Protesters interrupt GAA Congress meeting over Allianz association
Kenneth Fox
Jarlath Burns has revealed that a security guard was injured arising from the “No to Allianz” protesters breaking into Croke Park on Saturday.
As the Irish Examiner reports, as Congress resumed following the breach through the main entrance of the Hogan Stand, Burns called on GAA members aligning themselves with those who were injured to “examine their consciences”.
Burns reopened proceedings: “Thank all of you for your restraint during that episode that has just happened. It's a bit ironic that people who are protesting against illegal occupation will come in and illegally occupy our building.
“And I just want to say this, on the day that we made the decision based on the Ethics and Integrity Commission, it was on December 19th, and December 19th in my area is a very big date.
“It was in 1975, the Glenanne Gang came in to Donnelly's bar, which is our local shop, and murdered three people, one of whom was a good friend of mine, Michael Donnelly. And I went into my car on the 19th of December 2025 and drove to the front of Donnelly's house, shop, pub, which is still there, to make a speech.
“Fifty years on, justice still hasn't been served for the 120 innocent Catholics who were murdered by the Glenanne Gang in four years in my area, in my community.
“I don't need any lectures about what it's like to feel the pressure of illegal occupation. I don't need any lectures or people shouting in my face about what it's like to go to bed at night, fearful that somebody would barge into your bedroom and riddle you with bullets. Because that was my lived experience when I was young.
“So, whenever this came onto our table in the GAA, we did it the way the GAA does it. We put it through our own processes, we concluded, and Tom (Ryan, GAA director general) dealt with it very well last night. We have facilitated protests on this by people who feel that they disagree with the decision we took.
“But we have security guards down there who work very, very hard, and I know them all from being in here all day, every day. And they are injured. Somebody is waiting down there for an ambulance to come."
