The president of The Redoubtable Sons of Ulster O'Donnell Abu Erin go Bragh 1641 Forever United Defenders GAA club of Aughnafuil of the province of Ulster was the first to take the floor on the thorny issue of admitting RUC men and British soldiers into his beloved sporting organisation. His peroration opened shortly after breakfast with a detailed survey of Irish history, beginning with the Firbolgs and their love of the ancient sports of our land. Cuchulainn, Finn McCool, the Knights of the Red Branch all appeared, as did St Patrick. "St Patrick had no time for the peelers, the specials or the UDR. He would have voted no to the forces of the . . ." and he paused his pursed lips into a suitable moue of disgust, " . . . crown."
Brian Boru's love of games
He dabbed his soiled mouth with a handkerchief before continuing, dealing at length with Brian Boru and his love of Gaelic games. Would Brian Boru have compromised his principles by permitting disloyal Irishmen, agents of a foreign power, traitors, into the GAA when he was in charge of the organisation in the Clontarf area? He would not. Brian Boru gave his life to protect his beloved land from the influence of the infidel, the conquerer: and what loyal Irishman would do less? At this point, the meeting broke for lunch. The morning speaker resumed his address in the early afternoon with the Cork plantations in the early 16th century. The ordeal of barony by barony was spelt out in bloody detail. He paused, and took a long draught of water, and for a moment it seemed he was about to burst into contemporary events - or the 17th century at least. But no: the plantations of Laois and Offaly followed, as did the effects of the Reformation on the Gaelic Church, and he rounded up that century with a detailed survey on Essex's campaign in Elizabeth's time.
The meeting broke for tea, and the speaker resumed with a moving peroration upon events at Kinsale in 1601. The delegates were so overcome with the tragedy that there was a motion from the floor that the vote be put there and then, the RUC should be anathematised for all time and the meeting should vote for a resumption of the war of liberation in revenge for Kinsale.
The speaker called for calm. He had, after all, only reached 1601 - there was so much to discuss before they could consider the vexed issue of what they should be doing in 1998. Moreover, he said with relish, he had yet to come to the great and glorious year of 1641, when the invader was nearly, oh so very nearly, expelled once and for all from the land of the Gael, and with him, lock stock and barrel, his barbarous foreign games. But alas, it was not to be. The Sassenach was again triumphant, aided by treacherous natives. He would not sully the fair name of the Irish by calling them Irishmen. They were men of Ireland, if you could call them men. He would not. They were land grabbers or had taken the soup and abandoned the Old Faith and couldn't be called Irish at all.
There was much applause at this, but then the gathering grew sombre, for they knew the point in the debate as to whether or not RUC men were going to be permitted to join the GAA had reached Cromwell, whose policy towards gaelic sports of any kind was well known. But that did not mean he was going to skip the details. This was an important issue, and the facts had to be made known before people could vote.
Damage to grounds.
The damage done to GAA grounds in both Drogheda and Limerick was outlined in detail to a shocked audience, who had forgotten some of the worst aspects of Cromwellian conquest. The 17th century continued in all its horrors, with the Williamite wars, the numerous battles, the various sieges, and many, many atrocities followed.
"And we are going to let these people join our beloved GAA, brethren?" the speaker asked paranthetically, stilling the howl of "NEVER" with an outstretched palm. For now he had come to the penal laws, whose excesses were many and various, and he could not deal with them all.
There was a motion from the floor that he should deal with them all. It was seconded and the vote was carried unanimously. So he dealt with them all, and spoke at length on one of the worst aspects of the Penal Laws: the imposition of foreign sporting codes on this fair country. The land was covered in the gibbets from which dangled gallant young Irishmen who had had the temerity to lift a hurley or to field a round ball, while traitors played rugby, soccer and cricket.
His face grew even more sombre as he approached the end of the century, and the gallant rising by the United Irishmen, led by the flower of the hurling and football-playing youth. Needless to say, needless to say, he repeated through clenched teeth, the Rising was in large measure PUT DOWN BY THE SORT OF CREATURES THAT THEY WERE GATHERED THERE THAT AFTERNOON TO DISCUSS.
He then spoke movingly and at length about the Famine, the eviction, the coffin ships, all of which had done terrible damage to gaelic sports. And after that calamity there had been the calamity of the 1848 Rising, when yet again Irishmen showed their true mettle. And who put that Rising down, he asked, but none other than the men of the Royal Irish Constabulary - royal, unquestionably, constabulary, indubitably, but Irish? Never!
On to the vote
Uproar followed, which only subsided when he dealt spiritedly with the Fenians, the Manchester Martyrs, the Home Rule bills destroyed by perfidious Albion, at which point he came to the 1916 Rising. He was about to dilate upon the disgraceful role of the RIC in that when a delegate rose from the floor and said he had heard more than enough; the vote should now be put. It was, and carried unanimously, that the ban on RUC men and British soldiers should remain.
The next item on the agenda was an application to the British government for increased grants for the GAA, and that too was carried unanimously.