24/04/2026
G.A.A stop
British promotion.
What’s shown here is not harmless “community engagement” — it is a deeply insensitive and provocative display that disregards the lived experience and historical memory of people across this island particularly in the counties of Armagh and Tyrone who have suffered and endured at the hands of British occupation and collusion by state forces.
The Gaelic Athletic Association is not just another sporting body. It was born out of resistance to British colonialism, a movement to protect and promote Irish culture, identity, and community at a time in which every effort was made to eradicate our identity. Its foundations are rooted in dignity, self-determination, and cultural pride.
That legacy cannot be separated from the reality that many GAA members and supporters were jailed, harassed, and murdered by forces of the Crown. These are not distant or abstract grievances, they are part of everyday life and living memory for countless families.
The presence of the PSNI/RUC in this context, presented as normal or welcome, ignores that painful history. Rebranding from the Royal Ulster Constabulary does not erase the past, nor does it resolve ongoing concerns about accountability, transparency, and the continued influence of agencies such as MI5.
Cases like those of Sean Brown and Aidan McAnespie stand as stark reminders of the human cost. For their families, the continued withholding of information, delays, and the blatant obstruction in the pursuit of truth and justice represent not just neglect, but profound disrespect. To stage public relations gestures in GAA spaces while those wounds remain open is, at best, tone-deaf and at worst, deeply offensive. It is beyond belief that members of either county board or the ulster council would have endorsed such actions.
There is also a striking contradiction at leadership level. Jarlath Burns stood at the memorial of Seán Treacy only last year and spoke of the courage, determination, and sacrifice of a great Irishman and Gael — words that reflect the very ethos the GAA claims to uphold. Yet allowing this kind of display to take place, particularly within his own county, undermines those sentiments and raises serious questions about consistency, respect, and leadership.
For many attending that match, policing is not a neutral concept. It is tied to generations of trauma. Seeing uniformed officers in that environment is not reassuring — it is alienating and certainly not part of the community.
The contradiction is impossible to ignore: while ordinary people feel targeted, scrutinised and disillusioned, there is widespread evidence that so called policing actively ignores serious criminality and appears to be more interested in colluding with them. That imbalance only reinforces distrust.
For the GAA to allow itself to be used in this way risks undermining its own origins and purpose. Accepting symbolic gestures, funding, or photo opportunities under these circumstances creates the impression that principles are being traded for optics.
Let's be clear the psni has a lot of funding which it wants to use for optics and get a foot in the door with any organisation, SHAME ON YOU for taking the 30 pieces of silver.
This is not progress. It is a superficial performance that disregards history, ignores unresolved injustice, and risks eroding the very identity the GAA was created to uphold.
