Northern Ireland

MLA and several members resign from GAA club amid voting rights for women row

SDLP Lagan Valley MLA Pat Catney. Picture by Mal McCann
SDLP Lagan Valley MLA Pat Catney. Picture by Mal McCann SDLP Lagan Valley MLA Pat Catney. Picture by Mal McCann

AN MLA and several members have quit a GAA club amid a row over voting rights for women.

A large group of women at St Patrick’s in Lisburn were not allowed to vote at its annual general meeting last month.

SDLP MLA Pat Catney said he had resigned and would not return until the issue is resolved. Other members also left in protest.

The row centres around dozens of members being denied a vote in club elections because they had not been registered with the GAA, even though they had paid membership fees.

St Patrick's has said the issue affected some women and men, however, several members told The Irish News that the overwhelming majority of people who could not vote were women.

Michelle McNally (36), a former ladies’ vice-chairman, said it had been agreed earlier this year that all adult female members would have a vote.

However, many found out at the AGM itself that this was not the case.

Women who were not registered with the GAA could not vote, including those who had held senior club positions.

Ms McNally, who is still a member of the club, said she was "dumbfounded".

“It’s just silly. We’ve lost several members over it," she said.

She said the issue could have been easily resolved to allow all adult women to get a vote.

“Some of the senior ladies were retrospectively registered as GAA members,” she said.

Ms McNally said the club’s female membership had grown hugely over the last decade.

“The club historically was a senior men’s club,” she said.

“In the last year we have established our first-ever under-age girls’ team…Then the ‘mothers and others’ (social Gaelic team) have become a real asset to the club.”

Another female member, who did not wish to be named, said she had not been informed she would have no voting rights when she joined earlier this year.

"I felt I was a full member of St Pat’s until all this came to light," she said.

The woman said she felt voting rights had been denied because the ‘mothers and others’ were the largest section of the club.

She said she is “very proud to represent the club” which, as a whole, had been very supportive and welcoming.

Mr Catney said he was appalled by the decision not to grant some women a vote.

"I thought the whole thing was bizarre," he said.

“I have removed myself from the club.”

Mr Catney has been involved with St Patrick’s for more than a decade and was a former ladies’ football coach.

“I will join again when this is fixed but it’s something that should never have needed to be fixed, it’s a wrong that shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“They do have some of the best men and women and dedicated workers but there has no be complete equality.”

In a statement, the club's management committee acknowledged that "some club members, male and female, were unable to vote at our recent AGM, due to an issue surrounding their registration status".

"At that last AGM on November 21, St Patrick's GAC, Lisburn, changed its constitution by an unanimous vote to ensure that all female players from the LGFA (Ladies' Gaelic Football Association) and Mothers & Others teams are registered appropriately for voting rights at forthcoming AGMs.

"This is primarily to allow these players, who contribute so much to the club community, to have their say in club activities as well as the day to day running of the club and its activities."