THE EXCHANGE ON the Cedral St Conleth’s Park touchline between Joanne Cantwell and Peter Canavan on RTÉ television on Saturday night, around the protests at Congress around Allianz’s continued sponsorship of GAA competitions, was a gripping and compelling example of journalism.
The tenacity of Cantwell and the clarity of Canavan’s position, having taken part in the protests outside Croke Park on Saturday and his reflections on GAA president Jarlath Burns’ comments thereafter, has moved the dial on this issue. Those that feel the same way as Canavan feel emboldened. It has brought everything into the mainstream.
You can have political activism to beat the band, but a celebrity endorsement changes the landscape. It’s now deep into the GAA leagues, but Congress and Allianz are the major talking points.
Peter Canavan was one of the protestors at Croke Park today objecting to Allianz's sponsorship of Gaelic games
In case that sounds flippant, it should be pointed out that Canavan has been politically engaged for decades and appeared in solidarity with many families affected by the troubles, including that of Sean Brown, the Bellaghy chairman murdered by a Loyalist gang, and Aidan McAnespie, killed by a soldier at a checkpoint on the Tyrone/Monaghan border.
“As a past player I was more than happy to be there…just to voice my disapproval and our disapproval for the continued sponsorship that they have for the national league,” Canavan told Cantwell on RTÉ.
Invited to address Burns’ remarks about his lived experience during the Troubles including the triple murder of three men in Donnelly’s Bar in Silverbridge in December 1975, Canavan explained that, for so many, the GAA saved them as young children – but the same opportunities don’t exist for the children of Gaza.
“He mentioned that there were no convictions on that killing. That was 50 years ago. Why? Because so many people buried their head in the sand. Didn’t want to know what was going on.
“The exact same is going on here with us. We have an opportunity as an association to do the right thing.”
Other high-profile people have made their voices heard over the last week.
Prior to the weekend’s protest, the former Dublin player and manager Pat Gilroy recorded a video in which he stated, “I can’t understand why a UN Report (from Francesca Albanese around which companies, including the Allianz subsidiary PIMCO that has made significant investment in Israeli government bonds) is being ignored by the GAA in relation to Allianz.”
He urged people to get along to Saturday’s protest.
A protestor outside Croke Park. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
“For me, why I think Irish people should do this is because our history has been to fight against oppression. The GAA stands as a beacon in this country of the people. Its gestures would be massive in relation to international support for ending this genocide in Gaza.”
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The opposition cannot be pigeonholed.
You have Dr Dave Hickey, who used the platform of being in the 1999 Dublin Jubilee team to deliver a message about the Cuban Blockade.
And then you have Colm O’Rourke, nobody’s idea of an anti-establishment firebrand.
While high profile endorsements are effective, a photograph of the Tyrone protestors caught this eye over the weekend.
You had Eugene McKenna and Damian O’Hagan of the 1986 All-Ireland final team. Joe McMahon and Canavan of more recent vintage.
Beside them were men such as Eoin Gormley, the former Tyrone and Ireland International Rules player who has spent the last decade coaching and on the committee of a new hurling and camogie club.
There was Peter Kerr, the former county hurler who later established three new clubs in his role as hurling officer on the county board.
So many of the people protesting were dyed in the wool GAA people, involved in many GAA activities.
Entering the floor of Congress produced some incredible imagery. Some of it was deeply unflattering for GAA volunteers, with banners decrying genocide being held up to men in suits.
It would be a stretch to paint this as a violent protest, even allowing for the reported minor injury, and Burns’ insistence that, “A line was crossed”.
A protester at GAA Congress. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
However, the scenes were no doubt intimidating for many in that room. The moment was unpredictable. Burns handled it well by defusing the situation and taking a break. It could be frightening for those with no experience of political protest.
Burns said afterwards: “I don’t need any lectures or people shouting in my face about what it’s like to go to bed at night fearful that somebody would barge into your bedroom and riddle you with bullets because that was my lived experience when I was young.”
His comments were made in anger and met with applause from delegates.
That’s understandable on one level, but the premise was flawed. To use one’s lived experience of conflict as a flag to wave at protestors against genocide is ill-judged.
The protestors’ frustrations are not without foundation.
Former Dublin player and selector, Dr Dave Hickey. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Delegates had a chance to raise the issue of Allianz after director general Tom Ryan’s address on Friday. Ten counties had called for the GAA to end its relationship with Allianz.
Some, such as Tyrone, attempted to bring a motion to the Clár to debate the issue at Congress. That was not permitted by the GAA, who felt that the issue had already been dealt with through their Ethics and Integrity Committee.
Shutting down dissent in the GAA is a relatively new concept. The founding of the GAA was in itself an act of rebellion and subversion.
In the past, the GAA have enthusiastically embraced this, such as the widespread celebrations commemorating a century on from ‘Gaelic Sunday’, when games were staged all over the country on 4 August 1918 as an act of rebellion against British orders forbidding assemblies and gatherings without written authorisation from the police.
In 2016, there was a large scale, theatrical production on the Croke Park pitch with spectators in the stand commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising.
Those opposing the Allianz sponsorship feel that the GAA are hiding behind the findings of their own Ethics and Integrity Committee – a committee of three people after two decided against taking part in this issue.
At this point, all parties need to take a brief time out. But the issue will remain, and will roll into the summer championship if nothing changes.
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Ignoring reservations of Allianz deal is no longer an option for the GAA
THE EXCHANGE ON the Cedral St Conleth’s Park touchline between Joanne Cantwell and Peter Canavan on RTÉ television on Saturday night, around the protests at Congress around Allianz’s continued sponsorship of GAA competitions, was a gripping and compelling example of journalism.
The tenacity of Cantwell and the clarity of Canavan’s position, having taken part in the protests outside Croke Park on Saturday and his reflections on GAA president Jarlath Burns’ comments thereafter, has moved the dial on this issue. Those that feel the same way as Canavan feel emboldened. It has brought everything into the mainstream.
You can have political activism to beat the band, but a celebrity endorsement changes the landscape. It’s now deep into the GAA leagues, but Congress and Allianz are the major talking points.
In case that sounds flippant, it should be pointed out that Canavan has been politically engaged for decades and appeared in solidarity with many families affected by the troubles, including that of Sean Brown, the Bellaghy chairman murdered by a Loyalist gang, and Aidan McAnespie, killed by a soldier at a checkpoint on the Tyrone/Monaghan border.
“As a past player I was more than happy to be there…just to voice my disapproval and our disapproval for the continued sponsorship that they have for the national league,” Canavan told Cantwell on RTÉ.
Invited to address Burns’ remarks about his lived experience during the Troubles including the triple murder of three men in Donnelly’s Bar in Silverbridge in December 1975, Canavan explained that, for so many, the GAA saved them as young children – but the same opportunities don’t exist for the children of Gaza.
“He mentioned that there were no convictions on that killing. That was 50 years ago. Why? Because so many people buried their head in the sand. Didn’t want to know what was going on.
Other high-profile people have made their voices heard over the last week.
Prior to the weekend’s protest, the former Dublin player and manager Pat Gilroy recorded a video in which he stated, “I can’t understand why a UN Report (from Francesca Albanese around which companies, including the Allianz subsidiary PIMCO that has made significant investment in Israeli government bonds) is being ignored by the GAA in relation to Allianz.”
He urged people to get along to Saturday’s protest.
“For me, why I think Irish people should do this is because our history has been to fight against oppression. The GAA stands as a beacon in this country of the people. Its gestures would be massive in relation to international support for ending this genocide in Gaza.”
The opposition cannot be pigeonholed.
You have Dr Dave Hickey, who used the platform of being in the 1999 Dublin Jubilee team to deliver a message about the Cuban Blockade.
And then you have Colm O’Rourke, nobody’s idea of an anti-establishment firebrand.
While high profile endorsements are effective, a photograph of the Tyrone protestors caught this eye over the weekend.
You had Eugene McKenna and Damian O’Hagan of the 1986 All-Ireland final team. Joe McMahon and Canavan of more recent vintage.
Beside them were men such as Eoin Gormley, the former Tyrone and Ireland International Rules player who has spent the last decade coaching and on the committee of a new hurling and camogie club.
There was Peter Kerr, the former county hurler who later established three new clubs in his role as hurling officer on the county board.
So many of the people protesting were dyed in the wool GAA people, involved in many GAA activities.
Entering the floor of Congress produced some incredible imagery. Some of it was deeply unflattering for GAA volunteers, with banners decrying genocide being held up to men in suits.
It would be a stretch to paint this as a violent protest, even allowing for the reported minor injury, and Burns’ insistence that, “A line was crossed”.
However, the scenes were no doubt intimidating for many in that room. The moment was unpredictable. Burns handled it well by defusing the situation and taking a break. It could be frightening for those with no experience of political protest.
Burns said afterwards: “I don’t need any lectures or people shouting in my face about what it’s like to go to bed at night fearful that somebody would barge into your bedroom and riddle you with bullets because that was my lived experience when I was young.”
His comments were made in anger and met with applause from delegates.
That’s understandable on one level, but the premise was flawed. To use one’s lived experience of conflict as a flag to wave at protestors against genocide is ill-judged.
The protestors’ frustrations are not without foundation.
Delegates had a chance to raise the issue of Allianz after director general Tom Ryan’s address on Friday. Ten counties had called for the GAA to end its relationship with Allianz.
Some, such as Tyrone, attempted to bring a motion to the Clár to debate the issue at Congress. That was not permitted by the GAA, who felt that the issue had already been dealt with through their Ethics and Integrity Committee.
In the past, the GAA have enthusiastically embraced this, such as the widespread celebrations commemorating a century on from ‘Gaelic Sunday’, when games were staged all over the country on 4 August 1918 as an act of rebellion against British orders forbidding assemblies and gatherings without written authorisation from the police.
In 2016, there was a large scale, theatrical production on the Croke Park pitch with spectators in the stand commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising.
Those opposing the Allianz sponsorship feel that the GAA are hiding behind the findings of their own Ethics and Integrity Committee – a committee of three people after two decided against taking part in this issue.
At this point, all parties need to take a brief time out. But the issue will remain, and will roll into the summer championship if nothing changes.
Ignoring it?
That’s not an option.
*****
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