On the Field of Dreams

national | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis

Sunday February 11, 2007 18:42

by jim travers

jimtravers at eircom dot net

GAA opens its doors to the future

History was made today as the GAA opened its doors and welcomed in a modern Ireland for all to enjoy.
The pitch was fantastic, the fans were in their thousands and the stadium was a shining tribute to an association that calls itself the governing body of amateur games while boasting a world class stadium for its members to play in.

On the field of dreams

At 14.52pm today history was made as the GAA opened its stadium to rugby, soccer and for the rest of the world to marvel at one of the best and most magnificent stadiums in Europe. As a young boy who made his way to Croker to see the Dubs battle it out on the pitch, I always wondered why, over such a long period in time the GAA pursued an isolationist mentality with an asset as valuable as their games and a stadium the vast majority of Irish people held with pride, a pride that was locked within a fortress of Irish nationalism. The GAA has made an impressive and bold move in helping to develop and promote its games far beyond the island of Ireland and in so doing, will do far greater good for the promotion of Gaelic games than it could ever have envisaged throughout its history.

With an audience of millions tuned into viewing the match, the GAA will at last present to a globalise audience of sport and non sporting people, a stadium that is steeped in Irish history, combined with a clear indication that it has finally become part of the modern world and has separated its political ideologies from its passion for sport. When Ronan O’ Gara ran behind the French posts and placed the ball firmly on the grass, the roar that erupted from the stands in Croke Park could be heard by the sea gulls resting on Rockall in the northwest coast of Ireland. For the first time in our history people from all political and sporting divides were brought together under the roof of a magnificent stadium, showing us all what a modern Ireland is all about.

Conor O’Shea and his father Jerome, who is a three all Ireland final medallist for Kerry have shows us how the older generation has caught up with the thoughts and aspirations of the younger generation in that sport is for everybody and should be enjoyer by everybody irrespective of their political or religious affiliations.
Let nobody be under any other illusion, the hosting of this match in Croke Park was a significant and historic break with tradition for the GAA. When Nicky Brennan who is the President of the GAA said of the pride felt by every Irish person and his belief that the GAA was a credit to the people, he signalled the possibility of future moves by the GAA to bring all sporting bodies on the island of Ireland closer together.

The GAA is unfortunately influenced by a small but dwindling number of die hard members who can only see Ireland as it was fifty years ago and who cannot come to grips with the fact that Ireland has matured and taken its rightly place among the nations of the world. In an expanding Europe and a now globalised world, Ireland’s past problems although not forgotten, are now relegated to the history books as people from North and South, Protestant and Catholic stood together under the roof of an association that symbolised everything that took place in the struggle for Irish freedom.

Seamus Mallon, Kevin Moran, Ken McGuiness and many other political and religious leaders stood side by side to cheer on their side. In a small way, I was sorry I made my way to Croke Park, for in my time of attending Croker; I have never experienced a consistent deafening roar that echoed throughout the stadium which never seemed to letup. The Lansdowne roar may have been something magic but the added addition of supporters made the roar in Croke Park unbelievable. Looking around, I could not help thinking about the numbers that made up the contingent of rugby supporters and those who were members of the GAA.

It was a marvellous occasion, with the atmosphere and rugby to the very highest of level. With 82,000 people filling the stadium, Ireland brought the game to France in the second half and nearly came away with a surprising win over a very experienced French side. Paul O’Connell captained the team and with five minutes left to play, it looked as if Ireland was about to add the icing on the cake and complete the party.
Unfortunately France proved that little bit too strong for Ireland, especially with Stringer and O’Driscoll being left out of the team.

In reflection, France showed how it will be difficult for any team to snatch the grand slam away from them. The next big match and test for Ireland will be the match that takes place in Croke Park against England. The atmosphere will be electric as hard line GAA supporters are forced to swallow the bitter pill of God Save the Queen being played on their pitch. As the M&M pills are swallowed in Dublin in great numbers the potency of the pills swallowed will increase as you travel further beyond the pale of Dublin towards the extreme corners of the west of Ireland. The die hard’s will scream and roar for Ireland to beat England and later will ask why the GAA gave in to the playing of foreign games on their pitch. The local GAA Clubs will be full of wrap the green flag around me boys who think what they helped build is theirs and theirs alone to enjoy. Discussions and more discussions will take place as mentors complain about this unwanted intrusion by other sports into the heart of their game as they pack their sons and daughters into the car and drive them to a soccer field so they can play on their local soccer team. And I cannot forget my local GAA club Round Towers, whose member’s often came into the members bar and turned off “Match of the Day”, irrespective of who was watching or enjoying it, such was foreign muck.

Times have changed in the GAA and any future changes will only lead to the association becoming stronger in the promotion and development of its games. It is up to the GAA to manipulate this unique situation that it has presented to itself, by embracing a closer working partnership with other sporting bodies on this island and beyond.

Bring on the England match

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Comments (9 of 9)

A right proper corker at Croker!

by Nick Folley - None

Sat Feb 24, 2007 02:18

What’s wrong with our national anthem? So while “God save the Queen” is sung at Croke Park, the Irish national anthem is not, in order to avoid offending unionist sensibilities. It’s not enough of a gesture to finally open Croke Park to ‘garrison games’ but we must also avoid all reference to our history and culture. What about nationalists who might be offended by the singing of ‘God Save the Queen’ in Croke Park, of all places? Unlike unionists, they are expected to be more emotionally robust and either put up or shut up. With warped logic we are called on to respect the British anthem while turning our back on ours. How can we respect another culture when we don’t even respect our own? Some, like Mike Garde (Irish Examiner 23-02-07) call for a new anthem. He deplores Amhrann na bFhiann for its associations of violence. He seems to forget that it was to the strains of “God Save the King” that his grandfather – and mine, incidentally – sailed off to be gassed in the trenches of World War One. It was to the tune of “God Save the King” that we were colonised and our resources and people exploited along with almost a quarter of the rest of the world. It was to the tune of “God Save the King” that the Black and Tans arrived here. It is to the tune of “God Save the Queen” that Harry of Wales will leave shortly for an immoral war in Iraq. In the jingoistic tradition of that anthem he insists on being allowed to take part in combat missions, a decision he is reported to be ‘over the moon’ about. Yes, the British anthem has plenty of associations of violence too, but apparently that is not an issue. One can only conclude that violence perpetrated against the British state rather than on behalf of it, is alone to be condemned. The violence referred to in our anthem was perpetrated in order to free ourselves from a colonising and occupying power. It would of course have been preferable if it could have been avoided, but the fault does not lie with us. It was a violence that was resorted to in the final analysis because the democracy and nationhood we had been encouraged to fight for in World War One was to be denied us. But it seems to some people it is our little Republic that is the aberration, and not the state that tried to prevent it.
Others, like JJ Barrett appeared on RTE’s Seoige & O’Shea (with Grainne Seoige and Joe O’Shea, Friday 23rd February) to explain his decision to remove his and his father’s GAA medals from the GAA museum. Apart from all the obvious historical implications such as Bloody Sunday he tried to express his feeling that this was the thin end of a cultural shift not in tune with the spirit of the GAA. He pointed out that the Mick Hogan Stand is to be renamed the West Stand sometime in the future as the Irish go busily about erasing their history while enthusiastically embracing Britain’s. He also referred to two phone-polls, one by TV3 the other by RTE itself in which 71% and 74% respectively of those polled did not agree with the decision to allow ‘God Save the Queen’ to be sung at Croke Park. Even on the basis of democracy alone, he argued, it should not be allowed. Yes, said Grainne, but maybe we should all ‘move on’ anyway. She did not seem to grasp the significance of what she was saying: democracy was all well and fine, but ‘Montrose knows best’ This is precisely the kind of muddled thinking that has allowed the British Anthem to be sung at Croke Park in the first place. There is added irony in the fact that at the very time we are toning down our culture so as to oil the wheels of diplomatic relations, Britain is demanding all new immigrants take tests in what it means to be a loyal British subject, and considering making it part of the school curriculum. So while the British are defining their state more clearly than ever, and Harry of Wales goes all the way to Iraq to explain it to the Iraqis so they can be more British too, there are some people here who don’t seem at all clear about what the nature of the Irish state should be. There is nothing to be ashamed of in our anthem. But if we on this island should all ‘move on’ and have a new, inclusive, anthem, may I suggest that instead of the insipid "Ireland's Call" we have a ready-made anthem in “On the One Road” that expresses the convolutions of the ‘peace process’ succinctly. For those unfamiliar with the lyrics, I have added the chorus and first verse below:

One the One Road

(Chorus)
We’re on the one road, sharing the one load, we’re on the road to God knows where
We’re on the one road, it may be the wrong road, but we’re together now who cares?
North men, south men, comrades all, Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Donegal
We’re on the one road, swinging along, singing a soldier’s song

Though we’ve had our troubles now and then
Now is the time to make them up again
Sure aren’t we all Irish anyhow?
Now is the time to step together now

Progress

by Meehawl

Sat Feb 24, 2007 02:49

They call it "Progress", Nick, God help them, while they demolish our heritage in the Tara Valley and hand away our natural resources to Shell, Gratis.

They are set about a deliberate planned process of globalising the Irish Mind.

What they need, to wake them up, is another 1916.

They did sing it!

Sat Feb 24, 2007 23:13

Well I stand corrected on one thing at least - they did sing the Irish anthem after all at Croke Park - albeit a very short version, and it was well applauded. It was good to hear that.
I agree with you that the Irish mind is being 'globalised'. The first step in globalisation is of course to break down old senses of national identity so they can be replaced with something else. Globalisation could be a good thing, if it was honest and well-intended. Obviously, in a world without nations there'd be little sense in international wars. We'd have a greater sense of empathy in the West towards the Iraqis dying in their thousands because they'd be brothers and sisters and not just people of another far-off nationality.
The problem is even our so-called democracies are not robust enough to prevent the encroaching power of big money / business and its effect on government. Globalisation seems to result in even more loss of civil liberty and power to control our own lives. It can be seen in the whole drive to privatisation so beloved of our elected representatives. They assure us it'll bring greater choice and quality of service to us, the 'all-important' consumer (btw - it's our money, not us, that's important). It is just as easy to say that a more accountable civil service could achieve the same result - yearly audits of our whole government and civil service would be well worth the money spent (note how things seems to finally 'get done' in the run up to an election).
There need be no need to lose control of our resources and services to transnational corporations, whose bottom line at the end of the day must be the shareholder and not the consumer or the employees.
But maybe that's the subject of another thread.

We're on the one road!

by Tommy Byrne

Sun Feb 25, 2007 15:05

One the One Road

(Chorus)
We’re on the one road, sharing the one load, we’re on the road to God knows where
We’re on the one road, it may be the wrong road, but we’re together now who cares?
North men, south men, comrades all, Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Donegal
We’re on the one road, swinging along, singing a soldier’s song

Though we’ve had our troubles now and then
Now is the time to make them up again
Sure aren’t we all Irish anyhow?
Now is the time to step together now

ah, I remember when this was sang with gusto in the Wexford Inn circa 1973 by the musical wing of the IRA, The Wolfe Tones. Dem were the days

On the One Road

by Nick - None

Mon Feb 26, 2007 00:19

Come on out from behind that psuedonym, 'Tommy'....

yes, it was sung by the Wolfe Tones, and it was also very popular with FCA boys back in the 1940s during the 'emergency', I am reliably informed.
Doesn't matter if the Loyal Orange Lodge fife band sang it, it's still a damn fine tune, great lyrics and would make a fine anthem if the begrudgers are determined to change the one we have at present

On the one road? Great Lyrics............bah...........

by Eileen Og

Mon Feb 26, 2007 08:07

"great lyrics and would make a fine anthem if the begrudgers are determined to change the one we have at present""

Doesn't mention wimmin at all. It's a bloke's song. I nomitate Mary Black's Song for Ireland. A haunting melody and no foot shtampin' melody.

Fair Point

Mon Feb 26, 2007 19:50

Fair point Eileen, but I'm sure it'd be no trouble at all to add a few verses and give the women their rightful place. I'm not familiar with teh Mary Black tune...I must check it out.

Presidential Salute

Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:36

Nick, It was the Presidential Salute that was played at Croke Park on Saturday, not the Irish National Anthem. The Presidential Salute consists of one short verse of Amhran na bhFiann and must be played on occasions where the President of Ireland attends.

Couldn't they have managed to lay a wreath at least?

Thu Mar 01, 2007 01:28

Meehawl - thanks for clarifying that. I was a bit puzzled, because I'd heard they wouldn't be playing the Irish National Anthem and I thought "why ever in the world not, since they can manage to sing God save the queen?" So when I heard the tune of Amhran na bhFiann, I was doubly puzzled. But thanks for clearing that up, it seems I wasn't as far off the mark as I thought.
By the way, I saw a very interesting article in the most recent edition of Phoenix (feb 28th - March 8th 07) magazine. It seems Peter Hain had some idea of laying a wreath and issuing an official apology for the Bloody Sunday massacre, at Croke park, but the idea was shot down by Tony Blair with the greek chorus of that rag, the Sun (UK edition, of course). It's a great pity. That gesture would have gone a long way towards the reconciliation we're all being encouraged to pursue (mostly on this side of the pond of course). The Germans have managed to do it umpteen times for the Jews (though of course the scale etc., is different) even though the German government is not even a direct descendant of the 1930s / 1940s Nazi Govt. Many countries and cities involved in the slave trade have likewise issued apologies (financial compensation would be incalculable of course, so not even on the agenda, the West is built on it- good article on this in the Economist Feb24th - March 2nd 07) Why can't the British admin bring itself just to say sorry, lay a wreath or two? Why is it that the Irish (and their fight for independence) are being re-cast as the villians, not victims, of history?

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On the Field of Dreams

Comments (9 of 9)