well said corkcelt.

Tom1916 (Armagh) - Posts: 2001 - 24/09/2010 09:19:21    782821

Re CORKCELT
I have never felt inferior to any English or any other non Irish Nationality, Neither do I need their approval to give me a warm and fuzzy feeling or to reassure me. I know who I am and what the GAA is and I'm not going to jump up and down clapping cos of an article in an English newspaper regardless of the political leanings of its editorial.

Relax baby - it's a party! A bit of deserved praise no matter where it comes from is always welcome. If Le Monde had written a similar article I wonder would you have become as agitated?

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9863 - 24/09/2010 09:21:54    782822

23/09/2010 20:26:30
Brolly
County: Monaghan
Posts: 1789

782610 A great article. Didnt like the 'every irishman works in a factory or on a farm' jibe though.

23/09/2010 22:02:48
BufordTJustice
County: USA
Posts: 349

782793 corkcelt
County: Cork

Patronising nonsense. A day working in the factory or down on the farm is right. Tis a wonder they didn't throw in minding a few pigs in the parlour. Why not say a day working as an engineer or a teacher or a lawyer.

Typical bad news, begrudging, blame all the others, see the worst in everything, liveline calling, moaning, paranoid about the brits, oldstyle thinking.

The guy writes a fantastically complimentary article about our sport and you source out the one and only half a sentance that you can mistrue in order to have a go. A factory is a symbol of work. Always has been. It is where tangible objects are produced. Do you seriously think most people in Ireland Are lawyers and teachers. Many players may be Gardai or teaches but most people in the UK and Ireland, if you take out Public Service, will work in either a factory, a shop/hotel or in construction. There are damnall engineers and lawyers in comparison.

Can you just imagine if he had said "after a long day at the court litigting or at the control centre designing new state of the art equipment".

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 24/09/2010 09:38:25    782832

I think it's ok...

But whoever wrote it doesnt have the slightest notion regarding the GPA and I think they got their background information referrence for the GPA from a 2004 article from the "Of one Belief" website.

It's very vague indeed in it's reference to the GPA, a body which will soon be fully recognised by the GAA on the 31st October, You'd swear that article was written about 6 years ago in the bad old days of the GAA vs GPA.

Quite lazy jouranlism to be honest.. if they had of bothered to actually look at the GPA website... they'd soon see what the GPA are actually about.

The protection of the players.

http://www.gaelicplayers.com/

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 24/09/2010 09:53:33    782842

I read the guardian sports pages regularly and it is generally of a high standard and better than most but I'll be honest and say that that line "Some stars earn money advertising everything from milk to fertiliser, but the overwhelming majority will turn up for training after a day at the factory or working on the farm. " did jar with me as I read it, for whatever reason. For a start its professional rugby player Paul O'Connell who advertises milk. On top of that the GPA stuff, whether you agree with it or not, is not well researched and I knew Jimbo wouldn't be impressed!

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12435 - 24/09/2010 10:15:51    782860

Some people just cant take a compliment. The fact that anyone is taking an interest in our national sports should be a source of great pride. Alot of those giving out about the patronising British are the very same people who support the US and British in the "WAR ON TERROR".

Corrxxx (Kerry) - Posts: 584 - 24/09/2010 10:17:19    782861

john Inverdale shows how it should be done:

www.telegraph.co.uk/.../Clash-over-cash-looms-at-venue-of-Bloody-Sunday.html

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12435 - 24/09/2010 10:19:39    782864

Sorry that link doesn't work but the article is included here, along with another interesting one from 1959:

http://www.bodengaa.ie/news/all_ireland_hurling_preview_from_an_outside_perspective.450.1681.html

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12435 - 24/09/2010 10:28:08    782872

Breffni39
County: Cavan
Posts: 3602

I wasnt impressed Breff... as you correctlly stated yourself it was indeed presented and referenced quite poorly

Very lazy stuff... from a supposed superior newspaper????? Using the GAA to take cheap shots...

The more I think about it... The entire article is more a shot at the FA and the modern day English soccer player antics than a praising acccount of how great the GAA is... Poorly researched, poory presented, lazy stuff.

Rubbish.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 24/09/2010 10:45:02    782889

I think if he had room for only 250 words in his column then he has done a very good job of what looks like a succinct comparison of definitions of the "peoples' sport" in Ireland as opposed to in England.

Couldn't have compared the two better. Particularly, considering his audience generally do not have a clue about Gaelic Games.

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 24/09/2010 10:55:50    782899

thykingdomcome
County: Kerry
Posts: 1074

Still completely way off the mark regarding the GPA…. Plus what's the point in writing the article in the first place "If his audience generally do not have a clue about Gaelic Games".

If he wanted to educate his readers about our sports and its member I think it's a very lame attempt…

One that looks like he was over here on holiday during the summer and just so happened to walk by Croke Park

The article isn't so much about praising the GAA; rather it's as a way of attacking the modern day football culture in the UK by using the GAA as an example.

Taking cheap shots while poorly referencing the subject matter

That isn't good journalism….

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 24/09/2010 11:18:22    782921

I read the guardian sports pages regularly and it is generally of a high standard and better than most but I'll be honest and say that that line "Some stars earn money advertising everything from milk to fertiliser, but the overwhelming majority will turn up for training after a day at the factory or working on the farm. " did jar with me as I read it, for whatever reason.

Agreed, but I think it was more to do with giving a contrast to professional footballers than an actual jibe, i.e. middle class joe soap can provide just as much enjoyment as the john terrys come matchday. They are not so much painting all irish as farmers and factory workers as trying to draw a similae with the common english man

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 24/09/2010 11:27:05    782930

Jimbodub

In order to describe the GAA in it's total (which I don't think he was trying to do), he would either have to include a free copy of the GAA Handbook or an Rte documentary on DVD with every paper or maybe do a 10 page article.

Imagine if a journalist in one of the Irish broadsheets was given a quarter of a column to describe the differences between our handballers and Jai Alai players from Florida (which is about as relevent to us as GAA is to the majority of UK residents). You wouldn't expect an indepth analysis of al rules, finances, player welfare, community involvement and crowd participation. Would you?

It was a small article, but it was complimentary. That's all. No need to knock it for poor journalism. It was never meant to be a definitive statement.

Anything that raises the profile of the GAA around the world in a positive light is good in my opnion. God knows, the GAA already spend 40% of their income on promoting the games abroad and rarely if ever get a mention in any foreign national circulations.

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 24/09/2010 11:57:42    782966

thykingdomcome
County: Kerry
Posts: 1076


It's a vague lame nothing article..

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 24/09/2010 12:01:26    782972

....and speaks poorly about the vast majority of our players by poorly highlighting the incorrect and negative aspects of the GPA which contains 2000+ players.

That's all...


We dont need some Guardian journalist to tells us the obvious and something we all know to well... and then praise it as a master class of journalism on a GAA website

Jeeze lads... You'll end up pulling something if you keep patting yourselves on the back!!!

That's it for me on the subject.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 24/09/2010 12:07:35    782979

The Guardian journalist wasn't telling YOU something YOU already know. He was telling the Guardian readers, the majority of which, if not all, will have not the first clue about Gaelic games. Who knows, maybe someone may read that article and take a look at the GAA to see what its all about and become interested. Hmmm, that notion sounds familiar.....

Tongo (UK) - Posts: 1795 - 24/09/2010 12:12:06    782991

;)

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 24/09/2010 12:17:31    782997

Tongo, I see what you're saying but they actually talk about GAA fairly regularly in the Guardian, they have a number of Irish sports writers and the blog pages often have GAA references even if it is mostly clips of shemozzles in the compromise rules in the youtube roundup. But its a fair point that most of the readers would not really be aware of the GAA.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12435 - 24/09/2010 12:20:12    783000

see brendan i actually do believe that not all unionists are bad and that the british have a great respect for our culture and heritage

hipster (Dublin) - Posts: 2509 - 24/09/2010 15:36:19    783229

The GAA doesn't need the tree hugging trendy lefty anti Catholic Gaurdian to patronise it. It's coverage both before and after the Papal visit was nasty and disgraceful as it pandered to the mad secularists and intolerant gay mafia in Britain.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9822 - 24/09/2010 15:50:14    783253