Rule 27 of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA), also known as "the Ban", was a rule in force from 1905 to 1971 that banned members of the GAA from playing or watching other sports such as rugby, soccer or hockey.

The rule

The text of Rule 27How President's soccer 'insult' led to war with GAA

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

, 25 September 2019 originally read: While potentially applying to any non-Irish sport, in practice the rule was mostly applied to English sports: rugby, football (soccer) and hockey were named initially, with

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

being added shortly afterward.Ireland: 1001 Things You Need to Know, Richard Killeen
Google Books
/ref>Rule 27: When a love for the 'wrong' kind of football would see you ostracised
The 42, 11 May 2015 GAA members were prohibited from playing, watching or attending any event associated with these sports.A ‘foreign game’—President Hyde and GAA Rule 27
- History Ireland In some areas, "vigilance committees" were sent to football and rugby matches to check for any GAA members: any member who was found watching or playing could be expelled from the GAA.

Douglas Hyde

On 13 November 1938

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...

, then

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

and a patron of the GAA, attended an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

match at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

between

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

with the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

. As a result, he was removed from his patronage and banned from the GAA, despite Hyde's being a founder of the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

and staunch supporter of the GAA. The GAA did not accept the principle that the President should be allowed to attend any sporting event until 1945.

Abolition

During the late 1960s, Rule 27 had become not only increasingly outdated, since football and rugby had come to be increasingly popular in Ireland, but also unenforceable, as GAA members had been able to watch these sports on television for some years. Even at an administrative level it was selectively enforced: while

Antrim GAA The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association () or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The county board is also responsible for t ...

authorities prevented the 1970 MacRory Cup final featuring

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

, who had already gained renown in soccer, from going ahead at

Casement Park Casement Park () is the principal Gaelic games stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located in Andersonstown Road in the west of the city, and is named after the Irish revolutionary Roger Casement. The stadium, which has been closed si ...

, administrators in Tyrone allowed O'Neill to play after the game was moved.Said by O'Neill during lecture on theme of
What it means to be Irish
", part of th
Ireland Of Tomorrow – A Presidential Lecture Series
(first broadcast on RTÉ Radio on 31 December 2008) It was finally abolished at the GAA's annual congress in Belfast in 1971.The president, the ban and the truly Gaelic Gaels
Irish Times, 9 February 2013

References

Bibliography

*''The GAA v Douglas Hyde: The Removal of Ireland’s First President as GAA Patron'', Cormac Moore, The Collins Press {{Gaelic Athletic Association 1905 establishments in Ireland 1971 disestablishments in Ireland Gaelic Athletic Association terminology 27 Gaelic games controversies History of the Gaelic Athletic Association Politics and sports

The rule

Douglas Hyde

Abolition

See also

References

Bibliography