March 2, 2007
A whole new ball game
In Ireland, even what sports you follow can be divisive. Not
which team you support—but which sports. Whereas all sections
of the community play and take an interest in following football
(soccer), other sports are often associated with one ethnic or
religious tradition. Cricket, field hockey, and rugby have been
associated with English immigration, imperialism, and influence—games
from outside Ireland introduced by those who came as conquerors.
In 1884, as part of the rise of Irish nationalism, the Gaelic
Athletic Association was formed to promote sports native to Ireland,
such as Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie. GAA rules not only
promoted Irish sports but barred those who played them from playing
foreign games competitively. They also barred members of the security
forces in Northern Ireland (police or army) from participating
in the GAA. (As part of the peace process, however, that ban was
lifted by the GAA several years ago.) And, most emphatically,
foreign games were barred from being played in GAA grounds.
The tension between different sporting traditions was hugely
exacerbated in one horrific incident in 1920, during the war for
independence being fought by the IRA against British military
forces in what is now the Republic of Ireland. On the day that
a GAA championship final was being held in Dublin’s Croke
Park, IRA members ambushed and killed 14 British Army intelligence
officers. Later that day, British army vehicles drove into the
Croke Park stadium and, in retaliation, opened fire on the teams
and spectators. Fourteen people were killed at Croke Park too,
including the hugely popular captain of the Tipperary team. One
of the stands in Croke Park is named Hill 16 because it was built
out of rubble created during the 1916 uprising. Years later, when
the stadium was rebuilt, the main stand was named the Hogan Stand
for that famed Tipperary captain killed by the British army during
that retaliatory raid in 1920. Croke Park has huge significance
for Irish nationalism.
A special exception was made several years ago to the ruling
not to allow foreign games to be played in Croke Park, the home
of GAA games, so that some of the Special Olympics could take
place there when Dublin hosted the games. Then in 2005, after
much debate, the GAA agreed to another exception to this ban because
the Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin, home to Ireland’s
rugby team, was due to be closed and rebuilt and so would be out
of operation for two years. Another venue was required for Ireland’s
international rugby matches.
The first game against France was held in Croke Park on February
11. There was huge hype about the symbolism of this breakthrough
and the atmosphere was terrific. A last minute try by France denied
Ireland a victory, but the real winner was sport.
Then on February 24 an even more important match occurred. Ireland
played host to England in Croke Park, something that was absolutely
unimaginable just a couple of years ago. Irish Taoiseach (Prime
Minister) Bertie Ahern acknowledged it could never have happened
during the Troubles. For weeks in advance there was speculation
and concern about whether there would be protests, or even violence,
by dissident Irish Republican groups. In particular, there was
speculation about whether or not the GAA would allow the English
national anthem to be played before the game and, if they did,
how it would be received.
Come the day, the stadium was packed with over 83,000 (nearly
double what Landsowne Road held for Rugby matches). The atmosphere
inside and outside the grounds was electric. “God Save the
Queen” was played and sung by English supporters while Irish
supporters respectfully kept silence. And then when it ended,
there was rapturous applause by Irish supporters—north and
south—Catholic and Protestant, which strongly signaling
a desire to move on and not let history hold sport or relationships
back. When Ireland’s anthems* were then sung, emotions could
not be restrained. Tears streamed down the faces of several Irish
players. The volume of singing by the massive crowd was phenomenal.
Then, in what was a very exciting match (for Ireland supporters
like us!), Ireland took to the field and brilliantly outplayed
England in a 43-13 victory, their largest ever over an England
team.
After centuries of conflict between Ireland and England and decades
of conflict between those of British ancestry and those of Irish
ancestry in what is now Northern Ireland, the road to a new future
and the healing of relationships takes many forms. In Croke Park
on February 24, another big step forward was taken, and there
has been huge affirmation for it.
* The Ireland Rugby team is one of those all-island institutions
that pre-dates partition and has continued in spite of partition.
Hence the team has players from both the Republic of Ireland and
from Northern Ireland. Most players from Northern Ireland come
from a Protestant and Unionist background, since that is primarily
who plays rugby in Northern Ireland. However, most southern players
come from a Catholic and Nationalist background (as does 95 percent
of the population in the Republic) and rugby is played in many
Catholic schools in the Republic. For decades, when the team has
competed against other nations such as England, Wales, Scotland
or France the national anthem of the Republic has been used for
the Ireland team and northern players have mostly stood in silence,
not feeling able to join in singing it. Several years ago Irish
musician Phil Coulter was asked to write a new inclusive rugby
anthem, Ireland’s Call. Hence, two anthems are now sung
for the Ireland team at the beginning of each match.
Doug Baker
|
