There has long been a streak of opinion running through Dis Great Asssooosheeeayshun Of Ours that it is not 'political' or is 'not involved in politics', writes An Fear Rua …

A sub-set of this approach is the assertion that players are interested only in playing games and have little or no interest in broader aspects of the GAA's activities. AFR does not accept either of these propositions. They are not borne out by experience nor are they supported by the democratically-endorsed rules of the Association***. Anyone who ever threw a hurley and boots into the back of a car on a darkening night and headed off for training on the by-roads of Tyrone or Antrim in the Seventies, knowing they might be faced with a UDR patrol on the way, was doing more than just 'playing games'. They were making a very clear - and sometimes risky - statement of their identity and values.

At the heart of every sport, and every sports organisation - whether it's soccer, rugby, cricket or hockey - there is a political purpose. True, modern media and more laidback attitudes today and the new 'marketing' approaches may have softened it. But it is there and we should not apologise for it. There is much historical research showing that the late-Victorian codification of games like rugby, soccer and cricket went hand-in-glove with the spread of those games throughout the then British Empire. Fair play to the many from Finchley and Portsmouth who shouldered 'the white man's burden' in Malaysia, Ceylon, India and so on. They understood that if the natives spoke English, followed English laws and played English games there was less chance of them kicking up a ruckus about exactly who was ripping off the profits from the rubber, coffee and tea plantations.

The old British colonialists knew well that language was - to use modern parlance - 'part of an overall package'. The 'package' includes folklore, music, dance, placenames and traditions as well as language. Controlling the Empire was all about replacing the local 'package' with the colonialists' one. As the late Brendan Behan put it in his immortal ballad, 'The Captains and the Kings': 'We have many goods for export … Christian ethics and old port … But our greatest boast by far is … That the Ango-Saxon is a sport …'

So, when Michael Cusack, Maurice Davin, JK Bracken and the rest of the seven lads crowded into the back 'shnug' of Hayes's Hotel in Thurles on 1st November 1884 they were'nt doing it because they thought hurling was intrinsically better than, say, hockey. Nor is running with a ball under your arm necessarily any better or worse than catching it and kicking it. No, they were doing it because hurling and Gaelic football are Irish games. If it was just about promoting sport or fitness, they might just as well have founded Cumann Haicí na nGael or Cumann Cricéid na nGael. Indeed, both Cusack and Davin had previously been involved in playing cricket and hockey as well as in athletics. Their move to hurling and Gaelic football was a conscious political assertion by them, intended to inspire and to put a halt to the subornation of young Irishmen to the interests of the Empire. Thankfully, they rescued hurling and football for posterity since it is hard to imagine working up a sweat to get to Semple Stadium on a warm Sunday in June to see Tipp take on Cork in a cricket match!

Given the central role of language - as well as sport - in national identity the current approach of the Government and De Man Dey Call Ahern to the neglected position of Irish in the European Union (EU) is inexplicable. Every existing member state of the EU, plus the ten countries joining on the 1st May, will have their official national languages recognised as official languages of the European Union - except Ireland. Even tiny Malta, with a population smaller than Munster, and both English and Maltese as official languages, will have Maltese recognised as an official language of the EU.

The Acession of the ten new member states, plus the current Irish Presidency of the EU, offer a good opportunity to redress this ridiculous situation. All that is necessary is a simple request by the Government to amend the EU Regulation on official languages. Whether or not Irish is an official language of the Union, every Irish taxpayer is levied with €2 a year to pay for the cost of the enhanced translation facilities needed following Accession. So, there is no extra cost involved to Ireland. On the contrary, about 150 new jobs would open up for Irish translators and interpreters and Irish citizens applying for jobs with the EU would be able to count Irish as an official language on their applications. A 'win, win' for everyone, you would have thought.

Thankfully, there are many GAA players and offeeshals who can see beyond the confines of the goal posts or the half-way line. They are among the 100,000 people who have so far signed an on-line petition to the Government to insist on official status for Irish in the EU. They include Brian Whelehan, Peter Canavan, DJ Carey, Dessie Farrell, Seán Óg de Paor, Seán Óg Ó Hailpín, Colm Cooper, Declan Quill, Joe McDonagh, Dónal Daly, Glen Ryan, Mícheál McCarthy, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Mick O'Connell, Mossie Lyons, Paddy Kelly, Páidí Ó Sé, Tommy Griffin and William Kirby. A 'Vote On It!' Poll on AFR shows more than 90% of our readers supporting the demand.

This is your chance to get your name among some of the 'Greats' of our games
Sign here!

Just tell them An Fear Rua sent you!

Vote On It! Poll:
Should the Government insist on Irish being made an official, working language of the EU, as is being granted to Maltese, Latvian, Estonian etc. ?

Related Topics:
Not Games Merely, but Gaelic as Well...
BLOOMSDAY SPECIAL: That Bloomin" Joyce and the GAA...

*** GAA Official Guide:
'Those who play its games, those who organise its activities and those who control its destinies see in the G.A.A. a means of consolidating our Irish identity. The games to them are more than games - they have a national significance - and the promotion of native pastimes becomes a part of the full national ideal, which envisages the speaking of our own language, music and dances.

The primary purpose of the G.A.A. is the organisation of native pastimes and the promotion of athletic fitness as a means to create a disciplined, self-reliant, national-minded manhood. The overall result is the expression of a people's preference for native ways as opposed to imported ones.

Since she has no control over all the national territory, Ireland's claim to nationhood is impaired. It would be more impaired if she were to lose her language, if she failed to provide a decent livelihood for her people at home, or if she were to forsake her own games and customs in favour of the games and customs of another nation. If pride in the attributes of nationhood dies, something good and distinctive in our race dies with it. Each national quality that is lost makes us so much poorer as a nation. Today, the native games take on a new significance when it is realised that they have been a part, and still are a part, of the Nation's desire to live her own life, to govern her own affairs.'