Plan to rearrange children's cricket camp after Orange lodge opposition

The cricket club in Comber had organised the children's event

There are plans to hold a cross-community sports summer camp at a new venue after an Orange lodge opposed the involvement of a "small group of children from a GAA club".

North Down Cricket Club, based in Comber in County Down, had planned to host the event for young people from different backgrounds, including some from East Belfast GAA, on Friday.

The lodge said there were concerns about the "perceived move of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) into the local community", which it said had come from some local residents.

Cricket Ireland said on Wednesday it hoped to move the event to Stormont in July.

North Down Cricket Club had decided not to go ahead with the original event after it said the "spirit of the camp was at risk of being lost".

North Down Cricket Club has been part of Comber since 1857

Goldsprings of Comber Orange lodge posted on social media that "many local residents have raised reservations about the GAA's cultural and historical affiliations".

"Specifically, there is unease regarding aspects of the organisation that have, in the past, celebrated or commemorated individuals associated with paramilitary activity.

"For a shared and peaceful future, such actions are viewed by some as divisive and incompatible with a truly inclusive society."

New date and venue

Cricket Ireland chairman Brian MacNeice said the organisation, as well as the Northern Cricket Union (NCU), were "dismayed and disappointed at the events".

In an interview with BBC News NI's Evening Extra programme he said he wanted to work with the NCU to host the event at Stormont in east Belfast on 28 July when Ireland's women are playing Zimbabwe.

"Obviously we have to work out the logistics because this happened overnight," he said.

"We've been in touch with East Belfast GAA club and we have extended the offer to them for the alternative camp and they're very receptive to that.

"The same applies to all of the other community groups and clubs involved."

North Down Cricket Club said the planned event had reflected "the best of our community and our Ulster-British heritage - confident, welcoming, and grounded in respect".

It said it had planned for the event to give young people from different backgrounds the chance to have fun by playing cricket.

It said 10 different local sports and community groups had been involved, including a small group of children from a GAA club.

An Orange Order spokesman said the organisation had no comment to make about the issue

The Orange lodge said residents "have made it clear that until the GAA takes meaningful steps to ensure it is fully inclusive and sensitive to the history and identity of the Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist (PUL) community, its presence in Comber would be viewed with regret and opposition by many in the Comber area".

"This issue is not about opposition to sport, but about ensuring that all organisations operating in shared spaces demonstrate respect for all traditions and work proactively towards reconciliation and mutual understanding," a spokesperson said.

A spokesman for the Orange Order told BBC News NI the organisation had no comment to make about the issue.

In a further lengthy statement on Wednesday night, the lodge said North Down Cricket Club had taken the decision to cancel the event before the lodge's initial statement.

Former Democratic Unionist Party special adviser David Graham told Evening Extra the statement was "indefensible" and "strategically short-sighted".

He said it was short-sighted and described it as a "self-inflicted injury".

"Unionism has had a public image issue for some time and ultimately from a PR point of view this has been damaging in the short term but I think more concerning is it's damaging in the long term," Mr Graham said.

What has the GAA club said?

East Belfast GAA is a relatively new club which was formed in June 2020

In a statement, East Belfast GAA said it was "disappointed" its youth academy members "won't be enjoying a planned community sports event".

"This was a great opportunity to engage with those who share our values of respect, togetherness, and inclusion," it said.

"The regrettable cancellation won't stop any of the organisations involved from continuing their great work in building bridges, promoting peace, and sharing spaces for sport."

The club said it looked forward to "future opportunities to collaborate with like-minded groups from Belfast and beyond".

First minister condemnation

In a post on X, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said children should be allowed to play together without facing intolerance.

"These developments are deeply worrying and unacceptable," the Sinn Féin politician said.

"Sport has the power to unify. Political representatives must call this out."

Kellie Armstrong said "denying children the right to play sport together for purely sectarian reasons is not acceptable"

Alliance assembly member Kellie Armstrong said North Down Cricket Club had encountered "hostility and bigotry from some quarters" and it was a "disgrace" that they felt they had to cancel the event.

"The people who have criticised the club and forced the postponement of the summer scheme need to realise denying children the right to play sport together for purely sectarian reasons is not acceptable on any level," she said.

'Allow children to be children'

The former Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster that he felt the decision was "disappointing".

Beattie added that "we should allow children to be children".

"People may have concerns but we need to put this into perspective - this is about children," he added.

"If you've got issues with the GAA, let's raise it with the GAA, let's not focus it on to kids."

On BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show, Traditional Unionist Voice deputy leader Ron McDowell said the GAA's official guide said its basic aim was "the strengthening of national identity in a 32-county Ireland through the preservation and promotion of Gaelic games and pastimes".

"Children should be allowed play sport under all circumstances, what I'm talking about is the GAA as an organisation," he said.

"What we are talking about is official invitations to the GAA and we need to press for reform from within and once we get those reforms then society in Northern Ireland won't have these arguments, this baggage from the past, and we will move on stronger."