Gordon Lyons: NI sports minister yet to attend GAA game

Northern Ireland’s sports minister has not attended a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) game, despite being in office for more than six months.

Gordon Lyons was appointed to the role back in February.

Since taking up responsibility for sport, Mr Lyons has attended many events including cricket, rugby, and football.

He has not attended any gaelic football, hurling or camogie games.

His department has told BBC News NI that he has accepted an invitation to visit a GAA club in September.

The GAA invited Gordon Lyons to at least two games, including July’s All Ireland football final, but he declined both citing diary commitments.

In July, more than 82,000 fans were in Croke Park to see Armagh win the All Ireland senior football championship. Mr Lyons was invited but said he had a prior commitment.

Over the past few months, Mr Lyons and his department have posted images of his visits to sporting groups all over Northern Ireland.

Since taking up his role as Communities Minister he has visited more than 20 football grounds across Northern Ireland.

But it appears he has yet to visit any of the more than 250 GAA clubs based in Northern Ireland.

He has been to games at Windsor Park and Ulster Rugby’s Kingspan Stadium.

He also visited the NW200, a tennis club, boxing clubs, a bowling ground, and the recent Ireland cricket match at Stormont.

In February, Mr Lyons attended a UEFA Women’s Nations league play-off match alongside First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly.

He met new GAA president Jarlath Burns at that fixture.

In a statement, Ulster GAA said: “Mr Lyons has been extended an open invitation to attend any inter-county championship game(s) of his choice.

“He was also, separately, invited to attend the recent All-Ireland Senior football final.”

BBC News NI asked the Department for Communities (DfC) for a statement about the fact Mr Lyons had not attended any gaelic games.

The department issued a response a week later.

“The minister has received two invites to GAA games [including the final], both of which conflicted with other diary commitments,” it said.

“The minister has received one invite to a GAA club which he has accepted for early September.

“Plans are under way to host a reception for the All-Ireland winning Armagh team and officials are liaising with them to finalise the details.”

The SDLP MP Claire Hanna said that for a sports minister “to overlook probably the biggest sporting organisation and an organisation that is the backbone of so many neighbourhood and communities just isn’t good enough”.

“We have seen the positive effective of leadership from other DUP ministers not least the deputy First Minister, who engaged in gaelic games, as do tens of thousands of people in Northern Ireland.

“It’s time the sports minister did the same,” she added.

Speaking to BBC News NI after taking up office, he was asked if fans of Gaelic games should be concerned about a DUP minister having responsibility for sport.

He said: “I will say this very clearly, I’m going to be the minister for sport. Not for one particular sport – not for one particular section of society.”

“I know the benefit of sport. I know it’s played in many different areas and in many different ways.

“I’m going to be a champion for sport in Northern Ireland and nobody should have any fear about me being in this position. That is the approach that I am going to take during my time in office,” he added.

In April, the minister told the Belfast Telegraph that he would “gladly” attend a GAA game but said he had not received an invitation from the association.

“We are dealing with hundreds of invites. I haven’t got one from the GAA. I’m not quite sure when games are being played or what they would like to invite me to, but certainly, if I get an invite…”

“This question is always asked, isn’t it, of Unionist ministers in particular, ‘Would you go to a GAA match?’ Well, of course. We consider all invitations that come in, but if there is a feeling that I would have an objection to doing that, I certainly don’t.”

Dozens of inter-county games have been played since that interview, but the minister didn’t attend any of those.

Mr Lyons said: “I don’t have my diary here, so I’m not going to sign up and commit, but I’ve no objection to attending, not at all.”

In May it was announced that Mr Lyons’ was distributing £36m to football grounds across Northern Ireland.

In 2008, the then sports minister Edwin Poots became the first DUP politician to attend a Gaelic football match when he accepted an invite to a McKenna Cup game in Newry.

Former DUP leader Arlene Foster attended the Ulster football final between Donegal and Fermanagh in 2018.