Rule 42
Encyclopedia
Rule 42 is a rule of the Gaelic Athletic Association
(GAA) which in practice prohibits the playing of non-Gaelic games
in GAA stadiums. The rule is often mistakenly believed to prohibit foreign sports at GAA owned stadiums. However, non-Gaelic games such as boxing
and American football
did take place in Croke Park
before Rule 42 was modified.
could be joint hosts of Euro 2008. Subsequently the association was asked to modify the rule so that the Ireland national rugby union team
and Republic of Ireland national football team
would not have to play their home games outside of Ireland
while the Lansdowne Road
stadium was being redeveloped. A number of motions to change Rule 42 failed or were blocked from being put on the agenda with the majority of the opposition coming from the Ulster
counties
. The Rule was finally modified in 2005 to allow the playing of Soccer and Rugby Union
in Croke Park
only while Lansdowne Road
was being redeveloped. The motion gave the GAA's central council
the power to decide which games would be allowed in Croke Park. The motion to the GAA's annual congress
passed 227-97, thus obtaining the two thirds majority required.
) is complete Rule 42 will revert back to it 2005 wording.However, high profile GAA members including Seán Kelly, former GAA president, have expressed the view that the rule should not be reverted. On April 17, 2010 the GAA voted to keep Croke Park open after the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.
The 2005 amendment added the sentence:
rugby union match between Ireland
and France
which Ireland lost 17–20. The following match against England
generated some controversy, since it involved the playing of God Save the Queen
at a ground where British soldiers had killed fourteen spectators on Bloody Sunday, 1920
.
There was a small protest by Republican Sinn Féin
outside the ground which included a man holding a sign saying No to foreign games while wearing a Celtic FC tracksuit. Ireland won the match by 43 points to 13.
, the GAA confirmed that club Rugby would also be allowed under the relaxing of Rule 42. The game was played in Croke Park on 2 May 2009, when Leinster
defeated Munster
25–6. The attendance of 82,208 set a new world record attendance for a club rugby union game.
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
(GAA) which in practice prohibits the playing of non-Gaelic games
Gaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
in GAA stadiums. The rule is often mistakenly believed to prohibit foreign sports at GAA owned stadiums. However, non-Gaelic games such as boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
did take place in Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
before Rule 42 was modified.
The drive to have Rule 42 changed
In the early 2000s the GAA came under pressure to allow non-Gaelic games be played in Croke Park so that the Football Association of IrelandFootball Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
could be joint hosts of Euro 2008. Subsequently the association was asked to modify the rule so that the Ireland national rugby union team
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and Republic of Ireland national football team
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
would not have to play their home games outside of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
while the Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
stadium was being redeveloped. A number of motions to change Rule 42 failed or were blocked from being put on the agenda with the majority of the opposition coming from the Ulster
Ulster GAA
The Ulster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in Armagh City....
counties
GAA county
A Gaelic Athletic Association county is a geographic region within the Gaelic Athletic Association , controlled by a county board and originally based on the counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the counties of Ireland have changed since the foundation of that date, the GAA counties have...
. The Rule was finally modified in 2005 to allow the playing of Soccer and Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
only while Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
was being redeveloped. The motion gave the GAA's central council
Structure of the Gaelic Athletic Association
The Structure of the Gaelic Athletic Association is a voluntary, democratic association consisting of various boards, councils, and committees organised in a structured hierarchy. The individual club is the basic unit of the association, and the world headquarters are at Croke Park. All of the...
the power to decide which games would be allowed in Croke Park. The motion to the GAA's annual congress
Gaelic Athletic Association Congress
GAA Congress is an annual gathering of the Gaelic Athletic Association in which changes to the rule book, the Official Guide, may be undertaken, where the year is reviewed, and a new President of the association formally takes office...
passed 227-97, thus obtaining the two thirds majority required.
When the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road is complete
Once the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road (now called the Aviva StadiumAviva Stadium
The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the...
) is complete Rule 42 will revert back to it 2005 wording.However, high profile GAA members including Seán Kelly, former GAA president, have expressed the view that the rule should not be reverted. On April 17, 2010 the GAA voted to keep Croke Park open after the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.
Wording of the rule
The original wording of Rule 42 is:The 2005 amendment added the sentence:
The first games in Croke Park
The first game to take place under the relaxed Rule 42 took place on 11 February 2007. It was a Six Nations ChampionshipSix Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
rugby union match between Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
which Ireland lost 17–20. The following match against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
generated some controversy, since it involved the playing of God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
at a ground where British soldiers had killed fourteen spectators on Bloody Sunday, 1920
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Bloody Sunday was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total, 31 people were killed – fourteen British, fourteen Irish civilians and three republican prisoners....
.
There was a small protest by Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
outside the ground which included a man holding a sign saying No to foreign games while wearing a Celtic FC tracksuit. Ireland won the match by 43 points to 13.
A world record attendance
In early February 2009, with possibility of an all Irish semi-final in the 2008-09 Heineken Cup2008-09 Heineken Cup
The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh...
, the GAA confirmed that club Rugby would also be allowed under the relaxing of Rule 42. The game was played in Croke Park on 2 May 2009, when Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
defeated Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
25–6. The attendance of 82,208 set a new world record attendance for a club rugby union game.