The Gaelic Athletic Association, Rule 21, and Police Reform in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Society in Northern Ireland has undergone substantial change in recent years, the most controversial aspect of this being the reform of policing following the report of the Independent Commission for Policing in Northern Ireland in 1999. Section 15.2 of the report’s recommendations called on the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Ireland’s largest sporting body, to repeal Rule 21. This rule prevented security force personnel in Northern Ireland from joining the GAA. Utilizing Mawby’s models on policing, this article examines a range of views expressed by GAA members concerning the rule’s eventual removal. Those advocating the retention of Rule 21 cited decades of alleged maltreatment at the hands of state security forces. In contrast, a growing body of opinion within the wider nationalist community favored a more enlightened approach on the issue. The resulting discourse reflected the symbolic importance of Rule 21 in the construction of Irish Nationalism as a whole.