GAA not covered by banning orders
By John Fogarty

Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy said banning orders need not apply to the GAA in Northern Ireland.
Assembly Justice Minister David Ford recently stated he would consider a request from either the association or the IRFU to extend banning orders to their games. The new power, which came into force on January 1, only applies to soccer and empowers the PSNI and the courts to prevent a person who has caused violence from attending another game in Northern Ireland for up to 10 years.

"The banning orders don’t extend to the GAA for the simple reason that the GAA has its own rules in that area," said Murphy. "The government has the right to amend existing legislation but the banning orders are not available to the GAA.

"We were involved in discussions with the government on legislation relating to the Justice Bill of 2011 and also made a submission to the committee. The GAA basically had to accept some parts of the legislation apply to us. The use or misuse of alcohol in buses on the way to matches is one of them. But the banning orders do not apply."

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, January 06, 2012