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

Just...Me

Long time lurker, first time protagonist here!

After reading the thread on things you would love to outlaw or ban I found the G.A.A. came up a lot.

I left the country 2 years ago and I have always found that when people ask me "What is really Irish?" I generally answer with Gaelic sports.

I was surprised to find that there are so many people that don't like it.

I have always found it to promote Irish Identity and community.

I could ask this question in the G.A.A. forum but I am looking for a more general view so I am posting it here.

So I suppose my question is have you found Gaelic Games to have a positive or negative impact on Irish society?

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raze_them_all_

BattleCorp wrote: »

Where else other than a hurling match can you go out and knock seven shades of sh1te out of someone with a stick and face no repercussions? I think there is a ball involved too but I think that is only incidental to the knocking the sh1te out of each other.

Great stuff altogether.

Ice hockey says hello

CrabRevolution

diomed wrote: »

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:

The ban ended in 1971. What relevance is it today?

The flying mouse

I think its a great game,The hurling as well as the football,I don't live in Ireland but we all had great craic last season following and watching all the games, Brilliant.

diomed

CrabRevolution wrote: »

The ban ended in 1971. What relevance is it today?

The rule ended but if you read this 2013 letter you will see there is still a ban in force. Read the third last paragraph.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/rule-42-still-in-gaa-rules-29637619.html

I see in that letter the ban by the GAA on soccer playing was not effective in Dublin as the GAA would have lost most of their players. GAA bans only work when you can intimidate.

Does the GAA still ban the use of GAA grounds by other sports.
Is there still a ban on Northern Ireland police from playing GAA?.

My father was banned by the GAA. He had been a county player. He also played rugby and soccer.
A happy outcome was he was one of a half dozen men that set up a soccer club in the town.
That club is thriving today, new ground, new premises, a large number of teams in a number of leagues.

You ask "What relevance has the ban today?"
It showed the public that the GAA then was an organisation that tried to intimidate. They might try to say it is no longer relevant. Their actions differ.

Why does GAA literature still say 32 county Ireland? Ireland is 26 counties. Northern Ireland is 6 counties.
Do the GAA not recognise this state? Are they an organisation that is subversive to this state? Is the GAA a political organisation or is it a sports organisation?

andekwarhola

CrabRevolution wrote: »

The ban ended in 1971. What relevance is it today?

To be fair, aren't foreign sports still explicitly banned from grounds? This is despite them getting a fair amount of public funding, often the lion's share of same seemingly in order to build as many grounds as possible even if many are chronically underused.

Croke Park was obviously a temporary voted measure which was too financially lucrative - and of top much priceless propaganda value - to pass up.

OldRio

diomed wrote: »

The rule ended but if you read this 2013 letter you will see there is still a ban in force. Read the third last paragraph.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/rule-42-still-in-gaa-rules-29637619.html

I see in that letter the ban by the GAA on soccer playing was not effective in Dublin as the GAA would have lost most of their players. GAA bans only work when you can intimidate.

Does the GAA still ban the use of GAA grounds by other sports.
Is there still a ban on Northern Ireland police from playing GAA?.

My father was banned by the GAA. He had been a county player. He also played rugby and soccer.
A happy outcome was he was one of a half dozen men that set up a soccer club in the town.
That club is thriving today, new ground, new premises, a large number of teams in a number of leagues.

You ask "What relevance has the ban today?"
It showed the public that the GAA then was an organisation that tried to intimidate. They might try to say it is no longer relevant. Their actions differ.

Why does GAA literature still say 32 county Ireland? Ireland is 26 counties. Northern Ireland is 6 counties.
Do the GAA not recognise this state? Are they an organisation that is subversive to this state? Is the GAA a political organisation or is it a sports organisation?

I see you keep your finger on the pulse.

CrabRevolution

There's no "ban" on the use of grounds for other sports. A county has to get permission from central council to use their grounds for other sport, though its rarely given. Even then a lot of people in the GAA wouldn't mind grounds being leased for other games.

SEPT 23 1989

Played by culchies or in the case of Dublin clubs children of culchies

Don't know any true blue Dub who really follows that sport

armaghlad

ClovenHoof wrote: »

It has been a very powerful pathological manipulation tool for politics in that it destroys a sense of national identity and replaces it with a county colours mindset. This is one of the reasons we are doomed as a nation as we are a collection of 32 little ****hole rivalries and not a nation of Irish people. Every culchie puts his parish ahead of his nation. Jackeens tend to be the only group in Ireland who are actually aware of what nation they are citizens of.

But that is really more about politicians using the GAA rather than the sport itself.

Oh piss off

yupya1

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Played by culchies or in the case of Dublin clubs children of culchies

Don't know any true blue Dub who really follows that sport

That'd be the Heroin

pauliebdub

I enjoyed playing hurling very much when I was younger and continue to enjoy watching it. There was always a great sense of community and comeradery.

The only thing I disliked was some fanatical Gaelgeori types who had an intolerant attitude to non Gaelic sports and activities who set a poor example to young kids.

armaghlad

The ban was easily flaunted and manys a GAA man played other sports on the sly when even the dogs in the street knew.

RobertKK

raze_them_all_ wrote: »

Ice hockey says hello

There are claims ice hockey originated from Irish emigrants playing hurling on ice.

armaghlad

diomed wrote: »

The rule ended but if you read this 2013 letter you will see there is still a ban in force. Read the third last paragraph.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/rule-42-still-in-gaa-rules-29637619.html
You ask "What relevance has the ban today?"
It showed the public that the GAA then was an organisation that tried to intimidate. They might try to say it is no longer relevant. Their actions differ.

Why does GAA literature still say 32 county Ireland? Ireland is 26 counties. Northern Ireland is 6 counties.
Do the GAA not recognise this state? Are they an organisation that is subversive to this state? Is the GAA a political organisation or is it a sports organisation?

What relevance has the ban now? Absolutely zilch.

The bit in bold barely merits a response.

I suppose you'll be lobbying the FAI and IRFU to withdraw players from NI on their teams, since you're such a stickler for the partition of this country?

RadiationKing

CrabRevolution wrote: »

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?

You mean why has a highly insular organisation that makes a big stink about Irishness thrived in a part of the island where a highly insular subset of the populace make a big stink about their Irishness?

It's a real mystery alright! :pac:

armaghlad

RadiationKing wrote: »

You mean why has a highly insular organisation that makes a big stink about Irishness thrived in a part of the island where a highly insular subset of the populace make a big stink about their Irishness?

It's a real mystery alright! :pac:

That the same GAA that actively out reaches to Unionists in NI? And has a presence in most of western Europe? The GAA is primarily about promoting football and hurling. Yes there's the cultural aspect; and you know what, big ****ing wow - nationalistic organisation in promoting country's native culture shock! Whatever next!

RadiationKing

Oh well if they're in other parts of Europe that must mean they're not the same backwards, parochial GAA that operates here! :pac:

Kiwi in IE

I'm not sure if this is just our local club or nationwide, but I don't like the way kids have to play both sports, in order to play one. I'm not sure at what level it branches off into either football or hurling, but my 7 year old plays GAA, and loves football but hates hurling. In order to play football he has to also do hurling. He is very sporty and also does rugby and soccer, but he's being put off GAA, despite loving football and being good at it, because of the hurling. Is this the way it is everywhere or have we struck it unlucky with our local club? They are two quite distinctly different sports. It's kind of like having to play hockey as well in order to play rugby. Makes no sense to me!

[Deleted User]

I think a lot of the people who don't like the GAA in this thread don't really know what it's like nowadays. It's much more unremarkable than they seem to think, no more zealots than you have in other organisation.
Being from a rural area I find the argument this whole thread deals with bizarre. Around here many people are involved in GAA as well as Soccer/Rugby/Athletics. Those who are only involved in only GAA don't dedicate their energies to doing down other games. The GAA would t exist at all if it was as negative as some people think.

diomed

armaghlad wrote: »

What relevance has the ban now? Absolutely zilch.

The bit in bold barely merits a response.

I suppose you'll be lobbying the FAI and IRFU to withdraw players from NI on their teams, since you're such a stickler for the partition of this country?

Do you recognise the country of Ireland ruled by the government of Ireland, Dail Éireann?

donegaLroad

the new style of 'blanket defence' has made football unwatchable..

and I know Donegal were pioneers of this style of playing.

Dirty Dingus McGee

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.

Yeah. That's not really true though.

Little Shane Lowry ended up doing just that despite his father and 2 uncles having all Ireland medals.

Say Your Number

Only two months till the Championship starts

K-9

The ban on PSNI playing it is gone a good few years.

A lot of the jealousy from soccer heads seems to stem from how poorly soccer was organised back in the day. Donegal didn't have a soccer league until 1971 and that is in a county with a soccer tradition. GAA was late starting here, not much tradition at all,1920's on any organised level.

So the question for me would be why was soccer so badly run thus letting the GAA steal a march on it?

Just...Me

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Played by culchies or in the case of Dublin clubs children of culchies

Don't know any true blue Dub who really follows that sport

Well, I am a Dub, So don't see your point here at all

washman3

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is just our local club or nationwide, but I don't like the way kids have to play both sports, in order to play one. I'm not sure at what level it branches off into either football or hurling, but my 7 year old plays GAA, and loves football but hates hurling. In order to play football he has to also do hurling. He is very sporty and also does rugby and soccer, but he's being put off GAA, despite loving football and being good at it, because of the hurling. Is this the way it is everywhere or have we struck it unlucky with our local club? They are two quite distinctly different sports. It's kind of like having to play hockey as well in order to play rugby. Makes no sense to me!

This is quite bizarre and definitely not the norm in any club that I'm aware of.
Maybe some rural clubs are short on playing numbers and pressurise kids into playing both in order to field teams, but I've honestly not come across this before.
It's always far easier to field a football team than a hurling one, as hurling requires far more skills coaching than football.

Kiwi in IE

washman3 wrote: »

This is quite bizarre and definitely not the norm in any club that I'm aware of.
Maybe some rural clubs are short on playing numbers and pressurise kids into playing both in order to field teams, but I've honestly not come across this before.
It's always far easier to field a football team than a hurling one, as hurling requires far more skills coaching than football.

Thanks that's good to know. It is rural club, so maybe what you said is correct. I haven't really looked into it, last year it was clear that he preferred the football, but he put up with the hurling without too much complaint. This year though he's only been back for 4 weeks and he moans and doesn't want to go when it's hurling training, and can't wait to get out the door for football training. He thought it would be football last week, as had been hurling the week before, then when we turned up and found out it was hurling he was quite upset. They seem to do hurling more than football as well. We've had 3 weeks of hurling training so far and 1 of football. I think if he is going to stick at it, we need to find a way to loose the hurling. The clubs around here seem to be quite insistant on your address being in the area of club too, so unsure what the scope for changing is. Maybe I can discuss only attending when football training and matches are on.

Your Face

I think its good if you're into it. However I think in some communities it has an unhealthy presence.

pickarooney

Hurling > All other sports > Gaelic Football

cassid

have young children playing Gaa and we are Dubs. They love it, they are their favourite, football or hurl. Even if you are rubbish at it, two left feet, all children will still get a go in a game. My lad has an issue with co-ordination and it dreadful, balls go all over him or straight to his face, but he gets to play and the coach always roars well done lad. That really warmed me to the game. There are children with Down's, and other conditions, and they get the jersey and the feel of playing in a team. My son played in Croke Park when he was 8 ( will never do when he is older but a proud moment for me)

They have this knack of making you do things for them, the dads get trained up and the mammies make the tea.