The President, Mrs McAleese, has again called on the GAA to remove its ban on members of the RUC and British army joining the organisation. In an interview given two years ago for a book, Talking Gaelic, by Eamonn Rafferty, she had called for the removal of Rule 21. As President she has now repeated her call.
Repealing Rule 21 "would send an extraordinary message of generosity and hope", she told the Irish News in an interview published yesterday. "I just think it would ease a lot of tension. I think that the generosity of it would be very heartfelt and very heartwarming."