The GAA has been accused by a Galway community of succumbing to the "greed of the Celtic Tiger", following a decision by the organisation's county board to sell part of its property in the medieval-walled town of Athenry.
"You have heard of the `Fields of Athenry', but have you heard about the `Back Lawn' ?", say the members of a local action committee in a statement which opposes the move. The committee, which has already collected a petition with almost 1,000 signatures, intends to take legal action if necessary over the 1.553-acre site.
The "field" in question has had a turbulent history. Known as the "Back Lawn", it was once part of Athenry town house, and local people were given access to it until about 1880. By 1912, the Land Commission had purchased it from the estate of Lady Edith Drummond, and seven years later it was held in trust.
The public's right to use it became a bone of contention about 20 years later. A meeting of Athenry GAA club on October 17th, 1932, declared: "We, the Gaels of Athenry, protest against the sale of the Back Lawn to any individual for the reason that it was purchased by a number of trustees as a public park for the use of the people of the town, and the said trustees by agreement with the GAA subjected the yearly tenancy to the condition that the GAA have the right to use the Back Lawn for sports and pastimes on all Sundays and Church holidays of the year."
The following year, a Circuit Court ruling appointed new trustees. However, the GAA's gradual hold on the field led to a new dispute 20 years later. By 1958, the land had been vested in the association as a county ground - to avail of any grants possible for development. The Kenny Memorial Committee, which represented trustees, four GAA clubs, the agricultural show society and six co-opted members, insisted that a clause be written into the deeds to ensure the land would always be Kenny Memorial Park - named after Tom Kenny, a Craughwell blacksmith and prominent republican.
The validity of the public's right may now be put to the test in the battle over the sale. As Mr Jim Reidy of the action committee says, local interest extends beyond the old parish collections, taken for its development. Large amounts of taxpayers' money has been spent in FAS schemes on the Back Lawn, he says.
What really worries the action committee is the reason for the sale. The land is currently zoned for amenity purposes, but Galway County Council's draft development plan for Athenry proposed to rezone it as commercial. "We are vehemently opposed to the change in zoning proposal," Mr Reidy said on behalf of his committee.
Caught in the middle is the highly successful St Mary's GAA Club, which doesn't need this controversy. It has its own grounds but the area has been used as a schools pitch, and the use of the park by visiting teams for training was good for Athenry. "The GAA is a community-based organisation and, as such, decisions on local issues made by the county board should not be deliberately divisive," Mr Jarlath Cloonan, secretary of the club, told The Irish Times.
However, the club has had to adopt a neutral stance. If it supported the sale, it would be in conflict with its own parish and club members, Mr Cloonan explained. If it opposed it, it would cause difficulty with county board officials. The lack of consultation worries him. The county board has not even had any discussions with the local club on the dispute.
Several public meetings have been held, with more to follow. It has been claimed that the land is worth £500,000, and that the GAA may wish to put the money from the sale into the £6.5 million Pearse Stadium project in Galway. The project has already requested £400,000 from Galway Corporation.
Mr Frank Burke of the GAA Galway county board said he did not wish to make any comment.
