"It is a way for Rangers to help get rid of sectarianism and it is opening up a whole new area to the GAA".
It is a little rich to be lectured on sectarianism by a representative of the GAA.
I think the PR Dept. are trying to be cute and claim there is no current activity yet the club's own website proclaimed the visit back in April 2007 of two dozen young lads from a Gaelic football club based at St Michael's primary school in Trim, County Meath. The boys also took in Celtic Park and St Mungo's religious museum in Glasgow.
The St Michael's party was part of an exchange scheme involving two city schools - St Patrick's, a Roman Catholic primary, and Annette Street, a non-denominational school. That exchange was arranged by the GAA in partnership with the anti-Rangers organisation Sense Over Sectarianism.
I'm not opposed to Gaelic clubs visiting Ibrox per se - so long as they are not named after dead terrorists. Indeed, why should children be punished for being brought up in circumstances they have no control over? We should always be about making converts - we should be signing them up for the Dublin Loyal RSC!
Further than that - we should be in the forefront of a genuine campaign to remove sectarianism in sport - to that end anyone with a brain welcomed the removal of the GAA Rules 21 and 42 - respectively the banning from GAA membership anyone who was a member of "Crown forces" and of playing "foreign games" - ie football, cricket and rugby.
The boycotting of members of the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary is a dark stain on the GAA that will not easily be forgiven or forgotten - whether in the streets of Londonderry and Belfast or the lanes and fields of Fermanagh and Tyrone many members of the security forces met death or horrible injury over a period of 30 years while the GAA's rule marked them out as objects of vilification. While the members of the most world's most professional and gallant army and police force may not carry a grudge for that it must surely, for any sentient human being, be a matter of shame and regret.
The February 2007 rugby union international between England and Ireland including the flying of the Union Flag and the playing of God Save The Queen was a major step on the Republic's road out of the dark ages with regard to it's neighbours whether north or east. It can certainly be argued that the Irish government's major contribution to the 260 million Euro cost of reconstructing the stadium gave them major clout in forcing that through the GAA's corridors of power - but nevertheless, and however it came about, it demonstrated changes in society Irish that even the most backwoods of the GAA hierarchy could not stand aloof from.
However, there are still two major problems with regard to the GAA which will be of natural concern of most Rangers fans.
Firstly there is the GAA itself. It still has clubs and trophies named after murderers. Indeed, it's five Scotland clubs feature two named after IRA men - Dunedin Connollys - James Connolly and Sands/McSwinney - Bobby Sands and Terence McSwinney. Their main pitch in Scotland - Pearse Park - is name after the most bloodthirsty of the 1916 putschists - Patrick Pearse.
In Ireland a small sample will suffice:-
The Kevin Lynch Park - named after the IRSP/INLA death squad member from Dungiven.
The Michael McVerry Cup - a Sinn Fein PIRA murderer from South Armagh.
Gerard and Martin Harte Cup - East Tyrone Sinn Fein PIRA murderers.
Louis Leonard Memorial Park - Fermanagh Sinn Fein PIRA murderer.
Lochrie/Campbell Park - South Armagh Sinn Fein PIRA murderers.
Mairead Farrell Camogie tournament - Sinn Fein PIRA murderer.
Of course, it's very easy to be brave over here calling for people to take on the sinister supporters of murder gangs but Rangers are being constantly asked to 'be brave' so let's see a little consistency on that matter. Wouldn't that be a pleasant change?
Secondly, the swiftness of the granting of a visit to Gaelic footballers with all the attendant anti-sectarian hurrahs does somewhat thrown in to sharp and sad relief Rangers' relationship with another community in Ireland.
Take for instance the case of a certain cultural organisation dedicated to educational work on the relationships and history of Scotland and Ulster. Indeed, so worthy and sensible an organisation that it's jumped through all the hoops required to become a registered charity. It's been more than two years since they applied for a bucket collection at Ibrox to fund their work educating young people and dispelling ignorance - by, for instance, placing sets of books into every school library in the city of Glasgow.
As of yet they haven't even received an acknowledgment of their request much less an answer. Letters have gone at various times to Martin Bain, Sir David Murray, the Rangers Charity Foundation and the PR Department by both first class and later by registered post. Few of us have much faith in the Royal Mail these day so the help of a peer of the realm was enlisted but his epistle likewise remains unacknowledged and unanswered.
I think you may be getting the picture if not the message.
In the post-ceasefire period Rangers faced a choice with regard to Ulster - did the club wish to accept the image of the club in this regard painted by it's enemies or did it with to present the reality of the decency of it's Irish-based fans. It was a choice - someone said in a meeting between guns and balaclavas or pipe bands and highland dancing. Between an image of hate or one which truly represented the natural sympathy, the ongoing connections, and the reality of the relations between Scotland and Ireland?
In the end 'the club' chose a third option - to run and cower.
Dealing with the club on cultural or historical issues is a bit like finding yourself on the set of a Keystone Kops movie.
One idea we had - in the Le Guen season - was to have three pipe bands before the three home European games we predicted we'd have time to get our act together for. One match would see a Breton pipe band as a salute to Le Guen's background, one Scottish based and one from Ulster. We were told that UEFA regulations wouldn't allow it as TEAM management officially take control of the pitch an hour before the game - in fact Celtic got a pipe band on for one of their games simply by asking TEAM if it could be included! Then we were told - you'll love this - that it was "very difficult to get a pipe band" - in Scotland? Well um, yes, we can't find much on the internet and the one band we phoned haven't phoned us back...
Then of course we had the saga of the Ulster-Scots banner. Again - a positive expression of culture, history and identity. It's not all bombs and balaclavas - that's the message that was being sent out. Yet we sat in Ibrox listening to the then security honcho Lawrence McIntyre warbling on about the crown being "a blatantly loyalist symbol" and asking us "why have you got Orange lilies to symbolise Ulster rather than a shamrock?" - I asked Lawrie where he thought the orange section of the Irish tricolour came from?!
As this embarrassing episode lurched from shamrocks to "what has Northern Ireland got to do with Rangers" when discussing even flying a single Northern Ireland flag one of our number made the very sensible point - "on a home game on a Saturday you can hear the Broomloan Road crowd sing with an Ulster accent, that's what it's got to do with us." Then we had "do you think this flag is helpful when you consider we are playing Celtic soon and UEFA are looking at us?" Okay - as we can play Celtic up to six times a year and UEFA can look at us from July to May when do you think it' "safe" Lawrence? He never replied but I think everyone in the room during that silence got the message - the club thought there would never be a good time.
In the end we turned to Martin Bain who had sat silently for most of the meeting while his minions sneered, cajoled and tutted. "Well Martin, do you want us to go and tell the Ulster fans they are unwanted scum then?" The message the next day was that the flag was now "officially" okay. But should we really need to go through all that palaver?
The committee set up with fans on it to consider culture and heritage has not met since 11th September 2006. It's never been disbanded either but we await their call. In the meantime Celtic fan Charan Gill and Aberdeen fan Harry "invite the Pope to Ibrox" Reid now "advise" the club on such matters...
The banning of the Dublin Loyal's "Behind Enemy Lines" banner is but the latest example of cowardice and stupidity with regard to Ireland. I doubt it will be the last. The club now has a policy of groveling to each and every complaint from the Rangers-haters in the media, the police or politics. It's policy - one complaint from anyone claiming to be offended means a banner will come down or a song will be banned.
Until the day the club opens up an honest debate about it's history and culture I fear we are doomed to repeat similar incidents. Taking the Club down this dark road will only encourage our enemies.
A Club that reciprocates the pride and passion of it's own fans will give the Club a bond and sense of belonging in a community, that is a scenario for which the majority pine.