Ringland pays tribute to the quiet voices that kept northern society from falling apart…

This has been a recurrent theme in Trevor’s outlook ever since I first got to know him for the research and writing of The Long Peace:

Trevor Ringland refused to visit Croke Park for many years because of the ban on members of the security forces playing GAA games, which has since been lifted.

Today he visited the ground to address a meeting of British and Irish parliamentarians, which included the DUP and other unionists.

“As we look to reconcile the future don’t ignore the tremendous grace shown by so many people to allow this process to develop – to create an opportunity to make sure what happened before never happens again.

“It is the majority quiet voices, we would be failing them if we did not make sure we bedded down the sort of relationships we should have between people on these islands.” He added: “We should never let those who hate the most determine our relationships again.”

Mr Ringland, who leads the Peace Players International organisation, said all-island sport was a good thing.

“The symbolism around some of those sports has to be looked at to make sure those all-island games are properly representative.

“It continues that theme of how do we make ourselves inclusive of identity on this island.”

What’s interesting (and welcome) is that other codes are now actively taking up the same kind of leadership shown by Ulster Rugby. For instance…

GAA president Liam O’Neill said a shared future was inevitable on the island.

“We share it whether we like it or not and we may as well share it as friends.”

He added: “I hope that Gaelic games can contribute to that in some way.”

Ryan Feeney, the GAA’s outreach officer, said the association was actively anti-sectarian.

The naming of GAA grounds after Irish republicans and the now dropped ban on members of the security services playing Gaelic games has historically contributed to divisions with unionists.

Mr Feeney said: “We are an organisation that can reflect on our past and say there are thing we could have done better.

“Our role as the largest sporting body in Ireland is to promote peace and reconciliation. We protect, we respect and we give space to those who share this island and this community with us.

“Instead of a shared future there is one future.”

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.