a little moment of history

From the GAA Official Guide:

42 Non Affiliated Bodies
...
(b) A Club or other unit shall only participate, as such, in games controlled by the Association and against a Club or other unit of the Association, unless the prior sanction of Central Council has been given.

Today, Ireland plays rugby against France at Croke Park. Much is being made of the first instance of an "English" game in the GAA's flagship sportsground, but the bigger deal will be on Saturday 24th, when England play Ireland at the same location, with the accompanying obligatory performance of "God Save The Queen" (and no, not the Sex Pistols' version).

RTÉ is covering both the historic background (including the Bloody Sunday incident in 1920) and the Vox Pop reaction. Frankly, the only negative voices have been from the entrenched GAA members, 25% of whom voted against allowing the Irish rugby and soccer teams to use Croke Park while the regular home ground (Lansdowne Road) is being renovated.

(aside: They're showing prematch coverage right now, and Oasis' Wonderwall is blaring over the PA - second-generation Irish Boys who Made Good in the UK. I wonder if that's someone poking a bit of fun...)

I'm looking forward to the match. Let's hope we win!

bah.

Well, we looked good to win for all of, oh, 30 seconds. Ireland 17, France 20.

what's behind door number three, Bob?

Judging by TV adverts at the moment, if you can't get a date for Valentine's, your next option is to overdose on chocolate, and failing that, drink.