Sunday 19 June 2011

Is the GAA still an amateur sport?

The Association is an Amateur Association... No player, team, official or member shall accept payment in cash or in kind or other material reward in connection with GAA membership...’ From the mouth of the GAA rule book, the sport is defined as amateur. How amateur it is today? The GAA central council has come under increasing amounts of pressure to change the status of the sport, with what has once been called ‘gifts’ and ‘donations’ could now be regarded as ‘eligible expenses’.

Sunday 5 June 2011

The Changing Dynamics of Anglo-Irish Relations


“So ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to rise and join me in a toast to the President, and the people, of Ireland”. Few thought they would live to see the day where a British monarch would express any such sentiment regarding the Irish people. Over the course of her visit Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, together with President Mary McAleese, has indeed made history.
With the turbulent and often violent history that Ireland and England share, many found no difficulty in being sceptical about the royal visit. After all, how could a four-day visit make amends for centuries of oppression?
It was said during her visit that an apology for the atrocities that were carried out during the course of our shared history was highly unlikely. It later became clear, by the end of her only speech of the visit, that a direct and official apology was not forthcoming. However, by the end of the second day, it became almost unnecessary.