A Presidential salute

TOMORROW marks the last time the red carpet will be rolled out for President Mary McAleese on All-Ireland final day.

It’ll be her 29th All-Ireland final day in office, and her eighth time in all seeing Colm Cooper play in September in the flesh, but such an experience never loses its appeal, she insists.

Q: What had been your involvement with the GAA prior to assuming the presidency?

President McAleese: I come from a family which has always had a great grá for Gaelic Games. I played camogie for Ardoyne Kickhams while my brothers played Gaelic football; one even played senior football for Down. I can still remember the great welcome accorded to the Down team as they crossed the Border victorious with the Sam Maguire in 1960. For me, it was a time of great excitement and hope for the future. The players were our heroes, the celebrity pin-up boys of the day. They still are for me.

As well as that, my husband Martin was captain of the Antrim minor football team when I started going out with him. He played for Queen’s as well and was on their team when they won the Sigerson in 1971. I would have spent a lot of our early years together cheering him on from the sidelines — as well offering the odd unsolicited advice to referees.

Q: What do you think is your role on big match days?

President McAleese: It is a longstanding tradition for the President to attend the All-Ireland finals as an acknowledgement of our great national sporting tradition. The GAA is a local and national phenomenon, unparalleled anywhere. It is by far the best amateur sporting organisation in the world and we should be, and are, phenomenally proud of what the association does for both the individual and the country. All-Ireland day is an opportunity to demonstrate our deep love of the national games.

Q: You have of course attended big games in the provinces, outside of All-Ireland final days. Do any of them stand out in the memory and if so what is your recollection of those days?

President McAleese: I will never forget the day Waterford won the Munster hurling final in 2002. The late Pat Fanning was already then an elderly and ill man but a fanatical Waterford fan and he leapt across two rows of seats and appeared beside me to tell me he would now die happy. I was terrified he would drop dead of excitement there and then. But the bould Pat lived on a long time thereafter, given a new lease of life by the win.

Q: Which All Ireland final did you enjoy most watching?

President McAleese: There have been so many thrilling games but I must admit a bias towards the finals in which northern teams have competed. I was particularly excited about last year’s All-Ireland final between Down and Cork. We were hoping for a victory to match the great Down campaigns of the 60s and 90s but, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, at least not on that day. But, like all GAA fans, I live in hope.

Q: What little exchanges of banter between you and the players on a big match day stand out for you?

President McAleese: What goes on tour stays on tour!

Q: Has sport or the GAA ever disappointed you in your time as President? Have you seen a downside to sport in your time in office?

President McAleese: The people of this island have a passionate love of sport both as participants and spectators. Invaluable lessons are learned on the field of sport — friendship, discipline, respect, teamwork, leadership and losing and winning with dignity, qualities which translate right through to everyday life and contribute to building up a healthy community. On a good day, sport can encapsulate all that is good about the human condition. This small island seems to have been blessed with more than its fair share of sporting greats across the disciplines. It is difficult to think of an incident where Irish sport has left me feeling despondent.

Q: How and when did you come up with the idea that inviting the Queen to Croke Park would be an appropriate gesture?

President McAleese: The GAA leads the way today in its outreach to other traditions; we have seen their great generosity in offering Croke Park to the FAI and IRFU for soccer and rugby internationals. It was this same spirit of inclusivity that prompted their invitation to Queen Elizabeth, during her recent state visit to Croke Park, the cradle of our national game, where she experienced the true warmth of the Irish fáilte.

Q: What are your standout memories of being in Croke Park that day?

President McAleese: As on so many other days, I felt great pride in the GAA, especially on hearing the historic and dignified words of welcome for the Queen and Prince Philip, and seeing the latter hold a hurl with real curiosity and respect.

Q: It’s clear you have a deep affection for the ordinary men and women who are the backbone of Irish sporting bodies and in particular the volunteering ethos that underpins the GAA. Where was that respect for volunteering nurtured?

President McAleese: Gaelic Games in Ireland would not have achieved such levels of success without the extraordinary commitment of many people, particularly volunteers. It is this goodness of spirit which lies at the heart of the GAA and encapsulates for me so much of its ethos. I, like so many other people, young and old, on this island and further afield, have benefited enormously from investment by the GAA in my life.

Q: Would you be concerned that this long tradition of volunteering and service to community is less apparent in the Ireland of today?

President McAleese: There is no doubt that this generation is facing its most significant challenges in recent memory and it is in times of great hardship that we rely most heavily on our strong community network. I have had the privilege to meet those who make it their life’s vocation to contribute to their local community, to make the world a more humanly decent place. This spirit of selflessness is alive and well in every county and we must do all we can to nurture and support this strong tradition of volunteerism.

Q: Finally, do you not get tired of watching Kerry and Kilkenny play on All Ireland final day?

President McAleese: How could anyone tire of masterclasses from the best in the business? As President, I’ve benefited from the best seats in the house for 14 years and relish and appreciate that enormous privilege. No matter how many times a county has won, their team approaches All-Ireland day with such passion and determination that is difficult not to be transported along with them and their fans, who themselves never tire of the magic of a day out in Croke Park.