Ozymandius, I agree Rugby had to go pro and we have 4 very god provincial teams in the country because of that.

Watch out Gant is implying he is more Irish than you oz, he is scratching the bottom of the barrel now, sure sign you have him beaten.

Anyway you need to get some shut eye gant Chelsea have a big match tomorrow night don't forget.

But sure look it depends how you are brought up. I was brought up to love all sports and have played most sports.
Some households can be blinkered but then again I didn't grow up in a part of our country where people of a certain religion were oppressed. Maybe the GAA in Northern Ireland symbolises the oppression and does not appeal to some of the population.

In the South, Rugby had the same problem for years except in reverse.

It's sad as Ozymandius suggests that flags and anthems keep people away from certain sports.
His own Sport that he champions have fought the flag and anthem dilemma for a long time with regard to the National team.

My sport matured and compromised, Gant, when will yours?

Sam, are you against the dual flag proposal?

Ozymandius, if Irelands Call and an Ulster flag at international's is what it takes, well done.

Has it improved participation in Rugby in the North of Ireland for Catholics.

I don't see why there should be a 2nd flag flown, but if there was I don't think it would bother me. I go to watch the game, not the flags.

I am following the thread. You reckon,Irelands call was only to keep unionists/loyalists happy.
What could the GAA give these lads to get them to send their kids to GAA training. I know a lot of GAA lads play soccer up North but not every club is welcoming.

I hear ya; feck their sensitvities, just watch out for our own. Why bother making an effort to expand the game?

As regards Cricket, we play together as an Island, and in common with its counterparts for rugby union and field hockey, Cricket Ireland does not use the Irish tricolor, but instead employs its own flag.  It's all very grown up.

WITH MIXED NARRIAGE 32YEARS(MIRACLE STILL TOGETHER) HATE TALKING POLITICS  BUT THE NORTH WILL NEVER CHANGE AS LOTS PARENTS ARE   STILL BIGOTS  A FEW EXAMPLES  I COACH  CRICKET IN LOCAL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AND LOTS KIDS  ARE  AS GOOD AS IVE EVER SEEN BUT  THERE PARENTS SIMPLY DONT WANT THEM PLAYING  THE GAME (A YOUNG LAD FROM NATIONLIST AREA WAS TOLD NOT TOO ATTEND BY HIS GAA DAD  HE WENT WAS BRILLIANT  I ASKED WHY  HE PLAYED SAID IF HIS DAD TOLD HIM TO GO  PLAY HE SIMPLY WOULDNT  IT WAS JUST THE CHANCE TO DISSOBEY) BUT HE SAID HE CANT COME AS NOT THAT FUSSED ON WHICH IS PITY AS WITH IRELAND LOOKING TEST STATUS THE CATHOLIC AREAS ARE STILL 70% UNTAPPED AS IM CONVINCED THERE LOADS EOIN MORGANS AND ED  JOYCES UP HERE.

AND I NO FOR FACT ITS SAME WITH PRODESTANT KIDS PLAYING GAELIC/HURLING  THERE PARENTS SAY never  never. NO DOUBT RUGBY IS THE ONE SPORT THAT IS MAKING  MASSIVE DIFFERENCE UP NORTH AS IT IS  BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND THINK IRELANDS CALL IS  DECENT EXAMPLE OF HOW IT HELPED IN THAT  AS THERE LOTS FUN DAYS COMBINING RUGBY AND GAA WHICH IS GREAT INNIATIVE 
TAKE CRICKET THE SUPERB  IRISH  ALL ROUNDER JOHN MOONEY  STOPPED AT MATCH AT NORTH DOWN CRICKET CLUB  BETWEEN IRELAND AND ITALY  IT TOOK 1 HOUR BEFORE THE UNION JACK WAS TAKING DOWN . WHICH I THINK WAS WRONG  AS NO PLAYER  FROM NORTHERN IRELAND  EVER ASKED FOR THE TRICOLOUR TO BE TAKING DOWN AND NEVER SHOULD AS EVERYONE SHOULD RESPECT THE FLAG OF EVERY  COUNTRY .

THERE  IS NO DOUBT THERE IS FAR TOO MANY flegs  FLYING   UP HEAR AS EACH AREA MARKS THERE TERRITORY OUT  AND ITS NEVER GOING CHANGE PITY AS ITS DISGRACE LEAVING THEM TATTERED OR TORN

SO OZZY I NO YOU LOVE THE OLD stirring THE POT AND ITS DECENT THREAD THAT IS GOOD   READ  BUT I FOR ONE DONT THINK THE GAA NEED TO DROP EITHER BUT UNDERSTAND YOUR THINKING  BUT ILL SAY THIS THE BEST FRIENDS IN HAVE FROM BOTH RELIGIONS ARE FROM PLAYING SPORT AGAINEST THEM AND NO fleg OR ANTHEM WILL EVER CHANGE THAT  GOOD PEOPLE SEE THRU MOST AND GET ON WITH PLAYING SPORTS .

Great post by NORN IRON.

I raced plenty of times in Downpatrick and Down Royal and was never offended by the flying of a Union Jack.
I've been to point to points in Northern Ireland which are generally run by Unionists,never bothered me.

Even our own point to points are generally run by Protestants but so what.

Disappointed with John Mooney,he was in North Down Cricket club what harm was there in them flying their flag.

NORN,

Super stuff, you blow Ozymandius and Rocketfingers out of the  water with your inside information.
The barstooler politicos haven't a clue what's going happening on the ground.

Ozy this, Ozy that.  Have you thought about an Ozy tattoo?

Oh ,just seen other thread,bizarre people reporting others,how childish...

Great post by Norn , outlining some of the many problems we experience in the north ( mainly).  Slightly surprised by him finding substantial attitude against cricket participation by some parents , but reckon , like a lot of aspects of life in NI , it partly depends on where you live .

I grew up in Belfast , played cricket , soccer , rugby , hockey, tennis etc before I ever saw any GAA activity other than via radio courtesy of  my uncles who listened to Radio Eireann and M O' H . Finished up there were 3(only) of us on our road playing county minor , nearest club in Co Down was 15 miles away , so we had to travel across the city to  Co Antrim . We won everything underage  , somehow no medals ever appeared , not that we were interested particularly . That generation team went on to win 6 or 7 senior county titles in a row .

My mother still lives in the same house  , 1200 yards from George Bests home and  half a mile from Ravenhill where I spent every Saturday afternoon ( and we were allowed into the changing rooms to mingle with the players , lots of them internationals . Changed times , health and safety would not allow such activity nowadays . Our parish priest was beside us on the terraces every Saturday .

Now the 2 largest GAA clubs membership wise in Down operate largely from the same hinterland which threw up those 3 early players many moons ago . God knows how many teams they field , and generally the girls are better than the boys success wise .  Relatively few camogs in our day , life might have more interesting had there been . Our 3 grandchildren playing GAA  locally to date all love the competition they are experiencing , they play other games too netball and basketball for the girls , soccer for the boy . Cannot interest them in golf to date , too slow and still deemed an old mans sport despite Rory ( and Des Smyth who visited local school recently ).

Anthems dont matter a damn to the kids , they were at the All -Ireland football final this year sitting beside me and my wife and post match in the Croke Park hotel where the craic was great , despite the crap match  . Anthems played on days like that are part and parcel of the occasion , there is a freely elected President of the country present , and due respect is obligatory . I have stood many times to "The Queen" , as occasion demanded , never caused much of a problem except once when I witnessed it being used by some militant trade unionists attempting to upstage the senior manager in my then place of work ( and he was from a family heavily involved on the unionist front at the founding of the NI "state" in the twenties ) . I was laughing internally , my work colleagues ( unionist to a man , I was the only taig on the island so to speak )were very discomfited .

The main problem inter sporting wise up here is the soccer thing . Belfast Celtic had to quit in the forties despite being the best team in Ireland , south or north , and the nationalist supporters had nowhere to go , and the bitter legacy still survives to an extent . That attitude to THE foreign game ( soccer) spilled over into other sports at the time , might explain Norn's experience somewhat .

Today has not helped .  Rocky political times ahead . Batten down the hatches .