'Racism' Row

South Down Sinn Féin MLA Caitríona Ruane has landed in spot of bother after she sat through an allegedly racist display at an X Factor-type event in Newry last week. The Mayo woman, who now lives in Omeath, was a judge at the event. According to the Newry Democrat, “it is understood that some of the crowd was horrified that the Education Minister continued to participate in the night, and did not illustrate her disgust by leaving the hotel.”

In a statement issued afterwards from Ruane, she said: "I am enjoying my time as a judge on the GAA X Factor and have been extremely impressed by the quality of the acts on offer, all of whom have performed magnificently in what is a keenly contested competition.

"The audience had differing views on the performances and I enjoyed some acts more than others, which I made clear in my comments as one of the judges."

I’m sure Ruane had little idea of what she was likely to encounter during the event, but as a public representative she should have known better than to sit back and watch the debacle unfold.

This episode also raises issues of political involvement in sporting organisations such as the GAA. A couple of years back, the Association allowed the use of Casement Park for a provisional Hunger Strike commemoration which gave anti-GAA bigots an excuse to attack the GAA and also frankly brought discomfort to many people who support the organisation.

Perhaps as an outworking of incidents like this plus the insensitive naming of some clubs led to Margaret Ritchie being criticised by the Orange Order recently for saying that attacks on Orange Halls should not be compared to those on GAA halls as the two organisations are completely different. Allowing the GAA to be exploited by political parties of any hue just gives people with an axe to grind against gaelic games ammunition for attack.

In Munster, former GAA chief Seán Kelly is likely to be a Fine Gael candidate in next year's European elections. However, this is completely separate as the two roles did not run simultaneously.

The GAA is a community organisation that has members of many political persuasions and none. It needs to be wary of political infiltration and exploitation, lest it should cause embarrassment and alienate the very grassroots activists who give it its vitality.