CATHOLIC PRIMATE of All Ireland Cardinal Seán Brady has written to county GAA boards in his diocese to request the moving of games that clash with Sunday morning Masses.
Cardinal Brady made the appeal after being contacted by priests in the Archdiocese of Armagh about their concerns over throw-in times for games conflicting with the Masses.
The correspondence was sent on June 30th to the boards of Armagh, Derry, Louth and Tyrone.
A spokesman for Cardinal Brady said although details of private correspondence were not given out, the context of the letter was concerned with the scheduling of GAA matches and training, in particular underage football matches.
“Cardinal Brady raised those concerns and a reply received clarified the scheduling of matches and training was a matter for local clubs, but county boards generally discouraged, except in exceptional circumstances, scheduling of matches and training at the same time as local church worship,” said the spokesman.
A spokesman for the Ulster board of the GAA said its fixtures did not clash with Sunday morning Masses, “although Cardinal Brady may have an issue with each individual county board”.
“From our point of view, we don’t have Sunday morning games, we play everything on Saturday evenings, Sunday afternoons or midweek,” added the spokesman.
The Armagh GAA board said it had received Cardinal Brady’s letter and was discussing it with its clubs but would not be commenting on the matter.
The Catholic Church previously aired its concerns over the issue at an Irish Bishops’ Conference in March 2008, calling for people to “keep the day holy”.
“Until recent times we maintained a good balance between the elements of Sunday life,” said a statement at the time.
“One of the essential ways by which this balance was maintained was the tradition whereby sporting and leisure activities for young people on Sundays did not begin until early afternoon. Now, however, there seems to be an ever-increasing frequency in the scheduling of underage training sessions and competitive games for Sunday mornings.
“We appeal to all people of goodwill to respect the spiritual needs of children and adolescents, particularly as these relate to family life and religious practice on Sundays, and to refrain from organising events that clash with Sunday morning religious services.”