t mean that there is a different definition for Irishness either.

In what way is the GAA displaying it s involvement in politics?
Promoting the Irish games and language is no more political than FIFA promoting soccer, RFU promoting Rugby. The GAA does not promote an "anti English" agenda.
In fact it has worked with the British government to introduce Gaelic Football into the school curricullum in schools in England..

You sir are the one displaying bigotry, ignorance and narrow mindedness - not the GAA

HellsAngel

hotmail.com wrote: »

Was the GAA's policy to mix itself up with politics and culture a good or bad thing for Ireland?

The GAA started out, not as a sporting organisation, but as political and cultural force designed to promote a sense of "Irishness" in an era of growing international nationalistic sentiment. No other sporting organisation in the world is so closely linked with politics and no other sporting organisation kept such discriminating rules in their rulebook for over 110 years (the ban on RUC/British forces joining the GAA, English sports banned from GAA grounds).

No other sporting organisation in the world has an aim to promote a language. It seems to feed off being anything but English. That's how it began and that attitude continues to this day. Has this had a damaging impact on Ireland?

Has the GAA's actions only deepened divisions between North and South? Is it any wonder why unionist politicians won't attend GAA matches given the GAA's clear stance on what it sees as "Irish" and it's subtle support for a united Ireland.

Here's a sporting organisation linking itself to politics, England before a match against Germany in 1938



(In fairness most of the English players resented giving the salute but the English FA appearently insisted on it)

HellsAngel

hotmail.com wrote: »

That was the intention of the rule when it was founded in the 1880s - to ban English sports. They used the term "foreign" specifically to dig at soccer and rugby being English sports and to undermine that England was a foreign country.

So the GAA realises that the sport is extremely vulnerable to soccer.

hotmail.com wrote: »

The rule was only temporarily lifted, the ban on English sports remains in GAA policy. Still in 2011. And people support this organisation??

Rugby League had a ban on guys playing Rugby Union and Union clubs using League's grounds. Was that somehow secterian ? :rolleyes: