Centre Publications

Sport and Community Relations in Northern Ireland
John Sugden and Scott Harvie (1995)

Sport and Community Relations

Having obtained information which sought to locate sports within the social and political environment of Northern Ireland a series of questions focussed directly on relations between the Protestant and Catholic communities inside each activity. Respondents were first asked to estimate the extent of cross-community contact within the sport, both generally and in certain specified areas. They were then questioned as to whether any formal community relations initiatives had been undertaken. Respondents were also asked if mention was made of community relations in their constitution and coaching programme with a follow-up question in each case enquiring whether they would be willing to countenance such measures. Sports were then invited to assess how they thought community relations should feature, if at all, within their particular activity. Finally they were asked to comment on changes in the level of cross-community contact within each sport since 1970.

5.1: Cross-Community Contact

In focussing on the role of community relations within sport it was thought important to begin by gauging individual sport’s perceptions regarding the level of contact between Protestants and Catholics within their activity.

First, respondents were asked to provide a general assessment of the degree of cross-community contact. Estimates were then sought of the extent of mixing in different aspects of each sport at schools, youth and senior levels. For all these estimates of the degree of contact a 1-5 scale was offered; values ranging from no contact at all (1) to a great deal (5).

5.1.1. - General Level of Cross-Community Contact

Figure 25 shows the level of contact between the two religious groups each sport considered there to be within its activity.

Figure 25

One of the cycling organisations pointed out that whilst there was a great deal of contact between riders, particularly since cyclists from both the UCF and NICF compete together, at administrative level contact was limited.

Only 4 sports did not consider there to be a great deal of contact between Protestants and Catholics. Of these, the estimate of moderate levels of mixing within Gaelic sport appears to be somewhat generous, given that the religious background of competitors was considered to be virtually exclusively Catholic. Similarly figures for rugby union and ladies’ hockey seem difficult to reconcile with the Protestant predominance within each sport. This is particularly so when compared against the estimate from men’s hockey.

There seems to be a tendency amongst sports to exaggerate the degree of mixing between Protestants and Catholics, perhaps again for fear of being labelled as sectarian in some way. Given the sensitivities of the issue, this is, at least to some extent, understandable. The emphasis sports placed on their being ‘open to all’ may have appeared to jar with a reality where most players are drawn from one religious community. It is also interesting to note that whilst both cycling organisations considered their sport to have a great deal of cross-community contact, one chose to interpret the question as it applied to its own riders, whilst the other answered on the basis of the sport as a whole despite having restricted other estimates to that part of the activity for which it was responsible.

5.1.2. - Specific Levels of Cross-Community Contact

Sports were asked to use the same scale to estimate the extent of cross-community contact within their activity at schools, youth and senior level in respect of the following categories; mixed teams; mixed leagues; mixed tournament; mixed tours; and mixed coaching. Equestrian sport again did not consider such questions appropriate whilst rugby union found it impossible to provide estimates in such terms. Others were only able to provide partial answers as certain elements of the question did not apply to their activity, for example, schools level in motor cycling.

5.1.2.1. - Mixed Teams

Figures 26-28 highlight the degree of mixing between Protestants and Catholics each sport considered there to be in respect of individual teams at schools, youth and senior level.

Figure 26 - Schools Level

Figure 27 - Youth Level

Figure 28 - Senior Level

5.1.2.2. - Mixed Leagues

Estimates of the extent of cross-community contact found in the various leagues within each sport at schools, youth and senior level are shown in Figures 29-31.

Figure 29 - Schools Level

Figure 30 - Youth Level

Figure 31 - Senior Level

5.1.2.3. - Mixed Tournaments

Figures 32-34 display the degree of contact between the two communities that each sport considered there to be in respect of tournaments held at schools, youth and senior level.

Figure 32 - Schools Level

Figure 33 - Youth Level

Figure 34 - Senior Level

5.1.2.4. - Mixed Tours

Estimates from each sport of the extent of cross-community mixing in respect of tours at schools, youth and senior level are illustrated in Figures 35-37.

Figure 35 - Schools Level

Figure 36 - Youth Level

Figure 37 - Senior Level

5.1.2.5 - Mixed Coaching

Figures 38-40 show the degree of cross-community contact each sport considered there to be in respect of coaching undertaken at schools, youth and senior levels.

Figure 38 - Schools Level

Figure 39 - Youth Level

Figure 40 - Senior Level

5.1.2.6. - Conclusions

Although the complexity of this set of questions defies sweeping generalisations, some interesting trends do emerge. Examining results across the different levels of competition, it does seem clear that contact between Protestant and Catholic schoolchildren in sport is severely limited. Where teams are concerned, the vast majority of sports consider there to be little or no cross-community contact. In contrast at senior level I most believe a great deal of mixing between people from the two communities does occur. This appears to reinforce commonly held perceptions regarding the effect of Northern Ireland’s divided educational system.

However, the estimates made by sports should be treated with caution as there may again be some tendency to over estimate contact at youth and senior levels, where sports themselves rather than the schools system may be seen as responsible for any deficiencies. Another potentially significant pointer may arise from the fact that in the most popular sport played by both communities, football, there is considered to be less contact between Protestants and Catholics at senior level than at schools or youth level in respect of the leagues system. Bearing in mind the estimate that there was a 55:45 Catholic-Protestant break-down in terms of Irish League players this seems a little strange. Perhaps the explanation may lie in the Protestant predominance in the administrative and support bases found at senior level, which, in respect of certain clubs has acted in conjunction with deep-rooted traditions to virtually or totally exclude players from the Catholic community.

Considering results across the range of sports, there does appear to be a more realistic appraisal of the extent to which Protestants and Catholics mix when specific aspects of each activity are being looked at. For example, in all respects, there is no cross-community contact reported in Gaelic sport which seems to reinforce the suggestion that the moderate degree of mixing that was considered to exist in general terms may be exaggerated. Estimates from ladies’ and, to a lesser extent, men’s hockey also tend to be lower when addressing specifics rather than making general assessments.

It may be that in considering individual elements there is less concern about any apparent failings in the sport itself being identified. Having said this, it is also interesting to note that both in general and specific terms estimates from men’s hockey are noticeably lower than those from ladies’ hockey. Whether this signifies a real gender difference in respect of community relations or whether it reflects a more realistic assessment on the part of the mens game may merit further investigation.

5.2: Community Relations Initiatives

Sports were asked if they had been involved in any formally organised cross-community initiatives. A brief resume of the responses made is shown in Table 13.

Table 13

Only 3 sports reported having undertaken any formal initiatives in this area. Of these, the ‘Belfast United’ project was not initiated by basketball itself but rather was an external cross-community scheme in which the sport agreed to participate. The Scor festival mentioned by the GAA may also be seen as having primary objectives other than those associated with community relations. All 3 initiatives are focussed on increasing cross-community contact amongst children and/or young people. Similarly the work being done particularly in hockey and rugby union to encourage more Catholics to play these games is directed at young people. There are no formal efforts to increase cross-community contact in sport amongst adults.

With regard to the consequences of such formal and other initiatives, most sports reported placing emphasis on increasing the awareness of young people from both communities about the activity concerned. In a similar vein others considered that broadening the participant base would increase the standard of sporting performance.

Only the two most popular sports, football and the amalgam of Gaelic activities, reported consequences beyond those strictly related to the individual sport. Football considered that cross-community initiatives had made people more aware of the problems faced by the two communities whilst Gaelic sport thought that their scheme helped reduce prejudice. Such claims must be treated cautiously but what is perhaps more significant is the propensity for sports to distance themselves from community relations responsibilities. In many respects this reflects fears that by becoming involved in such projects they risk being contaminated, or at least being seen in some way as contaminated by, problems of a sectarian nature. However cross-community projects such as the Co-operation North maracycle were supported, perhaps suggesting that such external initiatives are not perceived as directly impinging on sport’s reputation and therefore involvement is regarded in a largely positive light.

5.3: Community Relations Commitments

Sports were asked whether their constitutions and coaching programmes made any mention of community relations themes. In each case, if the response was negative, a further question was posed, asking whether they would be willing to introduce such ideas.

5.3.1. - Constitution

Table 14 provides a summary of the responses made by each sport as to whether, firstly, their constitution mentioned community relations, and, secondly, they would consider making the necessary amendments to incorporate such themes.

Table 14

Only 1 sport claimed to mention community relations. However, since this refered to the fact that the GAA was a non-political and non-sectarian organisation, a commitment echoed in the constitutions of many other sports, in effect it means that no direct mention of community relations themes is made by any sporting body.

5.3.2. - Coaching Schemes

Table 15

5.3.3. - Conclusions

The evidence shows quite clearly that the majority of sports do not include and have no desire to include community relations themes in their constitution and/or coaching programme. This view is expressed quite articulately by boxing, a sport in which a substantial degree of mixing of Protestants and Catholics has successfully taken place. They report that they do not see themselves as having any role in terms of community relations. They are non-political and open to all and their objective is simply to win as many medals as possible, regardless of which side of the community they come from. This view is echoed by many other sports, stressing that there is no need for such steps to be taken within their activity and that recourse to such measures would only suggest sectarian problems do exist therein.

Once again, the fear of being seen in some way as ‘having a problem’ appears to pervade the attitudes of sports towards taking any direct action in respect of community relations. The only example of such action; including community relations themes in coaching schemes for young footballers, seems to have been accepted both because it is recognised that football’s popularity and breadth of participant base make it a victim of the tensions in society as a whole and, perhaps more importantly, because extra funding has been made available for projects which incorporate community relations ideas.

This suggests that any efforts to force sports to embrace community relations in their activities would be met with, at best, ambivalence, and, at worst, open hostility. One sport reported having attended community relations seminars but having decided that it was inappropriate for them. At present, community relations themes appear to hold negative associations for a number of sports, related to fears that since their activity may be played largely by one community they may be identified as in some way sectarian or bigoted. Due to the prevalence of such fears the gains that community relations initiatives may bring to individual sports, perhaps through increased standards of performance and financial support, seem to be heavily outweighed by the potential costs in the minds of officials. If there are to be successful community relations initiatives in these sports, it seems clear that a great deal of work is going to have to be done to change pre-conceptions of what this means for the organisations concerned and to allay fears on the part of individuals associated with such bodies.

5.4: The Role of Community Relations

At this stage respondents were asked directly how they thought community relations initiatives should feature in the agenda for their sport in Northern Ireland. Again, a choice from a 1-5 scale was offered. Values ranged from not at all (1) to a great deal (5). An ‘other’ category was added to the scale but was not used by any of the respondents. 14 sports provided an answer to the question. Equestrianism did not wish to express an opinion.

Figure 41 shows the degree to which each sport thought community relations initiatives should feature in their particular activity.

Figure 41

Four sports believed there was some role for community relations initiatives in their activities. Significantly, the only one which thought community relations should have a major role was football, which already undertakes work in these respects. The other sports which did identify some role for community relations were relatively popular activities with participant bases drawn predominantly from one community. However, whilst ladies hockey considered there to be a moderate role for community relations to play the mens game did not see any role at all for initiatives based on such ideas.

Table 16

Table 17 provides a summary of reasons why sports did believe community relations should feature in their activities.

Table 17

The view expressed by ladies’ hockey was echoed in comments from both men’s hockey and rugby union.

Overall, the evidence from this section seems to strongly re-inforce the view that mention of community relations initiatives holds largely negative associations for the majority of sports. There appears to be a feeling that the introduction of formal community relations measures would be or would be perceived as a slur on the good names of the sports concerned. Respondents seemed to be averse to any initiatives being forced upon them, feeling that these would be counter-productive in raising issues which had not previously been present. Perhaps this suggests that until sports are able to perceive positive consequences of promoting cross-community contact within their activity, any initiatives which are undertaken should be selectively targeted. Many of the sports which did not see any role for community relations within their activities are of a relatively small-scale nature and it may be the case that their most important function in respect of improving relations between the two communities is in providing safety-valves whereby people can for a time escape the pressures of wider social conflict. Attempting to enforce community relations schemes within such activities may well have more costs than gains.

However, amongst those sports with larger and/or broader participant bases, there may be more room for community relations initiatives to be successfully undertaken. The work done by football in respect of mixing young people from both communities, although its long-term effect on attitudes is uncertain, has had short-term benefits, particularly for the sport itself both in bringing in extra financial support and expanding the pool of talent available.

Other sports concerned about standards of performance in their game within Northern Ireland, particularly those which tend to be the preserve of one religious community, may be interested in such developments, especially if additional resources are made available. At the same time, as shall be seen in the case-studies, there are also risks involved in having substantial levels of participation from both communities. Before sports are prepared to embrace community relations initiatives considerable doubts shall have to be overcome and those activities such as hockey and rugby which currently have problems associated with issues of national allegiance may be reluctant to risk rocking the boat any further through participation in such schemes.

Perhaps the greatest potential for progress exists in those sports which are already widely played by both Protestants and Catholics and have sufficient levels of participation from those people who are situated at what has been described as the ‘cutting edge’ of the conflict. A good example of what is possible shall be seen in boxing where young working-class men from both communities take part at all levels of the game and few problems of an openly sectarian nature have arisen. Conversely, another sport which is played by both communities; cycling, has been split in an overtly political manner. Football, despite its work with young players, has been afflicted by serious disorder, largely amongst spectators and often, though by no means exclusively, with sectarian connotations.

With a view to exploring further what possibilities for progress there may be for community relations in sport these activities, along with the more middle-class sport of hockey, are examined in detail in our case-studies.

5.5: Change Since 1970

It was thought important to add a dynamic element to the information concerning the degree of cross-community contact within individual sports in Northern Ireland. To this end a question was designed asking how each sport had changed in respect of cross-community involvement on the religious dimension since 1970, at the outset of what has become known as the ‘Troubles’. A choice was offered from the following categories; that the sport had become totally integrated; more integrated; was much the same; had become more polarised; and totally polarised. Sports were also asked to account for any change there had been in that time.

Fourteen sports provided answers to this question. Equestrianism considered it inappropriate and did not answer. A summary of the information obtained from each sport regarding change in the degree of cross-community contact since 1970 is given in Table 18.

Table 18

Of those sports which provided a clear answer, 5 considered their activity to have become more integrated since 1970; 2 thought they were less integrated; and 5 believed things were much the same.

Table 19 provides a resumee of the reasons sports offered to support the view that they had become more integrated.

Table 19

The reasons offered for sports believing that they had become less integrated since 1970 are shown in Table 20.

Table 20

Of those sports which considered there to have been no change in respect of levels of cross-community contact both badminton and motor-cycling believed this was because their sport had always been totally mixed. Bowls thought that the fact it was seen to be free of sectarian problems had led to it becoming slightly more integrated but only to a small degree.

Again there may be a tendency amongst sports to paint a rosier picture in terms of change than is actually the case, but the range of answers suggests a fair degree of realism has been applied. Cycling is the most obvious example of a sport severely afflicted by divisions since 1970 and this is reluctantly acknowledged by both bodies concerned. Other explanations of sports becoming less integrated seem once again to be restricted to factors external to the activities concerned, especially to do with the educational system.

Only football considers greater integration to be in any way connected to developments in the community relations field. Other explanations revolve around increases in the general popularity of sports, particularly where there has been local success and/or increased media coverage. It may perhaps also be significant that the two sports reported to be most exclusivist in terms of religious background; Gaelic sports (99% Catholic) and mens hockey (95% Protestant) were amongst those which had experienced no change in terms of cross-community contact over the period.