Rory Gallagher - A dismissed case that was dealt with and brought to attention? Mod Note in OP

People are discussing this the same way they would talk about a manager being appointed to a Premier League soccer club. The reality is that the Naas senior footballers are only a small part of Naas GAA Club.

You have to consider how an apppointment like this would look in a club that has hundreds of women and girls in its playing ranks who are just as much a part of the club as the senior men. I assume this is where Burns is coming from.

I coach my daughter's football and camogie team and if our club brought in someone like this, I'd object very, very strongly and if they persisted I'd transfer her out.

I have never burned a bra or indeed any lingerie in my life, for the record.

Prioritising violence against women as a huge societal issue is not downplaying an individual act of violence.

so to summarise, even if he were to be found not guilty on a court you’d favour ostracising him? Tell me, given you don’t, any more than the rest of us, actually know the details beyond this-how exactly can someone in Gallagher position ever actually clear his name with you?

also, given that (I) violent crime is actually falling and (ii) as a male you are significantly more likely to be a victim of violence, with 7 in every 10 murder/manslaughter victims being a male, do you think perhaps your view is coloured more by the number of column inches certain cases get than any balanced view of the problem? Because it’s certainly novel to to argue we’ve a societal problem of violence for only one group in light of those statistics.

The Gallagher issue also predates his presidency. Nothing to stop him intervening- kiely is still around and Hayes is still being selected.

Not to satisfy anyone's curiosity. But to clarify the relevant points made by the poster. Why haven't the GAA intervened in other issues relating to crime, or in the case of RG, alleged issues.

I wouldn't like to be up in court with you in the jury. I'd be hung, drawn and quartered, even if I was innocent. Another poster was on about the allegations that she made in her statement. There was mention of a friend helping her. If RG was guilty, it would be very easy to build a case, with witnesses there. There are CCTV cameras nearly everywhere we walk. If she was bruised, surely she would take picture of these, as some form of back-up. And if all of this is going on, her family would have been aware. Surely, they wouldn't have been letting this go on. If I ever heard of my sisters husband laying a finger on my sister, I would kill him, or have him killed. If she is going around with bruises and bite marks, the family are going to get to the bottom of it with her. Her fobbing it off as a slip in the shower over and over again would not cut it with the family. Doesn't make sense to me. But it's not for me to judge, as I don not know the facts. In the same manner that it's not for you to judge cause you have no idea who is telling the truth or telling lies.

That is ignoring the problem.

https://www.womensaid.ie/get-informed/facts/#:~:text=14%25%20of%20women%20in%20Ireland,former%20partner%20since%20age%2015

• Since 1996, 271 women have died violently in the Republic of Ireland (up to 5th January 2025).
  • Of the women that were killed:
    • 63% were killed in their own homes.
    • 55% were killed by a partner or ex (of the resolved cases)
    • Almost 9 in 10 women knew their killer

Men abuse and kill women.

That doesn't turn the argument on its head in any way. It doesn't conflict with anything I said.

I agree most (but not all) violent crime is committed by men. I think statistics show there are more male victims than female but all violence is wrong.

Trying to prioritise violence against women is simply wrong as this implies that violence against men is not as serious. You said above you would prioritise it over other violence.

It's difficult to see how this could be seen as doing anything other than downplaying the seriousness/importance of violence against men.

It’s actually terrifying that you can argue that violence in general isn’t a societal issue and that only violence against women falls into that category. There’s something very wrong with how violence is reported when it puts one cohort of victims, that suffers by a distance the greatest level of the problem, into the gutter and disregard them as you have here:

-around 1 in 3 victims of domestic violence is a man

-7 out of 10 murder/ manslaughter victims are men

(Look I can do statistics too)

But that’s not a problem right? If the parish star keeps playing what harm

What were you saying so?

That's not what i asked. It was a pretty simple question was it not?

It's you that's going around in circles by not answering a very simple question about a post you made. Unless you're somehow trying to claim you didn't say it?

Do you think everyone who doesn't agree with you is just twisting your words?

The fact you're getting upset about what people say on an online form is quite funny. You'll of course say you're no getting upset despite the fact you clearly are.

I'm not deeply involved in GAA but at a league game last year in Croke Park we all had to stand up for a minute (probably in silence but can't fully remember now) for 'standing up against violence against women' protest/initiative/whatever you want to call it. I wasn't aware it was going to happen but I presume it must have been part of some GAA initiative that they obviously wanted to make everyone aware of. I hope we don't see any more of these kind of crowd involvement displays as that's all I think they are but if the GAA are this invested in highlighting this issue, I think it gives more context to JB's intervention (and you'd wonder why Naas would draw this on themselves also but that was their decision). We weren't standing up against lads fighting in night clubs but maybe we'll do that this year and if that does happen, we can discuss gaels guilty of such acts then.

Some posters seem unable to get their head around this point.

Participation on an individual level in an amateur sport is a healthy way to encourage rehabilitation of offenders or those who have a cloud hanging over them.

Putting them into a position of authority and responsibility over others gives them a status that is not appropriate.

Well yes, I wouldn't be using Connolly or Hayes to present medals to kids, but they shouldn't be stopped from playing the game. As I said already, no problem with Gallagher participating in playing football at club or inter-county Masters level, but, similarly, shouldn't be involved in presenting medals or coaching teams.

Are you trying to say that the punishment to be given to a person (who has responsibility over others e.g. manager) should be more severe than the punishment to be administered to a team member (who is not a manager). I am specifically referring to where that person carries out a violent act on another individual.

If so, how do you come to that notion? A violent act is a violent act - carried out by a human being. It doesn't matter if its carried out by a manager or not, the suffering for the victim is still the same. The crime should not be villified further if it is carried out by a manager as opposed to a player. And likewise, it should be be viewed as more trivial if carried out by a player as opposed to a manager. The law (I presume) does not take such matters into account, and the GAA (or any other body that decides to administer its own sanctions) should not either.

In any case, none of the above applies to Rory Gallagher anyway, as he has not been deemed guilty of anything.