Croke Park set to remain closed to soccer and rugby

[harps1954]

from bbc.co.uk

The prospects of Croke Park being opened to soccer and rugby could again be wrecked by GAA red tape.

Motions from 11 counties calling for the deletion of the GAA's controversial Rule 42 are said to be in severe danger of being ruled out of order.

The GAA's motions committee, as was the case last year, has so far failed to give the motions clearance to go forward to Annual Congress in April.

Motions now have to be re-submitted before Wednesday evening at 1700 GMT.

However, the counties have not been informed as to how precisely to tidy them up so that they meet the criteria set down by the vetting committee.

Therefore, there is real concern that the revised motions could again fall foul of the motions committee which is comprised of GAA president Sean Kelly, director-general Liam Mulvihill and former GAA presidents.

GAA president Sean Kelly is in favour of opening Croke Park to other sports but there are several former presidents who are strongly against such an historic move.

It was thought that a rule change announced last October would prevent the motions committee scuppering the Croke Park proposals but this has not proved the case in recent days.

There have been some suggestions that counties could consider taking the motions issue to the Irish courts if they are prevented from debating Rule 41 at this year's Congress.

Calls to open Croke Park have increased since it emerged that rugby and soccer internationals might have to be played in Britain during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road which is scheduled to start in 2006.

[Kerryman]

No chance
The GAA won't risk ****ing off the many genuine supporters who follow GAA as well as soccer. Also can you imaagine the backlash from business interests over the loss of revenue if matches are played in Cardiff.
One thing you can say about the GAA - which I think is the greatest sporting organisation in the world - is that they know where there bread is buttered and you'll see Croke Park opened for at least the duration of the closure of Landsdowne.

[gspain]

No chance
The GAA won't risk ****ing off the many genuine supporters who follow GAA as well as soccer. Also can you imaagine the backlash from business interests over the loss of revenue if matches are played in Cardiff.
One thing you can say about the GAA - which I think is the greatest sporting organisation in the world - is that they know where there bread is buttered and you'll see Croke Park opened for at least the duration of the closure of Landsdowne.

Well we don't know yet but it may be too late already to open Croke Park this year. The deadline has now passed for re-submitting the 11 motions that failed to pass the motions group first time.

You are correct re the business interests - maybe they'll sit up and take notice and start sponsoring non sectarian sports when they see the money lost to this economy.

I believe the majority of GAA members certainly would support opening up Croke Park but the GAA does not even pretend to be a democracy.
Hence the past presidents can scupper all the Rule 42 motions again despite 11 different counties proposing them

As for the greatest sporting organisation in the world - your are having a laugh right

1) Policy to support "Struggle for national liberation" since 1979.

2) 11 yearolds in Tyrone play for Gerard and Michael Harte (2 IRA terrorists killed on Active Service in 1989) Memorial Cup.

3) Club in West Belfast named after and bear the insignia of Republican terrorists.

4) GAA grounds widely available for IRA rallies, volunteer commemorations, nights of culture etc etc

5) GAA stars appear in GAA kit on SF/IRA election literature without public comment.

6) Subsequently same GAA star (Peter Canavan) brings All Ireland Cup to Joe Cahill (probably the most evil man ever to set foot on this island) for a photo op.

7) years of spreading broken glass around football goalmouths -well into the 1980s - Mr Kerryman ask anyone at Tralee Dynamos what they went through trying to bring football to Kerry and Kerry GAA are liberals compared to some lunatics in Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. The GAA is still known as "the broken glass spreaders".

8) over 20% of the population of this island are protestant yet in this great bastion of non sectariiansm there hasn't been a protestant All Ireland winner since Hitler came to power in Germany.

9) The Ban

10) Rule 21 discriminated against NI police and British Army for years but never against the IRA (or indeed Loyalist terrorists who murdered some GAA members)

To quote Francie Brolly (father of Joe) SF MLA and chairman of Dungiven GAA "The GAA is synonymous with Republicanism". It's not often SF leaders are that perceptive.

I'd gladly go to Liverpool or Manchester rather than give money to such an organisation however the money lost to this economy will be substantial. Sports tourism is big business. Hotels, pubs and restaurants will lose out big time. The England rugby game in 2003 was worth €90 million to the economy. Businesses will be lost and jobs will be lost.

We've already lost our Pool for the 2007 rugby World Cup.

One thing I'll say about the GAA no matter how much they love the half crown they hate the Crown even more.

[1MickCollins]

7) years of spreading broken glass around football goalmouths -well into the 1980s - Mr Kerryman ask anyone at Tralee Dynamos what they went through trying to bring football to Kerry and Kerry GAA are liberals compared to some lunatics in Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. The GAA is still known as "the broken glass spreaders".


gspain - could you elaborate a little on this? I'm not familiar with this story.

[gspain]

Re Tralee Dynamos and the "broken glass spreaders"

http://archives.tcm.ie/thekingdom/20.../story6957.asp

There was also a Sunday Times article on this which I can't find.

I'm more familiar with cases in Clare but the clubs never went public.

[gspain]

And BTW I know Kerry GAA are the most liberal and fairminded of any of the Munster counties incl my own who were once mandated to vote 12-0 in favour of opening Croke Park and 9 of the dlegates "followed their conscience" and did the right thing.

I also have absolutely no doubt that Sean Kelly is genuine and in no way a bigot but unless he can get a vote of the mombership or even the clubs he hasn't a hope.

[Dawn_Run]

Crunch night for Rule 42

[lopez]

...Joe Cahill (probably the most evil man ever to set foot on this island)...

Now you're having a laugh, right?

More evil than cowardly Ian 'the grand old duke of York' Paisley? Get the boys going with imflamatory language and stand back and do nothing. Even your friends on ourweeminds think he should have been taken away earlier. Evil than Lennie Murphy - Britain's biggest killer until the arrival of of the good Doctor Shipman? Who you can't exactly call a bigot as he liked to torture and kill some of his own. Johnny Adair? Billy Wright?

And for a spot of impartiality how about Dominic McGlinchey or our own Mad Mullah, John Charles McQuaid?

Get real man!