Congress was expected to headline on who the new President-elect of the GAA would be but it turned into a high-profile protest with an anti-Allianz demonstration disturbing business at Croke Park on Saturday.
With the likes of former All Ireland medal winners such as Meath’s Colm O’Rourke and Tyrone’s Peter Canavan part of the peaceful demonstration outside, few expected others in the protest to bring their grievances inside, which led to President Jarlath Burns deciding on an adjournment for an early lunch to ensure the place could be cleared and ordered restored for the afternoon business.
This took place without further disruption but afterward the Armagh man said the protestors had “crossed a line” in the way they had gone about seeking headlines.
The protester went up to the top table and displayed a banner behind the top brass of the GAA calling for an end to Allianz sponsorship as others shouted slogans and said it was shameful for the association to allow any future association with the giant international insurance firm.
The president was unhappy that the protestors had forced their way inside and caused injury to security personnel in the process.
Late last year the GAA decided to maintain its relationship with Allianz despite efforts from several county boards to end the association.
A meeting of An Coiste Bainistíochta heard a report from the Ethics and Integrity Commission on the issue, after which it was decided to accept the commission’s recommendation for the status quo to remain.
The controversy arose because Allianz, through its German parent company, was one of several firms listed in a report by UN special rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.
When Congress resumed, Burns told delegates that he didn't need any lessons on illegal occupation having grown up during the Troubles in an area widely impacted, including losing a friend in the murders at Donnelly's Bar in Silverbridge 50 years ago.
He said: “I don't need any lectures about what it’s like to feel the pressure of illegal occupation. I don’t need any lectures or people shouting in my face about what it’s like to go to bed at night fearful that somebody would barge into your bedroom and riddle you with bullets because that was my lived experience when I was young.
Burns said, “We've always facilitated peaceful protests. We've even facilitated it in some fields at half-time in some of our matches this year, even though it's against our regulations.
“But there are almost unwritten rules of engagement between peaceful protests and the allowance of peaceful protests. And I think that there was a line crossed today; coming into our property and disrupting our Congress is unacceptable.
“We have members of our security team and volunteers injured today as a result of injuries that they sustained from people who were trying to get in past.
“That is totally unacceptable and I would urge people who might have been connected with the GAA, who were involved in that protest, to speak about it and to condemn it, because we have a right to carry out our Congress unfettered.
“We are a democratic organization. That is a democratically convened gathering every year. That goes through convention and nominates people democratically.
“I would praise the restraint that was shown by our delegates. A lot of them put themselves in harm's way today to try and keep the protest out and to try and just facilitate it and maintain it."
Burns said that they would be considering a review of their security arrangements in the wake of the incident
“I have nothing but praise for our entire security team, people who I see every day when I come in here, and the security that Croke Park has will only keep what they call a decent person out.
"Unfortunately, there weren't decent people who came in here today and started roaring and shouting and trying to intimidate us into changing a democratically taken decision by the GAA.
"We will review it because we have a duty of care to all of the delegates who come and to all of our staff and to the security team. So of course whenever there is a breach in security we will review our procedures,” he pledged.
