February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Unexpectedly, a committee of former GAA presidents, called the Motions Committee, got together and let it be known that all eight motions concerning Rule 42 that had been proposed for Congress in Killarney were being rejected. That was their right, despite the fact that it made Ireland’s premier sporting body look about as democratic as an Idi Amin cabinet meeting.
Not alone did the decision to gag the pending Rule 42 debate anger luminaries such as Sean Boylan, Liam Griffin, Brian McEniff and Colm O’Rourke, it seriously compromised the current presidency of Sean Kelly, who has already gone on the record as saying he would like to see major international sporting events at Croke Park. In fact, O’Rourke went as far as to say that Kelly might resign over the way the Rule 42 issue has been handled to date.
Boylan made the point that he wouldn’t object to other sports being played at Croke Park because he was adamant that Gaelic games were strong enough to withstand the so-called threat. While McEniff disagreed fundamentally with the decision, he hinted at why the debate had been stifled. “The GAA is a slow-moving organization,” he said. “The more you poke at it — as has happened from those outside — the more chance there was of it closing ranks.”
There already have been calls for a plebiscite of clubs on the rule, something which was scheduled to have taken place last year but which was blocked. Kelly could also now call for a special congress.
It appears that the committee’s decision was taken against the backdrop of the Irish government’s decision to part-fund a complete redevelopment of Lansdowne Road. If planning restrictions are overcome, then it’s likely that the stadium will be out of commission from 2006-08, and the GAA would be asked to step into the breach and make Croke Park available for international rugby and soccer games.
While there are influential figures in the GAA such as Kelly and Peter Quinn who have been proponents of repealing Rule 42 — especially given that Croke Park lies idle for six months of the year — the association does not want to be seen as reacting to outside pressures.
So, as the more liberal agenda has been frustrated for the moment, the hardliners will be the ones to decide when it’s time for a change. But that change will surely come.