Robinson at Gaelic football match

[PatMustard]

pat that is some tongue-in-cheek statement because to take it any other way would just be silly

Take it how you will. But it will happen. Mark my words.

[ragingbull]

McGuinness was cheering on derry Robinson was cheering on londonderry !

[whitey]

Once again armagh was the venue for history and although his visit was long overdue its a.very welcome departure and hopefully it will continue. If we all looked to the past nothing would move forward - our association does not discriminate over religious views and long may this continue. We don't have to like his partys viewpoint but if we are honest we probably don't like our neighbours views either.

who is worried about his religion?its his position over the years supportin atacks on gaa members an clubs is the issue..you probably still on for the bishops throwin in the ball on all ireland day,or maybe the queen..noone mentioned religion only you..

[Harper1]

Once again armagh was the venue for history and although his visit was long overdue its a.very welcome departure and hopefully it will continue. If we all looked to the past nothing would move forward - our association does not discriminate over religious views and long may this continue. We don't have to like his partys viewpoint but if we are honest we probably don't like our neighbours views either.

Great soundbite mrgaa, but why exactly is this overdue and why should we hope any of this sort of nonsense continues?

I hate all this pretense that poticians be at, Peter Robinson is not a GAA fan, and his visit was not made out of interest in finding out more about the sport, his attendance was for political purposes only. Now, I have absolutely no issue with anyone who actually wants to attend a football match coming along and attending. The more the merrier, but this was nothing to do with wanting to attend, this was all about being seen to attend.

This visit makes next to no difference to real people, who form their opinion about the GAA based on their experience of it and whatever prejedices or bias' they may hold.

If there was any real change in this county, a unionist attending a GAA match would not be a big headline.

Much more important than politicians visiting games, is that we in the GAA continue to be the force for good that we aim to be within our communities, promoting the games and culture. There will always be those who have an issue with what we promote, but the only way to appease them would be to change who we are, and that is something that we should never do.

[sliothar]

Much more important than politicians visiting games, is that we in the GAA continue to be the force for good that we aim to be within our communities, promoting the games and culture. There will always be those who have an issue with what we promote, but the only way to appease them would be to change who we are, and that is something that we should never do.

Well said Harper 1

[ragingbull]

schools match tomorrow night in Armagh I wonder if iris will be there !

[Great Odins Raven]

I hate all this pretense that poticians be at, Peter Robinson is not a GAA fan, and his visit was not made out of interest in finding out more about the sport, his attendance was for political purposes only.

This visit makes next to no difference to real people

If there was any real change in this county, a unionist attending a GAA match would not be a big headline.

Harper, you can't possibly that dense. Peter Robinson never claimed to be a GAA fan and of course his attendance was politically motivated but this doesn't take anything away from his appearance. For the leader of the largest unionist party in the assembly, the most powerful man in unionism to take such a step towards reconciliation between the two communities took a lot of courage and credit should be given where it is due.

And to think this makes no difference to real people is well wide of the mark. Both Edwin Poots' appearance 2 years ago and Robinson's in January made an immediate impact to real people on both sides. Many Nationalists see that the DUP are willing to accept and even endorse Irish Culture and on seeing this, the Unionist community who up until now have largely given short shrift to the GAA will think again upon seeing their leaders changing stance.

And yes, unfortunately at the minute a Unionist politician attending a GAA game is headline news but as more do attend and more are welcomed by the GAA community to do so, the less newsworthy it will become. Then the real change will have occurred.

[whitey]

absolute nonsense

[Harper1]

Harper, you can't possibly that dense.

GOR, I won’t insult you by insinuating that you may be dense.

However, my opinion on this matter clearly differs from yours and I ask that you respect that difference.

I would be of the opinion that the decision by Peter Robinson to attend a GAA match is much more to do with his drive to decimate (further) the UUP than to build bridges between the GAA and unionists.

Since 2003 the DUP has been the largest Unionist party in the North. This has come about at the expense of the UUP, as there has been no increase in the overall number of Unionist voters. In general, people do not change their core political opinions much i.e. a moderate Unionist in 2011 is likely a moderate Unionist in 2011, but political parties change and that is what the DUP have done. They, along with Sinn Fein, have succeeded in the political arena by mastering the trick of making themselves more appealing to the moderate Unionist and Nationalist voter while maintaining most of their original electoral base. They are effectively squeezing the other Unionist and Nationalist parties out.

My point is this, none of this really changes the attitude of the man on the street, it just changes which party he votes for within his own community.

So Peters visit may have one impact on real people, the DUP get 1000 more votes from the UUP but lose 10 to the TUV, net result more votes and DUP grows a little bit and the UUP hold an even weaker hand at the unionist table.

The moderate Unionist who has no problem with the GAA still has no problem with the GAA, the more hardline Unionist who has issues with the GAA still has issues and depending on how hardline he is he may not vote for Peter next time around. To minimise this loss of votes Peter visits but doesn’t say anything too positive in case he losses more votes than he gains and then the whole trip is a wasted journey. Just for good measure and to keep the party faithful happy, Gregory comes out and says while he supports Peter's visit the GAA needs to take action and make clubs named after volunteers change their name, because he finds that totally unacceptable.

Next step Trevor Ringland and David McNarry approached to join DUP bringing their support base with them.

The GAA is once again politicised unnecessarily.

Over time we all end up polarised in two big camps, one nationalist and one unionist pretending these symbolic gestures actually mean anything.