National Forum

GAA Clubs Had It Tough In The North During The Troubles

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Replying To Richieq:  "Everyone had it tough in the North during that period, and some in the south too, putting a GAA club forward as being a bigger sufferer or in need of more recognition for surviving is neither necessary or warranted in my opinion"
So when a small club with a dark history are finally enjoying some success in the game and somebody highlights significant moments they have overcome in their history you see that as unnecessary and unwarranted? Your level of empathy towards fellow Gaels is really quite sad!

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2386 - 29/01/2019 10:54:50    2160657

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Replying To PaudieSull1:  "Maybe you should have experienced what many clubs did up here bloodyban and see are you so blasé......Sean fox a man in his 70s tortured for several hours in his own home just because he was a member of St Endas, Sean Brown murdered locking the gates of Bellaghy, the numerous GAA clubs burned to the ground or having their grounds/clubrooms damagrd often with the connivance of the local UDR etc.....those are uncomfortable facts, thankfully we have moved beyond those days in many ways but don't try belittle what people went through as it's insulting and ignorant"
You are correct and of course we all live in the present and should move on and live in peace with all our neighbours. However, we should all be aware of our recent past and what went as normal everyday life when you had a state involved in murders. Some guys posting here appear to be happy to forget where they came from.

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 29/01/2019 11:45:29    2160667

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Replying To galwayford:  "P.S I don't like Joe Brolly as a pundit- he is too opinionated and too negative. His county Derry are in division 4 too."
How is what division Derry are in relevant?

oakleaflad (Derry) - Posts: 46 - 29/01/2019 12:06:53    2160674

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Replying To oakleaflad:  "How is what division Derry are in relevant?"
Did you not realise that the lower a division your County is in, the less important your opinion on anything GAA is? Tis only those in the higher echelons of the leagues who have a right to an opinion in the eyes of some.

Now, sit you there and wait for the scraps like the rest of us Division 4 serfs. Know your place......

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 29/01/2019 12:41:06    2160688

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Replying To royaldunne:  "I don't like the Irish language, mostly cause it was teachers with Brollys bs attitude. Get over yourself. U like Irish great for you, I won't tell you not to like it or love it, now do the same for me and don't force ur beliefs or agendas on me , we live in a democracy where people have freedom of choice and speech (as much as I disagree with Brolly and his nonsense) ie maidens dancing at the crossroads type of bs. I will defend his right to have those opinions. However the vast majority of the country north and south have moved on."
Meath are in division 2, maybe that explains some of your negativity, they are not a top team. Slán

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2520 - 29/01/2019 12:49:54    2160695

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Replying To Offside_Rule:  "Did you not realise that the lower a division your County is in, the less important your opinion on anything GAA is? Tis only those in the higher echelons of the leagues who have a right to an opinion in the eyes of some.

Now, sit you there and wait for the scraps like the rest of us Division 4 serfs. Know your place......"
The biggest critics of Gaelic football in particular seem to come from counties who are in the doldrums so to speak. Examples Joe Brolly Derry, Colm O Rourke Meath, sometimes Pat Spillane- Kerry not good at hurling.

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2520 - 29/01/2019 12:52:14    2160697

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Replying To Offside_Rule:  "Did you not realise that the lower a division your County is in, the less important your opinion on anything GAA is? Tis only those in the higher echelons of the leagues who have a right to an opinion in the eyes of some.

Now, sit you there and wait for the scraps like the rest of us Division 4 serfs. Know your place......"
There is a massive food chain in the GAA, at the lower levels of the food chain, you have junior club players, junior hurlers at the very bottom. Then you have clubs, club players, ladies, CPA, supporters who can be hit with 33% ticket increases, people who put motions forward to Congress on transparency, the list goes on & on, we all know them. At the top of the food chain you have the GPA & their funding & % take of earnings, top officials who put forward political statements on how the GAA might do away with the National Anthem & National Flag in the future, those who oversee developments that overshoot their budget in the multi millions putting huge strain on resources & yet walk away with standing ovations, those officials who introduce the advent of semi professionalism, County Boards, the Inter County players, Congress who feel they can laugh & ridicule motions from the grassroots, Central Council who either abstain or don't show for critical votes on rule changes & lastly at the very top, the Inter County Managers who now dictate policy, rules, fixtures, finance & many (not all) who along with backroom teams are milking the cash out of counties & most of it not declared as income to Revenue. These people are the power brokers. Like society in general the gap between those at the bottom & those at the top of the GAA food chain is widening all the time & inevitably it will all end in tears. One thing about the GAA at the top, is how good they are at throwing crumbs (usually empty rhetoric about importance of grassroots) to those at the bottom while they eat cake !

Uimhir.a.3. (Galway) - Posts: 409 - 29/01/2019 13:17:15    2160707

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Replying To galwayford:  "The biggest critics of Gaelic football in particular seem to come from counties who are in the doldrums so to speak. Examples Joe Brolly Derry, Colm O Rourke Meath, sometimes Pat Spillane- Kerry not good at hurling."
Those who are doing well out of something rarely complain. It is only when they fall down the pecking order that things previously accepted without question cause angst. So while I don't know if the biggest critics are from said Counties I can see there being some rational behind the thinking.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 29/01/2019 14:04:33    2160723

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Replying To galwayford:  "Meath are in division 2, maybe that explains some of your negativity, they are not a top team. Slán"
Well that is the most nonsensical post ever posted on hs, totally and utterly unrelated to anything been discussed. But at least we know why Meath are in div 2 it's all cause of me. Lol. Unbelievable

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 29/01/2019 14:07:52    2160724

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Replying To oakleaflad:  "How is what division Derry are in relevant?"
Yeah I don't get that, seemingly i shouldn't have opinions cause Meath are in division two, and it's also my fault. The stupidity of some people is unbelievable.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 29/01/2019 14:10:50    2160726

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In my club we suffer with emigration but so do most rural clubs north and south. It's a struggle to keep heads above eater but we do it and it's down to great people giving up their free time right down to folk buying club lotto tickets weekly.

However what I've heard clubs in the north experienced during the trouble pales into anything most clubs go through today...burning of clubhouses, destroying pitches, British army breaking hurls at checkpoints, intimidation etc....it was disgusting. I've great admiration for those in the north who kept the game going through those hard times.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11236 - 29/01/2019 14:39:49    2160738

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Replying To yew_tree:  "In my club we suffer with emigration but so do most rural clubs north and south. It's a struggle to keep heads above eater but we do it and it's down to great people giving up their free time right down to folk buying club lotto tickets weekly.

However what I've heard clubs in the north experienced during the trouble pales into anything most clubs go through today...burning of clubhouses, destroying pitches, British army breaking hurls at checkpoints, intimidation etc....it was disgusting. I've great admiration for those in the north who kept the game going through those hard times."
Spot on Yew-tree
You've hit on two excellent points , Im in my 50s travelled to the North during the troubles, for some those days are a two minute segment on reeling in the years , I wish it were so , they were horrific and the stories I have from real people couldn't be posted on here , the second point losing lads and lassies to lands a far devastating for many clubs and counties, don't get why lads get so parochial about some things on here facts are facts while we all are entitled to an opinion no one is entitled to be wrong about facts . On the immigration front not today or tomorrow but eventually it will even hit home in Dublin , there's a whole generation that may get decent employment but never be able to afford to live in the capital

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 29/01/2019 18:32:33    2160783

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Replying To galwayford:  "The biggest critics of Gaelic football in particular seem to come from counties who are in the doldrums so to speak. Examples Joe Brolly Derry, Colm O Rourke Meath, sometimes Pat Spillane- Kerry not good at hurling."
You should give them lessons on positivity.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7360 - 29/01/2019 19:25:55    2160792

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Replying To royaldunne:  "Well that is the most nonsensical post ever posted on hs, totally and utterly unrelated to anything been discussed. But at least we know why Meath are in div 2 it's all cause of me. Lol. Unbelievable"
It is not because of Royal Dunne that Meath are in division 2 and have not won Leinster for 8 or 9 years. You are a good supporter. I would look more at the likes of Colm O Rourke and his negativity. Also yes the GAA had a really difficult time in the North over the last 50 years. They were abused, shouted at, and harrasssed.

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2520 - 29/01/2019 22:08:32    2160822

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Replying To Uimhir.a.3.:  "There is a massive food chain in the GAA, at the lower levels of the food chain, you have junior club players, junior hurlers at the very bottom. Then you have clubs, club players, ladies, CPA, supporters who can be hit with 33% ticket increases, people who put motions forward to Congress on transparency, the list goes on & on, we all know them. At the top of the food chain you have the GPA & their funding & % take of earnings, top officials who put forward political statements on how the GAA might do away with the National Anthem & National Flag in the future, those who oversee developments that overshoot their budget in the multi millions putting huge strain on resources & yet walk away with standing ovations, those officials who introduce the advent of semi professionalism, County Boards, the Inter County players, Congress who feel they can laugh & ridicule motions from the grassroots, Central Council who either abstain or don't show for critical votes on rule changes & lastly at the very top, the Inter County Managers who now dictate policy, rules, fixtures, finance & many (not all) who along with backroom teams are milking the cash out of counties & most of it not declared as income to Revenue. These people are the power brokers. Like society in general the gap between those at the bottom & those at the top of the GAA food chain is widening all the time & inevitably it will all end in tears. One thing about the GAA at the top, is how good they are at throwing crumbs (usually empty rhetoric about importance of grassroots) to those at the bottom while they eat cake !"
Excellent post Uimhir. I remember being at a Leinster convention in Newbridge as a club delegate about six years ago when the top table were waxing lyrical about how wonderful our organisation was, a true democracy as it works from the grassroots upwards.
Nothing could be further from the truth as as those in the Ivory towers in Croke Park become more removed from their 'cherished' grassroots with every passing day.
If push comes to shove we can live without them but they can't live without us. It's time they realised this before their attitudes and behavior fractures the organisation they claim to care about.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2991 - 29/01/2019 22:46:20    2160830

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Replying To SaffronDon:  "So when a small club with a dark history are finally enjoying some success in the game and somebody highlights significant moments they have overcome in their history you see that as unnecessary and unwarranted? Your level of empathy towards fellow Gaels is really quite sad!"
The success any club may achieve is not because of its past its down the work being done in the present, my point is everyone suffered not just GAA clubs and I don't think harking back to days best forgotten is a good thing to do when celebrating success, too many people in the North still look back instead of forward in my opinion, the fact that there hasn't been a functioning executive for so long now to carry out the work the people voted them to do is a prime example of that.

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 29/01/2019 22:58:39    2160833

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Replying To Richieq:  "The success any club may achieve is not because of its past its down the work being done in the present, my point is everyone suffered not just GAA clubs and I don't think harking back to days best forgotten is a good thing to do when celebrating success, too many people in the North still look back instead of forward in my opinion, the fact that there hasn't been a functioning executive for so long now to carry out the work the people voted them to do is a prime example of that."
Too long looking back can't move on , walk a mile in my shoes , can't get past the amount of Meath posters with the amount of ignorance of all things North , the get over it Answer is what you say to an 18 splitting with the first girlfriend not a lifetime of experience of British rule and oppression

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 29/01/2019 23:58:33    2160845

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Replying To Richieq:  "The success any club may achieve is not because of its past its down the work being done in the present, my point is everyone suffered not just GAA clubs and I don't think harking back to days best forgotten is a good thing to do when celebrating success, too many people in the North still look back instead of forward in my opinion, the fact that there hasn't been a functioning executive for so long now to carry out the work the people voted them to do is a prime example of that."
The success of any club is based on the foundations laid in the past. To dismiss those who came before and not to recognise their achievements is short sighted.
We cannot deny history nor should we. The fact that the limited government in the six counties is not functioning is nothing to do with or should be brought into a conversation about Gaelic football.
I'm amazed at the lack of empathy that some Southern posters here have for our fellow Northern Gaels.
How many GAA clubs in the South were firebombed how many had members murdered?
Rhetorical question obviously.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2991 - 30/01/2019 02:39:15    2160850

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Replying To Damothedub:  "Too long looking back can't move on , walk a mile in my shoes , can't get past the amount of Meath posters with the amount of ignorance of all things North , the get over it Answer is what you say to an 18 splitting with the first girlfriend not a lifetime of experience of British rule and oppression"
You call it ignorance I call it an opinion, I'm comfortable with my opinion and if your comfortable calling it ignorance then we are both happy

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 30/01/2019 10:04:57    2160863

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Replying To Richieq:  "You call it ignorance I call it an opinion, I'm comfortable with my opinion and if your comfortable calling it ignorance then we are both happy"
It's an ignorant opinion.

If you've had any trauma in your life then I don't think you'd appreciate people telling you to get over it and everyone else has moved on.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12121 - 30/01/2019 10:21:17    2160867

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