UPHEAVAL in education should have no bearing on which club a young person chooses, a prominent GAA official has said. Sean McGourty, a St Gall's member and treasurer of the Ulster Colleges Council, said club choice in many areas was determined by where a person lived.
In rural areas especially, he said, there were very strict rules governing club affiliation.
School amalgamations and closures have been taking place for years, long before the massive area-planning exercise was even conceived.
In west Belfast, three schools - St Catherine's, St John's Girls and St Gall's Boys - amalgamated to form St Clare's in 2005.
The demise of the all-boys' school, Mr McGourty, left, said, had no adverse impact on the club with which it enjoyed a strong affiliation. Both St Gall's PS, and the defunct St Finnian's, were served by the De La Salle order.
Mr McGourty said there would have been a flow of young players from St Gall's school to its namesake club, because of the La Sallian brothers' connection to both.
This historical link was broken over time. "There was a historical change that went with mobility. In Belfast, there's no match up between schools and clubs. St Gall's would have kids from
20 different primary schools," he said.
In one west Belfast street, he added, you could have a child who plays for Rossa, while his neighbour plays for St John's and the child in the next house plays for St Gall's.
When St Gall's won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 2010 it had players who lived in north Belfast and Glengormley.
"St Gall's and other clubs would have taken kids from primary schools like St Gall's, but this ceased to be. St Gall's would not have been the main feeder even before it closed," Mr McGourty added. "It would have been more about where did their father play. It never would be the same as it is in rural areas. A school going in Belfast would have no impact on a club."
In rural areas, he added, there were rules on who could play for who, and said he did not agree that a school closure would mean the demise of a rural GAA club. "In Dunloy, the primary school backs onto the GAA pitch and the club works with the school. These kids will still play for that club regardless of which school they go to," he said.