GAA may still be a force for detente

Sir — Martin McAreavey writes that my letter about Joe Brolly’s recent article suggests that there are two GAAs — one in the North and one in the Republic.

To put Mr McAreavey’s mind at ease, there is still just the one. Alone it stands. However, the association has a different profile in the two jurisdictions. It is the preserve of the minority community in the North, while in the South it is, in the best sense of the word, broadly populist.

This difference is why former Tyrone great Sean Cavanagh was vilified for having the temerity to mention that Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Once upon a time, there was no shortage of the ‘‘mullahs’’ in the South either — I remember during the ‘‘ban’’ Con Houlihan saying that attending a game of rugby “could get a member of the GAA cast into exterior darkness”.

For the moment the GAA is a bit away from being a force for detente between the two communities in the North — but that scenario could change. And by the time Mr McAreavey’s

Antrim reach another All-Ireland in hurling — which I hope is not too far away — there could be a scramble for tickets on the Shankill Road. Jim O’Connell, Blackhorse Ave, Dublin 7