Irish Examiner view: An unwise partnership for the GAA

The partnership between Cork GAA and Sports Direct will trouble many GAA members.

It is no longer necessary to qualify the statement that the GAA is the most deeply-embedded organisation in this country. Since the retreat of formal Catholicism accelerated the GAA has stood alone on a pedestal, its influence unquestioned. Its robust heartbeat evident in every community, its volunteerism a shining example of what can be achieved when a community works as one. 

The organisation is such a force that many of today’s emigrants come together under its umbrella in faraway places, places that never heard of Shefflin or Sheehy much less Rackard or Ring. In those circumstances, it can be the umbilical cord that helps exiles build a new life. Not only do we export our children, but we export support networks in various county colours. That process is, in what can be the coldest circumstances, a reassuring conduit to possibility. Yet, this is just one of the countless positive contributions the organisation makes to Irish life.