The decision to introduce comprehensive security measures at a civic facility used by East Belfast GAA is a sad but absolutely necessary step which reflects the level of the blatantly sectarian intimidation faced by the club.
East Belfast GAA was only formed in 2020, but has grown so rapidly that it is now among the biggest sporting bodies in the city and largest GAA clubs in Ulster in terms of overall membership.
It is fielding competitive teams in men’s and women’s football, hurling and camogie, as well as progressing an underage academy, demonstrating the huge need for the provision of Gaelic games across its catchment area.
The club would be universally regarded as a major success story in any normal society but unfortunately has had to deal with a vicious campaign which has included acts of criminal damage and the placing of elaborate hoax devices.
All this has caused repeated and serious disruption at the Henry Jones sports complex, a Belfast City Council-owned facility including a range of pitches, at Church Road on the eastern outskirts of the city.
While the site is surrounded by fields, and some distance away from housing developments, it is close to a school and nursery where pupils, teachers and parents have found themselves caught up in the security upheavals.
The adults and children who train and play on Church Road have also plainly been placed at risk, so it is essential that everyone concerned is properly protected as they go about their educational and sporting commitments.
Belfast City Council has agreed to install CCTV cameras in and around the ground, as reported by this newspaper yesterday, with the work due to be completed next month and further improvements to perimeter fencing also scheduled to follow.
It will be strongly hoped that the perpetrators of the aggression will be deterred, and the Henry Jones pitches will become a much safer environment for everyone concerned, but it would also be extremely helpful if those who have tried to create a cloud of suspicion about the GAA would also review their approach.
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Although some unionist politicians have been supportive of East Belfast GAA, at least to a degree, others have either remained silent or made deeply misleading comments about Gaelic games.
It is difficult to entirely remove politics from different sports across our society, but every club has the right to play matches without a sense of fear anywhere in the background.
East Belfast GAA is here to stay, and it must be expected that it will be as respected as every other sporting institution in the city and beyond.
