History In The Making
10/02/07 23:08 Filed in: Sport
I managed to
get myself a ticket for the Ireland-France match
tomorrow, and so will attend Croke Park for the first
time ever for a sporting occasion. (I have been there
for a coupe of wine tastings, and saw U2 there back
in 1985.)
Aside from the obvious sense of sporting occasion, tomorrow's match represents a huge milestone in Ireland's development as a nation. Tomorrow, for the first time ever, a team will take to the field at Croke Park that represents all Irish people, whether Catholic or Protestant, Nationalist or Unionist, of Gaelic tradition or of British tradition. Of course, they have been doing this for years at Lansdowne Road, but it is Croke Park that makes tomorrow different.
The GAA is an impressive organisation. That an amateur sporting movement can continue to garner such a following in this era of wall-to-wall professional sports on satellite television is remarkable. That it managed to build one of the finest and biggest stadiums in Europe is quite incredible.
However, for too long, the GAA was inward looking. It represented the nationalist tradition on the island, and as far as it was concerned, anything beyond that outlook might as well have not existed. Some in the organisation would have happily seen Croke Park stay closed during the Lansdowne Road renovations, forcing the IRFU and the FAI to go abroad to play their home matches. Thankfully, sense prevailed and rugby will be played for the first time on the hallowed turf tomorrow. Credit must be given to former GAA president Seán Kelly and others for their efforts to bring this about.
I'll write more about this another time.
Aside from the obvious sense of sporting occasion, tomorrow's match represents a huge milestone in Ireland's development as a nation. Tomorrow, for the first time ever, a team will take to the field at Croke Park that represents all Irish people, whether Catholic or Protestant, Nationalist or Unionist, of Gaelic tradition or of British tradition. Of course, they have been doing this for years at Lansdowne Road, but it is Croke Park that makes tomorrow different.
The GAA is an impressive organisation. That an amateur sporting movement can continue to garner such a following in this era of wall-to-wall professional sports on satellite television is remarkable. That it managed to build one of the finest and biggest stadiums in Europe is quite incredible.
However, for too long, the GAA was inward looking. It represented the nationalist tradition on the island, and as far as it was concerned, anything beyond that outlook might as well have not existed. Some in the organisation would have happily seen Croke Park stay closed during the Lansdowne Road renovations, forcing the IRFU and the FAI to go abroad to play their home matches. Thankfully, sense prevailed and rugby will be played for the first time on the hallowed turf tomorrow. Credit must be given to former GAA president Seán Kelly and others for their efforts to bring this about.
I'll write more about this another time.