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'Inclusivity' message praised by gay groups

A GAA captain has been praised by gay-rights groups for thanking the "girlfriends and boyfriends" of the players in his winners' speech at Croke Park. St Vincent's footballer Ger Brennan thanked all the squad's partners in his winners' speech after the team triumphed in the All-Ire-land senior club championship. Gay rights campaigners yesterday welcomed the speech, described by some sports fans as the "most progressive GAA winning speech ever" and a "big step forward" for the association. Centre-back Brennan addressed the crowds of supporters on St Patrick's Day after his Dublin club defeated Mayo's Castlebar Mitchels by 4-12 to 2-11. "To the family, girlfriends, boyfriends of the players and everyone involved, there's a lot of work that goes into playing for your club team and the county, and there's always an awful lot of support which is there behind us, and people don't often see that so I'd like to give thanks to all the families and friends," he said. His words, which were broadcast on TG4, were met with cheers and applause from the crowd before he lifted the club champion-ship cup in celebration. Matthew McDermott, policy and advocacy manager at The Rainbow Project, said he hoped the speech would help more Irish athletes feel comfortable with their sexual orientation. "This is a subtle message of inclusivity, which will probably go unnoticed by the majority of people but for those in same-sex relationships, either within the team or without, this will have been a welcome acknowledgement of their relationship as equal as well as their contribution to the sport," he said. A GAA spokesman said: "Ger's speech - delivered in Irish and English - was well-received and there was nothing in what was a celebratory oration to upset or offend anyone." Former Cork hurler Donal Og Cu-sack (37) became the first senior GAA star to publicly declare he was gay. He later spoke of the battles he faced against bigots on and off the pitch. Earlier this year his younger brother Conor, who plays hurling for the Cloyne club in Cork, also revealed he was gay. He made his sexuality public in a bid to break down social taboos around the issue, particularly in sport. * SPEECH: St Vincent's captain Ger Brennan has been praised by gay rights groups for his "subtle message of inclusivity" during his winners' speech at Croke Park after his team triumphed at the All-Ireland Senior Club Championship