Bobby Morton's life could have been so different. A Protestant growing up in East Belfast, Morton's aspirations and opportunities were sacrificed in a sectarian conflagration that claimed thousands of lives and condemned even more to communal anxiety and depression. The Troubles led him to join the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), and ultimately was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for attempted murder.
Morton's case came to mind this morning because of a comment he made at the end of Peter Taylor's 'Loyalists' documentary, which shone a brilliant light on the reasons and lives behind the Troubles on the island of Ireland. Filmed shortly into the IRA ceasefire that helped facilitate the Good Friday Agreement, Morton was in contemplative form on the sectarianism :
"If there isn't another shot fired, it will be too soon.
"I will not miss the excitement, the danger or the adrenaline. I want an end to it. If someone on all sides can declare the war over, then I will rejoice. And I look forward to the day - and whether it comes in my lifetime, I don't know - when I can have a pint on the Falls Road. That would be something to look forward to, wouldn't it?"
The Belfast Agreement and its signatories have left much to be desired - not least a government in Northern Ireland, which has been in absentia for sixteen months and counting. So in its absence, the onus falls on civil society to bridge the gap. Morton may not have been in a position to walk into a pub on the Falls before his death in 2016, but groups such as the GAA and its members are in a position to heal divided communities. Embracing those that may feel Gaelic games are too imbued with Irish nationalism and thinly-veiled republicanism is a good place to start.
Morton's case is - of course - an extreme version of what can happen when cultural identity excludes other communities. His story is by no means representative of Protestantism, nor is it a representation of young people in the north today. There is also a heartening new thread of identity emerging among young people on both sides of the North primarily seeing themselves as Northern Irish. This was particularly visible during Euro 2016, where support of the Northern Ireland team gradually became seen less treacherous than it once was.
But such is the zero-sum nature of the North, often it is seen that a celebration of the cultural heritage of one community is one in the eye for the other. To progress, the island of Ireland needs to get to a place where members of both communities feel at ease in the company of the other's culture. And where better to start than sport?
Arlene Foster's trip to watch Fermanagh in the Ulster final last month was historic, and timely. For a leader of the DUP would go to what some might see as the belly of the beast was an important symbol in a place where symbols mean so much.
But the GAA can do more to attract Protestants to not only attend Gaelic games - but participate in them too. That is according to journalist Johnny Ward, who feels that the lack of interest from the Protestant community in Gaelic games is something that can be remedied by the GAA.
"Probably the biggest failing in the history of Gaelic games is its inability to attract Protestants to the sport. I know that some of the border counties in the Republic would have Protestants playing for them, and you see the posher parts of Dublin becoming very strong in terms of Gaelic games.
"This emphasis on cultural nationalism that is entailed in GAA experience is completely anachronistic at this stage. If you look at the Ireland under-18 team and the amount of mixed race kids, if you look at Gavin Bazunu [Shamrock Rovers' goalkeeper] - we are changing as a nation," said Ward.
"We have to attract kids from different backgrounds to games, and specifically the Protestant community in the north. We are not going to attract Protestants to play Gaelic games if we insist on playing old Republican tunes before All-Ireland finals, and all this emphasis on flags and anthems.
"It must have been difficult for Arlene Foster to go to that game. There is a massive section of the island of Ireland which does not play Gaelic games and it is an absolute tragedy. Every time I go up to East Belfast, I leave saying "I'm going to take you to a hurling game, because there's nothing like it," but then the five minutes before the start with the Artane Boys Band and then the national anthem - I'd feel a bit edgy."
We need to take the edge off. Ireland has changed and it would be brilliant to puck one across the divide, and show up politicians too self-interested to care.
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