The GAA's Honorary Patron, Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and Emly, has robustly parried a suggestion that the Catholic bishops scored "an own goal" in urging young people to pray and not play sports on Sunday mornings. The archbishop, who is regularly seen at matches in Croke Park alongside President Mary McAleese, yesterday stoutly defended the bishops' campaign for an end to sports matches and training sessions on Sunday mornings.
"I expect a positive response from parents and children, the people to whom we have made our appeal," Archbishop Clifford told a packed news conference in Maynooth, which was the bishops' biggest media attendance in years.
"The Shepherd's voice will be listened to," the archbishop insisted with the magisterial authority of the manager of the 'Sacred Souls United' team.
"Sunday is the Lord's Day, but it has been turned into a shopping day and a sports day," he lamented.
Unfazed by negative reactions from the GAA and the IRFU -- and the FAI's sitting on the fence -- the archbishop, revelling in the verbal rough and tumble, went on the attack when he renewed his call for a ban on alcohol-sponsorship of sporting events.
"The GAA should be the first to give up alcohol sponsorship. They are the greatest amateur organisation in the world," he said.
The archbishop's solo run reached its climax when he thundered: "If alcohol sponsorship was banned totally, there would be no sports on Sunday because the sports organisations are alcohol-dependent."
Indefatigable
Awed by such a strike from the indefatigable archbishop, even the editor of the 'Irish Catholic' made light of the prospect of a Sabbath without any sport at all.
Archbishop Clifford explained that the bishops' appeal was to their fans: "The people we are talking to are parents and local people who take children out on Sundays and have their heart in the game.
"We are appealing to their consciences because the Sunday morning under-age playing and training has got out of hand."
The archbishop instanced how his priests had told him that in country parishes on Sunday mornings, parishioners booked their places in pitches all over the country.
"Mini-buses pull up outside churches filled with youngsters being taken off for playing," he said.
Unrepentant, he added: "We want to be sure that these young people know that they have a duty to go to Mass."
Thanking the Irish Independent for its coverage yesterday of the campaign which the bishops kicked-off on Tuesday, Archbishop Clifford said: "It is an invitation to young people and their parents, very gently given.
"Our interest is in the parents who have to rear their children at the grass-roots level."
To applause from three accompanying bishops, Eamonn Walsh of Dublin, Donal McKeown of Belfast and Brendan Kelly of Achonry, the archbishop scored from a penalty kick when he asked me directly: "If you give a lad a chance to come into Mass or go across the road to a game, what would he do?
"You were young yourself, John, and you know what you would do."
Archbishop Cliford beamed.
He had won the All Ireland.
The bishops' and the people's champion.
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