Kelly: I’m still criticised for opening up Croker

Former president of the GAA and Munster MEP Sean Kelly has said he still receives vicious abuse over his decision eight years ago to allow soccer and rugby to be played in Croke Park.

Ahead of tomorrow’s All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Mayo, Mr Kelly told the Irish Examiner people still come up to him — in front of his family and even at funerals — to abuse him over the GAA’s historic decision in Apr 2005 to relax Rule 42 which banned ‘foreign sports’ from GAA headquarters.

“While it’s a tiny minority who resent the fact it was opened, they are still very negative towards me,” said the Fine Gael MEP. “‘You’re the fucking so-and-so that let the Anglo-Saxon game into Croke Park’ is typical of the type of tirade directed at me.”