Sinn Féin is all take with little give

Sinn Féin defied the wishes of the GAA’s Central Council by holding what was clearly a party political commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike yesterday in Casement Park, Belfast.

Although the GAA has always been strongly identified with political views, it has studiously avoided aligning itself with any specific political party. Its officials have been representative of the broad expanse of nationalist opinion.

The association has been rightly recognised for its leading role in healing the civil war divisions, especially in areas that witnessed the worst atrocities of that fratricidal conflict.