Should we give up football?

Your reasons essentially boil down to the spurious argument that the GAA is a cancer promoting "dangerous ethno-nationalism". The irony of this argument is that you spend a large proportion of your day posting on a forum devoted to the IRISH INTERNATIONAL football team. International football is unambiguously ethno-nationalist, and there is a far more fervent nationalist undertone to games such as Ireland vs England; France vs Germany; Poland vs Russia; etc etc than there is to any aspect of the GAA as an organisation. So unless you are willing to concede that international football is in fact a far larger engine of ethno-nationalist sentiment than the GAA could ever be, it is clear that your argument is grounded in nothing other than your own bitter biases.

Would it annoy you if a commentator said Richard Dunne was a true Irishman after his performance in Moscow, or Bobby Moore a true West Ham man, or Paul McStay a true Celtic man?

 

Its a similar turn of phrase or term of endearment. Don't take it to heart

Would it annoy you if a commentator said Richard Dunne was a true Irishman after his performance in Moscow, or Bobby Moore a true West Ham man, or Paul McStay a true Celtic man?

 

Its a similar turn of phrase or term of endearment. Don't take it to heart

It doesn't annoy me, I just think the language we use is important and that is openly nativist. That isn't healthy from a sporting organisation with a wide ranging influence. 

Yes, but what that has to do with anything is completely illogical. You erroneously used the term ethno-nationalism and now have to double down. Yes, countries have difficult histories and there is unquestionably difficulties with nationalism in a lot of supports, but rarely ethno-nationalism and certainly not in the sport as a whole, for all of FIFA's many faults, as it would go against its very purpose.

The problem is, as I have to keep repeating, is that old Tommy of the comm-meat-tea cares about religion in the GAA and his views are still tolerated in a way they are not elsewhere. That's the problem. The fact that people feel the need to mention that there are a whole two Protestant  Gaelic footballers shows that people do still care about religion. 

The fact that people don't want to accept this is why I see the GAA as a regressive organisation in Irish society. If people want to pretend it is fine, that's ok.  Enjoy it. 

  

I have managed to avoid such blatantly petty insults when replying to you. I can accept why you might refuse to accept any fault in d'association, but such pettiness only confirms the pigeons and chess analogy. Everyone knows there is more than a kernel of truth in what I am saying,  but nobody with a grá for the cult has the decency to admit it.

Again, you have gone off on a rabid rant went I have never said anything of the sort. I'm quite proud of Irish heritage and culture and am currently in the process of finding Irish language lessons nearby.

I do have a problem with the nativist implications of the term 'true Gaels'. You can disagree with it, but it has a similar bang of ethno-nationalism that you get off terms like Saxon over here. You can be proud of your culture and heritage without being exclusive about it.