Longford GAA club Dromard were last week fined €2,000 by the GAA for hosting a summer camp last year owned by former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher.
The fine has brought the GAA's rules on foreign sports using GAA grounds back into the public's psyche. The Irish Times' GAA Correspondent Sean Moran wrote about the history of the rule in Wednesday's Irish Times. He spoke to Off the Ball last night about the GAA's position and how they reached it.
"It was essentially a sop to those who were opposed to lifting the ban on foreign games which happened at the Congress in 1971. The President at the time, Pat Fanning was a supporter of the old Rules 27 and 28. He was kind of reaching out to the bruised sensibilities of those (who were against the change)".
Moran feels that with Croke Park being used for international rugby and football games in recent years, along with the GAA helping the IRFU in their bid to host the 2023 World Cup, should the rule now be ended?
"You can see the issues it's creating for clubs, who with the encouragement of the GAA built good facilities. They are now not allowed earn a return on them in the same way the GAA can".
"It was started in 1971, and I don't think anyone would have foreseen Jamie Carragher Soccer Schools being played in Dromard in that time. It's happened and I suspect it's going to be looked at at some stage in the future but these things roll slowly.
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