GAA need to step up

You really don't get it do you?

GAA are open to all and have membership of all. the PSNI are open to all and have membership of all.

It therefore CANNOT be a sectarian incident unless you believe they are representative of ONLY your community.

Nice attempt at deflection Downcow with a Tweet from a renowned Taig-hater from an event that was not remotely GAA-related.

Now ... back to the discussion.

Serious question: Have you ever played sport as part of a team? You seem to be suggesting that a team would turn up at a tournament and not know what other teams are in the tournament! That's ridiculous!

"Right lads, we're entered into a tournament in Banbridge against other teams from the county"

Have a wild guess downcow what the next lines of this exchange might be bearing in mind the great sporting rivalry between Co. Down clubs who participate in this wonderful sport.

Maybe I'll give you the answer .... "When is it?" "Who are we playing against?"

"Cover up" You're really scraping the barrel here.

What intrigues me about the whole thing and I don't see an answer to it.

Were the PSNI team going to play this tournament undercover? What was the problem with other teams knowing who they were?

They play with the PSNI crest on their jersey's

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is an entirely separate organisation to the GAA.

Who has said that 11th night is 'connected' to the OO?

The OO is a constitutionally sectarian political organisation, there is no like organisation on these islands, full stop.

Who are 'themuns'?

Again you display the notion that YOU own the PSNI or that they 'belong' to you, and that it was an insult to 'yours'.

That is very revealing in itself.

And you still haven't explained the dichotomy here: were the PSNI going to play this tournament undercover? Why was it a problem that people knew who they were?

The fact is the PSNI pulled out. No one else did.

If they aren't comfortable being identified with their own organization. Then maybe they should improve that.

Someone unable (and or unwilling) to see beyond their own social and geographical boundaries.

You got it wrong again.

the problem for Unionism is it wants the right to celebrate but not allow others to do it and vice versa.

You either want all events that celebrate/commemorate to stop or find a way that it can be done without taunting and triumphalism or we go on like this.

As I said, nobody has issue with the 12th or indeed the 11th (I would have environmental issues) when participants are not sectarian, are respectful and cognisant of those who find it offensive.

These things are getting bigger and bigger as the belligerent Unionist/Loyalist siege mentality grows and people are getting killed in the construction.

You praised leadership in CCEU a while ago, now you need to start pressuring your people to do something about a trend that has nothing to do with tradition. Beacons are the actual traditional way. Maybe co-work with the argi community to burn gorse and bracken...stuff like that. And of course, clamp down on the sectarianism which is also growing in viciousness in line with the siege mentality.

Leaders needed downcow.

"Unionism doesn't have any issue because most fires don't have problems, the ones that do are, 'isolated incidents' despite constant examples every year of the lowest forms of bigotry at a significant number.....but a handful of incidents that tangentially involve the GAA are a sign of the end times and a total reflection of how awful themmuns are.....despite the THOUSANDS of GAA events that happen every year without incident"

Entirely reasonable argument as usual, Downcow.

Could the GAA do more? Certainly. Is there any extent they could go to that wouldn't still have the likes of Downcow permanently outraged? Probably not; sure when they don't have anything else to complain about, it's Italian flags, Munster flags, JD Sport bags.....

Your double standard is self-evident, Downcow. You blatantly don't apply the same standards to GAA and 11th Night bonfires, despite the offenses on the 11th night being much more egregious than the GAA inviting a PSNI team who decided not to attend.

You dismiss every 11th Night incident as isolated incidents and try to make the point that the majority of fires pass without such incidents......yet you hold out a tiny handful of events (some not even actually connected to the GAA) out of the thousands of GAA events every year as represent of the whole. Why do you not view them in the same manner, as isolated incidents?

As for whether I'm open to convincing, you'll recall I actually shared a very positive example of a bonfire on the 12th thread. The Kilkeel video is an edited PR piece, I'd hardly expect them to include it in the video if there were flags and emblems being burned (to be clear, I'm not saying that there were any misdeeds specifically at the Kilkeel celebrations, purely that even if there were, that video would hardly show them. I'm aware that quite a few events pass without incident).