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Sunday Life reveals sports body’s controverisal memorials to dead IRA members in Ulster
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Tom Daly, Ulster President of the GAA, Sports Minister Nelson McCausland and Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland.
enlargeToday we reveal the first complete list of GAA tributes to men and women who were IRA members. Our map shows how the memorials have spread across the whole of Northern Ireland as controversy over the issue increases.
And below, we detail the ways GAA grounds, contests, trophies and even badges are used to honour dead republican paramilitaries from the Troubles.
The sports body insists it is non-party political and republcians have stressed that competitions have been named after paramilitaries because they were veteran GAA members and talented athletes.
But their explanation did not satisfy Sports Minister Nelson McCausland last week.
He threatened to cut public funding for the organisation unless its “glorification” of dead paramiltaries stopped.
Nationalists accused him of using the GAA as a political football to curry favour with voters.
They also blasted him for ignoring loyalist tributes to murderers — such as the annual Brian Robinson memorial march which carries the name of the UVF killer.
Sinn Fein’s Barry McElduff raged yesterday: “Airbrushing history will achieve nothing. I wouldn’t be pushing for a trawl through loyalist bands and their names. We need to move forward.”
Mr McCausland attended his first GAA match yesterday for the International Police Gaelic Football Tournament final at Newforge Country Club in Belfast, hosted by the PSNI.
The GAA’s Ulster president Tom Daly said: “GAA places and spaces have been places where everybody, irrespective of political affiliation or none, has been welcome.” Many of the tributes below were created independently of GAA bosses, who have announced they would co-operate with any Government review.
Kevin Lynch
The GAA hurling club in Dungiven, Co Londonderry, is named after INLA member and former player Lynch.
He was the seventh of the 10 hunger strikers to die in 1981, after being sentenced to 10 years for stealing shotguns and conspiring to disarm the security forces. Lynch was captain of the 1972 All-Ireland-winning under-16 Derry team.
Joe Cahill
An under-12s football contest is played at Cardinal O’Donnell Park, west Belfast, in honour of the IRA veteran who died in 2004.
Cahill joined the IRA aged 18 and was convicted for his part in killing Catholic cop and dad-of-ten, Patrick Murphy, in 1942. He also was a key figure in founding the Provisional IRA in 1969.
Bobby Sands
The Cumann na Fuiseoige GAA club honours IRA hunger striker Sands, who grew up near its base in Twinbrook, west Belfast.
The club’s badge shows a lark, barb wire and a capital ‘H’ representing the H-block in the Maze prison where Sands — who was convicted of arms offences — was the first IRA hunger striker to die.
There is also a Bobby Sands Memorial soccer cup contest, held during the Feile an Phobail festival in west Belfast.
Mairead Farrell
A girls’ camogie championship played in Tullysaran, Co Armagh,
was named after IRA woman Farrell.
She spent 10 years in jail for bombing the Conway Hotel, Dunmurry, and was killed by the SAS in Gibraltar with fellow IRA members Sean Savage and Daniel McCann in 1988 with whom she allegedly planned to bomb an Army band.
Martin Hurson
A commemorative Martin Hurson Memorial cup final is played every year at Galbally Pearses Football Field near Dungannon in Co Tyrone.
The fifth of the H-block hunger strikers to die, Hurson was arrested in 1976 and quizzed over the attempted murder of UDR soldiers in a bomb attack.
The charge was dropped but he was convicted in relation to several other charges.
Michael McVerry
The first member of the IRA in south Armagh to be killed in the Troubles, McVerry was shot by soldiers in 1973 after placing a 100lb bomb at Keady RUC station, helped by five men who fought a running battle with cops after the device exploded.
The Michael McVerry cup is played for in Cullyhanna, Co Armagh, each year.
Gerard and Martin Harte
These East Tyrone IRA brothers were killed in a carefully-planned SAS ambush at Drumnakilly in 1988. Many branded it revenge for the Ballygawley bus attack 10 days earlier, which killed eight soldiers and injured 27 others.
Palyed at Loughmacrory, the Gerard and Martin Harte Memorial cup is now one of Tyrone's foremost under-12 Gaelic football tournaments.
Louis Leonard Memorial Park
The ground in Donagh, Fermanagh, was named after IRA man Louis, who was killed by loyalists in 1972 while working late in his shop in the village of Derrylin.
Loughgall bomber Paddy Kelly
The Paddy Kelly cup was played in Dungannon, Co Tyrone as part of commemorations for the IRA Loughgall “martyrs”. A heavily-armed IRA unit including Kelly and O’Callaghan was trying to blow up a part-time police station in Loughgall, Co Tyrone, with a 200lb bomb when they were gunned down by the SAS.
McDonnell/Doherty Park
The home ground of the St Teresas GAA club in west Belfast is named after hunger strikers and former players Joe McDonnell and Kieran Doherty.
McDonnell had been arrested in 1976 with Bobby Sands following a bomb attack on a furniture store in Dunmurry and Doherty was convicted for possession of firearms, explosives and hijacking.
Jim Lochrie and Sean
Campbell
Lochrie/Campbell GAA Park in Dromintee, south Armagh is named after IRA members Jim Lochrie and Sean Campbell who were killed when a land mine exploded prematurely at Kelly's Road, Killeen in 1975.
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Nonsense , this is not a compleate list of all events held by the GAA in memory of IRA members. Of the top of my head I can name two yearly GAA events held in by GAA clubs in S. Londonderry , that are held in memory of IRA members. BATESON , SHERIDAN , and LEE, blew themselves up as they primed a bomb , intended for the centre of Magherafelt in the early 70s, have a yearly GAA event called after them. FRANCIS HUGHES, and his cousin and fellow Hunger striker and Terrorist, have also a GAA trophy named in their memory. Do a little research , as their are many more.
Posted by bernard | 03.04.10, 20:28 GMT
So according to Ciaron the brave men and women of the Irish Republican Army who fought and died for Irish freedom were Gaels.
Well Ciaron you got it wrong , if these "brave men and women were Gaels", then that means Gaelic and that is Celtic so they were just invaders as well , but from what is now mainland Europe.
And as far as brave men and women , I do not see what is brave about shooting an unarmed RUC or UDR man when he or she was off duty.
The phrase "cowards who hid in bushes and murdered unarmed civilians ' comes to mind more readily.
Posted by Steve | 12.10.09, 08:19 GMT
Ciaran expresses everything which is blinkered, biggoted and sectarian about the GAA and their entire thought process.
Thanks Ciaran. Your comments say a thousand words. Sadly they centre around hatred, intolerance and bigotry.
Presumably Ciaran and his ilk would have no beef with the similiar use of names of the "brave" men and women of the UVFs, LVFs etc of this world who fought and died to reject Republicanism and retain the ties with mainland Britain?
Posted by Mc | 07.10.09, 23:20 GMT
Address what? The GAA stands for the Gaelic Athletic Association.The brave men and women of the Irish Republican Army who fought and died for Irish freedom were Gaels.The thought of bending the knee to the Unionist foreign invader makes me feel ill
Posted by ciaran | 06.10.09, 19:37 GMT
Ah Sean, I see you opted for scripted response 'B'.
As for PH, presumably you wouldn't have a problem with some Irish League football clubs being named after Loyalist terrorists, or playing at grounds named after Loyalist terrorists or maybe seeing Cliftonville or Donegal Celtic having to compete in cups/trophies named after Loyalist terrorists?
You know, Loyalist terrorists who are "heros amongst the communities" as you so put it?
Posted by Mc | 06.10.09, 17:26 GMT
It must be remembered that the GAA is an amateur community organization. The central council can only implement changes after an EGM and vote of the 4 provincial associations.
The Ulster Council is known as being a particularly conservative council and opposed the opening of Croke Park to Rugby and Soccer. In the rest of Ireland, this sort of thing does not and would not happen. It is the Ulster Council and the individual clubs who are at fault here, if fault there is, not the organization as a whole.
At its base it relies on the local clubs to function independently, it cannot be compared to centralized professional groups like soccer and rugby.
Both sides need to move on from this kind of thing, it's a sad world indeed where a sports organizaiton functions as a political tool. From a Southern Irish Protestant perspective, where this sort of thing is noticeably absent, it just further highlights the dysfunctional nature of Northern Irish society.
Posted by Edward | 06.10.09, 17:00 GMT
MC
If so then all oo, flute band and royal black marches and parades should be cancelled as well, atleast until changes are implemented
Posted by Sean | 06.10.09, 12:09 GMT
dear sunday life
it is a pity that you dont look at the loyalist bands that get money also but they are allow to remember their hero's when they march. to me everyone should be treated the same.
Posted by eddie | 06.10.09, 11:35 GMT
So what if these places and teams are named after IRA volunteers, they are heros amongst the communities which they came from and are being honored because of their standing within the community, whether your willing to accept that or not is another matter but its true. For too long Irish Men and Women have had hide their true identity because of people who want to deny them their history and their right to be who are however we are proud of our history and how we honor those who fought for us.
I enjoy seeing bigots attempting to use whatever little means they have left at their disposal to airbrush history but they must recognise one thing as although they may not want a fenian about the place we are going nowhere and will not stoop to their sectarian levels.
Its time the so called minister for CAL got a grip and got on with actually doing something that makes a difference in peoples lives not so ego/power trip that does not.
Posted by PH | 05.10.09, 15:37 GMT
It is sad that these people are the only role models for the GAA. It is a reflection of their organisation, and it's leaders. If my son wanted to play gaelic, I would not allow it, out of proper memory of the true victims of the conflict. Society needs honourable role models and memorial cups should be named after men of character who give back into society, not terrorists and killers.
Posted by Realist | 05.10.09, 15:33 GMT
This is a disgusting outrage.
The GAA should be forced to cancel all games and close its doors until changes are implemented.
I look forward to reading the comments from GAA "fans" about how a) they are being victimised or b) what about what themuns do or c) both or d) sweeping it under the carpet....rather than addressing this controversial issue.
Posted by Mc | 04.10.09, 18:30 GMT