Lack of segregation such a blessing for the GAA

This writer was nine years old when 96 lives were lost in Hillsborough this day in 1989.

Not surprisingly, the memory of watching live on TV what unfolded at the Leppings Lane End is something that doesn’t leave you.

The gravity of it was largely incomprehensible for a child even as the ambulance meandered its way to the stand and frantic supporters used advertisement hoardings as makeshift stretchers, although I do remember getting angry with those sections of the stadium who were booing at what they perceived as crowd trouble behind Bruce Grobbelaar’s goal.

They didn’t know. I didn’t really know. Confused, I looked for a face to articulate the earnestness of the afternoon and found it in the wretched expression of manager Kenny Dalglish after the match had been abandoned.

The fact we’re 25 years on and the fans who perished have yet to receive justice is almost as much a travesty as the loss of life that day.

In the GAA, lack of segregation is something we take for granted yet has been a primary reason why the organisation has been able to avoid similar tragedies.

Today, as much as it is about reflection, should also be a time for thankfulness. We come home from games; the 96 didn’t.