Kelly felt ‘elated’ after vote paved way for soccer and rugby at Croke Park

Former GAA President, Sean Kelly: relieved at the amendment of Rule 42

It was 15 years ago today that then GAA President Sean Kelly expressed his elation and great relief that ‘Rule 42’ had been amended.

The change was passed at the GAA’s 2005 Annual Congress, paving the way for soccer and rugby to be played at Croke Park while Lansdowne Road was being redeveloped.

Kelly had been central to the campaign to amend the rule which prohibited field games, “other than those sanctioned by Central Council”, on GAA pitches.

But he wasn’t without stiff opposition. Speaking ahead of the motion, former GAA president, the late Con Murphy from Kerry said: “If you support this you are supporting the formation of a new association that caters for everything and stands for nothing.”

The motion, proposed by Sligo, was voted on by secret ballot, and required a two-thirds majority.

It was passed by 227 votes to 97. GAA Central Council was now authorised to rent or lease Croke Park in certain circumstances for events other than those controlled by the association while Lansdowne Road was closed.

Afterwards, Sean Kelly said he felt “elated and greatly relieved”.

“I was saying to myself if this is defeated, the reaction is going to be very negative, the issue is not going to go away and it’s going to be mentioned everywhere we go for the next 12 months. I felt that would be very bad for the GAA and everyone else.”

In Jim O’Sullivan’s report for the Irish Examiner, Kelly dismissed the idea that opening Croke Park would cost the GAA.

“We made a decision on Saturday out of the generosity of our hearts, for the good of the GAA firstly but also for the good of the country.

“To be clouding the issue with talk of costs isn’t in keeping with the generosity of spirit shown by our grassroots in particular.

“Obviously if you rent something, you have to rent it so you’re not going to lose money on it. At the same time we’re not out to screw anybody. The IRFU and the FAI are dealing in the financial world every day of the week, they are professional bodies and they recognise that. I think there shouldn’t be any difficulty if they make an application to us — and we sit down and come to an arrangement that would be a win-win situation.”

GAA Director-General Liam Mulvihill added: “What has to be looked at at this point in time is that there was a spirit there expressing basically what the Irish people wanted. With the right approach and with proper negotiations, I feel that every single problem can be overcome.”

Later, Kelly admitted it had been a stressful period: “I did at times meet a lot of opposition and a lot of hassle. In fact, I got some very unpalatable mail and unsavoury phone calls with a lot of things being said that could have been upsetting.

“But I really did not take any notice of that stuff because I think, if you have a point of view, you express it and if others decide on extreme measures to express their views, then they are flying in the face of democracy.”