Rule 21 under fire
In the face of growing opposition to the proposed abolition of
Rule 21 the Management Committee of the GAA will be putting a
second motion to the extraordinary Congress of the association to
be held on Saturday May 30.
President Joe McDoagh is proposing that the rule, which bans the
RUC or British forces from participating in Gaelic games, should
be suspended. To get the rule abolished would take a two thirds
yes vote of the Congress but to get the rule suspended may only
require a simple majority. The association has so far refused to
clarify the exact voting percentage required.
This suspension proposal would effectively be deletion of the
rule by the back door. The Management Committee obviously worried
at how their new motion will be seen by ordinary members, the
majority of whom oppose any change until the RUC is fundamentally
reformed, are to hold the Congress behind closed doors with the
media excluded.
This latest motion highlights the fact that the whole issue has
become something of a vote of confidence in President McDonagh
who is the driving force behind achieving some change to the
rule.
In response to the original motion to abolish the rule, Breadan
MacCionaith of the Garvaghy Road residents group, called on the
Association to postpone any decision until the Nationalist
community in the North are treated with respect by the Crown
forces. He said, ``All members of the GAA must be aware of the
disgraceful and unjust manner in which these forces have treated
the Nationalist community in Portadown over recent years. Few
among you would not have shared the feeling of total humiliation
experienced by our entire community when parishioners were
physically and forcibly prevented from attending normal Masses.''
He also appealed to Committee members to Come to the Garvaghy
Road this summer, ``I would also like to invite an tUachtaran Joe
McDonagh and other senior officials of the GAA to come to
Portadown in July to observe our experiences at first hand.''
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