The GAA had missed a "glorious opportunity" to contribute to the peace process when it decided last weekend not to remove the rule banning security force members from playing Gaelic games, the association's patron, Archbishop Dermot Clifford, has said.
Northern delegates had come under pressure "bordering on intimidation" from political elements before voting on Rule 21, he said.
It is believed that Ulster Unionist Party councillor, Mr Chris McGimpsey, will take the GAA and the Government to court under the European Convention on Human Rights, claiming the ban is discriminatory.
Speaking on RTE radio yesterday, Dr Clifford said the GAA was "out of step" with "the whole movement of peace and reconciliation" and would "have to do some catching up" as a result of its decision. The congress decided to tie the removal of the ban to RUC reform.
The Archbishop of Cashel and Emly said he had written a letter advocating the ban's removal, which he requested be read to the association's special delegate congress last Saturday. His letter was not read out.
He said: "They have said that they are going to wait until the RUC is totally reformed and then they will delete Rule 21 but they're taking no risk for peace." "I would say the delegates in the North came under severe pressure from political elements and these political elements had their voice heard loud and clear. They had pickets outside the Burlington Hotel. There was something bordering on intimidation around and about that congress last Saturday."
Following the archbishop's remarks, the leader of the Ulster Democratic Party, Mr Gary McMichael, said the GAA's attitude was inconsistent with the peace process. Its sponsors and the media "must consider whether it is appropriate for them to treat the GAA as they would any other organisation".
"There are a number of fundamental principles involved here. The foremost principle is that sporting organisations should not be sectarian. They should not be involved in politics," he said.
Dr Clifford said it was a "pity" his views had not been made known to the delegates. "I don't, as patron, take part in the ordinary day-to-day formulation of the policy of the GAA. This particular situation had a wider context. I felt that in a certain sense I should be the conscience of the organisation at this point, just as Dr Croke was back in the 1880s."
Mr Dominick McCaughey, secretary of the Tyrone County Board, believed "the sooner the ban is lifted the better", although there was a general feeling it was not the right time for removal.
"Some people felt it was ironic that at the time we were starting to discuss the motion on Rule 21 that a riot started in the Garvaghy Road and that we were probably justified in taking the decision which we took," he said.
"The people in the Garvaghy Road did not seem to see a difference between the pre-agreement and post-agreement situation."
Mr McCaughey said there had been no intimidation of members in Tyrone and "an overwhelming majority" had voted against lifting the ban.