Dr John Kyle and the slippery slope in East Belfast

Having greased the boil on the cat’s back I had nothing much to do today, so I listened to Talkback. They were discussing the fact that an elaborate bomb hoax had been dealt with in East Belfast, at the playing fields used by the local GAA club. They had Dr John Kyle, he formerly of the PUP, and somebody involved with the GAA club talking about why the hoax bomb had been placed.

 I would have said the answer was blind bigotry on the part of some group of loyalists/unionists. Virtually everyone, including Dr Kyle, agreed with that to a degree, although Dr Kyle was anxious to point out why it had probably been planted. He figured that the GAA was linked with nationalist/republican politics, and to allow it to succeed could be seen as another step down the slippery path towards a united Ireland (if you must yawn, Virginia, be good enough to put your hand to your mouth.) In support of this claim, mention was made of playing the Irish national anthem and flying the Irish national flag at games. The GAA guy pointed out that this didn’t normally happen at games, except the team was playing in some special game like a provincial or national final. The general agreement seemed to be that if the flag and the anthem were not included, local unionists would sleep easy in their beds, with the slippery slope to Irish unity expelled from the club in question.

That’s interesting. I remember – in the days before the BBC decided I was persona non grata – being on Raidio Uladh with Trevor Ringland. We don’t hear much about Trevor these days, but fado fado, he was a prominent member of the Irish rugby team. He also was a leading figure in the NEI Conservatives, which yes, wouldn’t have required a very big hall for their meetings. But to get back to the topic: Trevor was on about how the GAA sent signals indicating that no Protestant/unionist need apply. When that was clarified  – i.e., the GAA is open to all religious and political views – Trevor did a bit of harping on the fact that GAA games were preceded by the flying of the Irish flag and the playing of the Irish national anthem. (In rugby, unionist sensitivities are soothed by the playing of Phil Coulter’s ghastly ‘Ireland’s Call’.)  I asked Trevor if the GAA were to exclude the national anthem and the flying of the national flag, would that allow Protestants/unionists to see the GAA as welcoming them? Trevor’s grudging reply stays with me after many years: “It’d be a start”.   Talk about slippery slopes.

It is true that the GAA emerged as part of the Irish nationalist revival in the early years of the last century, but for most people playing GAA games, that was not an important factor. I played Gaelic football for the first eighteen years of my life and I wasn’t even aware that it had links with nationalism/republicanism (and yes, Virginia, I always was a slow learner). But John Kyle is partly right at least. The GAA is an important part of Irish culture in the South and the North. If it were to grow sturdy roots and expand in East Belfast or any other area, it would add to the enhanced sense many Irish people now have of their background, heritage and rights.  So yes, John – you could argue it sets East Belfast on a slippery slope. But don’t you remember how exhilarating it once was to go whipping from the top of a slide, all the way down? An exciting journey and a fun arrival every time. Have a word with Wallace Thompson, John. What looks like a scary threat can turn out to be a transformative delight.