Andy Watters: The GAA could be forgiven for trying to grab what it is entitled to because it is given nothing in Belfast
PLENTY of us have good memories of going to a gig on the Boucher Road. Ed Sheeran, The Stone Roses, The Killers, Fontaines DC… some big names have played there. I mistakenly believed a friend of mine had met his future missus at the Bruce Springsteen concert at Boucher Road a few years ago and then he informed me the gig was actually at the King’s Hall. Boucher does the job but there were and there are other live music venues in Belfast that could be developed and they could be much better. Let’s be honest, bands don’t come here for the chance to play Boucher. It’s dead on but it’s not Glastonbury, it’s not Red Rocks, it’s not Slane Castle…If the Boucher Road site could be put to better use then the provision of two (and it’s a shame it’s not more) GAA pitches would certainly be a good use of the land.God knows Antrim GAA could do with the boost of some grassroots investment.
Last weekend the Antrim hurlers were well beaten down in Kildare. They lost by 10 but it felt like more. That’s three losses out of three for them this year and the senior men’s footballers are currently bottom of Division Four. That outlook in women’s Gaelic Games isn’t as bleak. In Ladies’ Football, Antrim are top of Division Three and the camogs are going well, they begin their Division 1A campaign against Tipperary at the weekend. However, with its population potential, Antrim GAA has the potential to do much better across all four codes but in Belfast it has been held back, sidelined, marginalised and mistreated for decades because of a chronic lack of facilities and the reluctance of the powers-that-be to provide them. Way back in the early 1970s then Antrim GAA secretary Alf Murray pointed out in an Irish News article that out of more than 100 pitches for ball games run under the jurisdiction of the then Belfast Corporation, just four were allocated to Gaelic Games.Over 50 years on there are 12 pitches allocated to Gaelic Games but the problem is arguably even worse now than it was back then. In the 1970s, women’s sport wasn’t widespread like it is now. Over the past decade studies have shown that female participation in Gaelic Games has increased by 75 per cent in Belfast.That means more facilities are required and what few pitches there are can’t cope with the constant traffic. City clubs can’t go to a local farmer like their counterparts can out in the sticks. There is no land to buy and, if there was, it would be prohibitively expensive so they are dependent on the council to provide the facilities as they do for soccer and other sports. Belfast City Council has a statutory obligation to provide for their ratepayers but they continue to let them down.In 2011, Belfast City Council published the findings of their survey of sports pitches.The survey found that there was a shortfall in the amount of GAA facilities which amounted to 64 pitches. There are 27 GAA clubs in the Belfast area and 17 of them have their own facilities which brought the deficit down to a still enormous 48 pitches. This isn’t a GAA-versus-other-sports issue but that 2011 survey also found that there was a surplus of 43 soccer pitches, cricket was -4, hockey was -2 and rugby broke even.Antrim's James McNaughton leaves the pitch dejected after defeat last Sunday. PICTURE: Grace Halton (©INPHO/Grace Halton ©INPHO/Grace Halton/©INPHO/Grace Halton) And so 15 years on from that survey the Boucher Playing Fields proposal came before Belfast City Council on Monday night. Two pitches won’t solve the GAA problem but every little helps, however, after debate and a vote, councillors voted 30-28 to defer the motion.So what happens now? More talking, the can is kicked down the road and a range of alternative proposals are being looked at. In a grown-up world, the solution to the issue would obvious – build Casement Park and bring the concerts there. Typically, Casement and Boucher Road plans have been met with the same opposition. Ron McDowell of the TUV described the GAA as the “Grab All Association” when he spoke on the topic on Radio Ulster’s Talkback programme this week. He painted a picture of the greedy GAA trying to take a concert venue of young people.Now the GAA could be forgiven for trying to grab what it is entitled to because it is given nothing but there is no begging bowl here.Ulster GAA Secretary Brian McAvoy pointed out how, unlike any other sporting body, Ulster GAA had already invested £1million to upgrade facilities in Belfast. McAvoy said there was “a gaping hole, not a gap,” in the provision of GAA facilities in the Belfast area but he might as well have been talking to a brick wall.Despite the facts and the long and unfair history of the issue being presented to him, Councillor McDowell called for what Unionist politicians tend to call for – the status quo to remain. He lamented “The closing of a very successful venue that puts Belfast on the map” and “brings loads of young people from across Northern Ireland to enjoy the biggest stars in the world”. He claimed Boucher would be closed: “Without a vision to put 60 players playing hurley on it on a Sunday”.In fairness to Ron, apart from getting the name of the game wrong, I was quite impressed with his GAA knowledge there. Two pitches, two games, four teams… yes, 60 players. But of course that would only be the tip of the iceberg. Clubs have multiple senior teams now and underage teams all the way down to U6 level not to mention Gaelic for Mothers and Others, Masters etc, etc. And it wouldn’t just be games, there would be training sessions too.So we’re not talking about “60 boys playing hurley on a Sunday” we’re talking about thousands of feet on those pitches every week from April to September. That is an investment in the future and a very good use of public money. As the Fontaines, who played at Boucher last year, put it: ‘If you find yourself in the family way, give the kid more than you got in your day…’
