The G.A.A. - A Good or Bad thing?

CrabRevolution

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

Like any organisation it has a lot of positives but there are also a lot of negatives.

I loved playing hurling.

The big negative for me at the moment is they brainwash small kids 6yrs and up that the GAA is the only sport(s) they should play. There is a shocking attitude shown towards soccer, rugby, golf etc (and many other activities).

God forbid that little Johnny would turn into a star golfer instead of being a shoo in for taking his fathers spot at corner back in the local village Junior B team when he turns 17.

Kids should be encouraged to take part in as many sports / activities as possible.

That's hardly unique. Every sport tries to protect it's own popularity. You make it sound like soccer clubs encourage their players to play Rugby in their free weekends and hurling in the summer.

BalcombeSt4

It's helped to forge an inward looking national identity.

maudgonner

It's got many the flaw, but overall, a very good thing.

It helps give my county an identity. Sadly, that identity is one where people immediately shake their heads and pity you when they hear where you're from

Zebra3

Full of bigots. A good place for those who think they are more Irish than the rest of us yet they've always been closely tied in with a well known Middle Eastern religious cult from getting a weirdo in a dress who'll lecture you on your sex life to throw the ball in on cup final day to having blokes from the same organisation batter kids to play the chosen sport.

Liam Brady and Douglas Hyde are just two that have dared cross the bigots who are the essence of small time Ireland.

Wichita Lineman

CrabRevolution wrote: »

That's hardly unique. Every sport tries to protect it's own popularity. You make it sound like soccer clubs encourage their players to play Rugby in their free weekends and hurling in the summer.

I've never heard of a soccer team tell - a child - that they will not be picked for the team if they continue with their other activities but I know for a fact that this happens on a daily basis in GAA circles.

My view is that kids should be encouraged by all sports to play all sports - plenty of time to 'specialise' or choose themselves later. It's a view not shared by the GAA.

RobertKK

The GAA is great, earliest memories are Kilkenny winning the hurling back in the 1980s and my local club from a small parish winning the All-Ireland club hurling final.
Hurling is a great sport and and you see the reaction it gets when shown to new international audiences, they seem to mostly love it.
The GAA has done a lot of good with the promotion and building up facilities and stadium around the country. Yes they had some silly rules in the past but are reforming over time.
Croke Park was developed by money from the GAA and the state and it is a landmark in Ireland, the fourth biggest stadium in Europe, and even if you don't like GAA, they have helped to give us a venue for stadium concerts.
The GAA would be the most professional amateur sporting body in the world, I don't think any other amateur organisation comes close.

RobertKK

maudgonner wrote: »

It's got many the flaw, but overall, a very good thing.

It helps give my county an identity. Sadly, that identity is one where people immediately shake their heads and pity you when they hear where you're from

You sound like you are from Mayo.

maudgonner

RobertKK wrote: »

You sound like you are from Mayo.

I can feel you shaking your head and pitying me from here

uch

They have a fierce sense of Entitlement

DEFTLEFTHAND

Hurling and Football are one of the few sports that I get seriously worked up watching. Because you're actually from the place that you're supporting it means so much more.

You can't decide who you support, you're born into it.

check_six

CrabRevolution wrote: »

That's hardly unique. Every sport tries to protect it's own popularity. You make it sound like soccer clubs encourage their players to play Rugby in their free weekends and hurling in the summer.

This is true. I think there is still a slight hangover from the days when you were actually banned from playing 'foreign sports' if you wanted to keep playing GAA. Those rules are gone 40 years, but I do think some people look at any other sports with a hint of suspicion.

A good hurling match is amazing to watch. Gaelic football needs to have a rules/laws overhaul. As far as I can tell, almost every interaction between two players could be legitimately given as a free in either direction according to the current rulebook. This makes the game impossible to referee without upsetting everyone all the time. The jumble of rules seems to stem from having too many people voting at various congresses. They need to just have some brains trust type group that comes up with some experimental rules to tidy up the game and no crazy political hullabaloo each time a rule change is suggested.

DavidLyons_

I have some ties to gymnastics in this country. I know for a fact that some members of rural GAA clubs have actively tried to crush gym clubs by way of forbidding members from participating in gymnastics.

Played Gaelic football for my local team well into my teens. Experienced a lot of prejudice as I come from a "soccer family". My 11 year old son is now suffering from the same treatment from bigoted individuals within the club.

Not everyone involved I rural GAA clubs is a small minded, bigoted p**ck but there are enough of them involved to make it a very bad thing sometimes.

Riddle101

I don't really watch sports but I do believe that GAA and other Irish sports have had a good impact on this country. It's part of our culture, and it's also been a part of Irish history since it's founding. Plus I believe sports are important in society too.

PTH2009

its amazing to think lads playing in front of 80000 in croke park on a weekend will be getting up the next morning or 2 days after etc and going to work. some players train before and after work too

while messi, rooney and terry etc are about 180000 a week and have the whole day to do what they want when there training is done

DEFTLEFTHAND

PTH2009 wrote: »

its amazing to think lads playing in front of 80000 in croke park on a weekend will be getting up the next morning or 2 days after etc and going to work. some players train before and after work too

while messi, rooney and terry etc are about 180000 a week and have the whole day to do what they want when there training is done

They've no life at all, work, training, sleep. No drinking for 9 months. It's a huge commitment these days to be on a senior county panel.

andekwarhola

It's great the country has a traditional sport in hurling, and a pretty excellent one at that. Gaelic football doesn't really qualify on either front IMHO.

Like all traditional institutions in Ireland, it can embody the very best aspects of Irish life: community, sport, kids activity and events, but on occasion, some of the worst: bigotry, insularity, and parochial clientilism, especially in the area of establishment patronage and public funding, ironically, considering the facilities explicitly exclude use by 'foreign' sports.

Also the whole community aspect of it is certainly hammed up for commercial and cultural reasons. You'd swear it was the only sport in the country that provides exercise and community involvement for thousands of adults and kids, and is largely operated by a large phalanx of volunteers.

Red_Wake

Horrible, small minded organisation that tries to proclaim itself as integral to the concept of Irishness.

Not to mention its foul links to republicanism and "the cause".

Kerrydude1981

GAA is always something that brings everyone together,especially at club level when the club is going well ,its that pride in the parish thing,noting else comes near it,

Of course every club has the few old lads that are still stuck in the dark ages and they are blinkered,the play Football and Hurling or play noting lads,

No one should listen to these fellas,play as many sports as you can.

Yamanoto

I'm ambivalent to the GAA tbh.

The fact that they get huge amounts of folks out playing sport & that coaches and local administrators give of their time for free is to be greatly admired - though that's not unique to the organisation by any means. But in terms of pure numbers, their contribution is hugely significant & that should be recognised.

Unfortunately, I also think they actively allied themselves to a cabal which retarded the Country both socially and economically for decades & in doing so, they became part of the problem. The organisation let itself be a conduit, through which political & religious blaggards exerted an unhealthy influence and control over many aspects of Irish life from top to bottom - a sort of soft totalitarianism, involving an unholy trinity of the sliothar, the rosary & a dawdle down to the parish pump to support 'our man'.

tl;dr - Up for the Match puts me right off 'em.

Sunny Disposition

I would have played hurling and soccer for many years.

Honestly, and this mightn't always have been the case, I think there is a little more sporting 'prejudice' among people into other sports than the GAA. There's a lot of people with a real chip on the shoulder about GAA.

Loads of GAA people have an interest in other sports, they wouldn't have seen anything odd about me playing soccer and hurling, but people only involved in soccer had much more of an issue.

It may have been the case years ago that the GAA tried too hard to compete with other sports, but that's gone now. Nowadays I don't think the GAA has any more bigots than anyone else, sadly there are gob****es in every kind of club, hurling, rugby soccer etc.

I do really question the honesty of people talking about the GAA trying to bully kids, crush other sports. Hatred, and I don't think that's too strong a word, can warp people's perspective.

DulchieLaois

GAA allows Ireland to be normal - Players remain grounded as they are amateurs who dedicate their time to a sport that they love and not for the money.

GAA brings the self being of a community to a level not seen in other countries...it allow families to integrate themselves into an area through volunteering and build up friendships.

GAA allows players to make friends through the country which is always key to social interaction throughout the world.

One final point, GAA is played all over the world, it allows many other nationalities to involve themselves into exercise, by playing GAA and building strong friendships as a result.

osarusan

Its sports are ok. Hurling is decent, gaelic football isn't my thing.

As a part of the community it does good work.

As a self-appointed keeper of the cultural flame it is embarrassing, and when this manifests itself by its incredibly petty, small-minded attempts to sabotage other sports/teams, it can f**k right off.

wyndham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2GqlOYfgfw

How can it be a bad thing?

Yamanoto

osarusan wrote: »

As a self-appointed keeper of the cultural flame it is embarrassing, and when this manifests itself by its incredibly petty, small-minded attempts to sabotage other sports/teams, it can f**k right off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC7Xv7kHiZ4

andekwarhola

DulchieLaois wrote: »

GAA allows Ireland to be normal - Players remain grounded as they are amateurs who dedicate their time to a sport that they love and not for the money.

GAA brings the self being of a community to a level not seen in other countries...it allow families to integrate themselves into an area through volunteering and build up friendships.

GAA allows players to make friends through the country which is always key to social interaction throughout the world.

One final point, GAA is played all over the world, it allows many other nationalities to involve themselves into exercise, by playing GAA and building strong friendships as a result.

There's hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland that play amateur sports (of every code) every week. In fact, 'soccer' at all levels is actually the largest participation sport in the country

It's a GAA confection to continually compare the sons of the soil with the English premiership and leave it there for propaganda purposes.

diomed

Is there any other sporting organisation that has tried to dominate communities?
Is there any other sporting organisation that has banned people?
Is there any other sporting organisation that have questioned people's "Irishness"?
Is there any other sporting organisation that would not allow players wear clothing and footwear that was not Irish manufactured?

The GAA belongs to the era of De Valera, Fianna Fail, the GAA.

Hurling is a good game, skilfull and unique. I like it a lot.
Gaelic football is about throwing the ball around, off the ball ambushing, getting suspended, and getting the suspension lifted on the morning of the next match.

DanielODonnell

The county side of things are mostly positive but I stay away from the club side of things.

One thing that irritates me is how people try to link it with history, e.g. by giving teams nicknames like Rebels and Royals plus I dislike how specific counties try to gain ownership of being "the royals" or whatever even though High Kings came from all over Ireland.

CrabRevolution

diomed wrote: »

Is there any other sporting organisation that has tried to dominate communities?
Is there any other sporting organisation that has banned people?
Is there any other sporting organisation that have questioned people's "Irishness"?
Is there any other sporting organisation that would not allow players wear clothing and footwear that was not Irish manufactured?

The GAA belongs to the era of De Valera, Fianna Fail, the GAA.

Hurling is a good game, skilfull and unique. I like it a lot.
Gaelic football is about throwing the ball around, off the ball ambushing, getting suspended, and getting the suspension lifted on the morning of the next match.

What communities has the GAA actively sought to dominate? Communities adopt sports, not the other way round.

Are you referring to bans like the FA in England banned womens soccer until the 70s? How Derry were effectively forced out of the Northern Irish league?

In any case the GAA ban on other sports is gone for nearly 50 years now. Several generations of players have grown up not being affected by it, it's not relevant in modern discussions about the GAA.

I don't see how supporting Irish jobs and industry is wrong. Should we be more like UEFA and shamelessly let money govern everything? Prevent stadia like the Aviva from using their own names because they havent paid UEFA enough money? Start utilising multi billion euro giants like Adidas and Puma to enrich themselves even more off the backs of sweatshop workers?

If the GAA is such a bastion of FF and the church, why has it thrived in the North, where neither of those things ever held total sway?

diomed

CrabRevolution wrote: »

What communities has the GAA actively sought to dominate? Communities adopt sports, not the other way round.

Are you referring to bans like the FA in England banned womens soccer until the 70s? How Derry were effectively forced out of the Northern Irish league?

In any case the GAA ban on other sports is gone for nearly 50 years now. Several generations of players have grown up not being affected by it, it's not relevant in modern discussions about the GAA.

I don't see how supporting Irish jobs and industry is wrong. Should we be more like UEFA and shamelessly let money govern everything? Prevent stadia like the Aviva from using their own names because they havent paid UEFA enough money? Start utilising multi billion euro giants like Adidas and Puma to enrich themselves even more off the backs of sweatshop workers?

If the GAA is such a bastion of FF and the church, why has it thrived in the North, where neither of those things ever held total sway?

The GAA banned people who played non-GAA sports. They might not like to hear that now, but that is what they did.

You say supporting Irish jobs and industry. I say banning foreign manufactured sports equipment from the GAA.

I didn't say anything about the church. Thanks for refuting my argument about the church. :pac:

joebloggs32

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

I've never heard of a soccer team tell - a child - that they will not be picked for the team if they continue with their other activities but I know for a fact that this happens on a daily basis in GAA circles.

My view is that kids should be encouraged by all sports to play all sports - plenty of time to 'specialise' or choose themselves later. It's a view not shared by the GAA.

As someone with 10 years of coaching kids for hurling I can tell you that many times soccer and Rugby coaches have told lads not to play hurling match.