DUP MLA’s unsporting conduct in Tyrone match

BY MARK MOLONEY

DUP's Ian MCrea MLA

THE DUP made history in January 2008 when the then Sports Minister, Edwin Poots, became the first DUP politician to attend a Gaelic football match in an official capacity when he travelled to Newry to watch Down take on Donegal in the McKenna Cup.

GAA President Nicky Brennan described the event as “a landmark occasion in the further development of community relations on the island of Ireland”. It signified changed times that members of a party previously opposed to equal rights for nationalists was now willing to attend a match under the umbrella of the GAA, an organisation long associated with Irish nationalism. But it appears not every member of the DUP got the message.

Enter the DUP’s Ian McCrea MLA.

Ian is also a member of the DUP’s Central Executive and describes himself as a “hard-working representative with an active interest in sport”. The constituency Ian represents is Mid-Ulster, one that includes parts of Tyrone and Derry. Tyrone had just lost out on a spot in the Ulster final, having been defeated by Donegal in a tightly-fought contest. Ian was obviously keeping himself up to date with the match and when the final whistle was blown he decided to give his take via Twitter on the result.

One could be forgiven for expecting that a local elected representative would offer his commiserations to Tyrone following their defeat but Ian had different ideas. He decided to taunt his constituents by tweeting:

Great to see Tyrone beat in the Ulster semis today. Hope Donegal beat Londonderry in the final to keep the celebrations out of Mid-Ulster.

When people pointed out that it was a bit bizarre for a unionist to be supporting Donegal, Ian responded:

As everyone can't lose I can only hope the team that win is a team from outside my constituency.

It would appear that McCrea is on a mission to offend as many of his constituents as possible in recent weeks. Just days before this episode, he and fellow DUP councillors on Cookstown Council refused to stand for a minute’s silence in memory of council employee Eunan Murray’s sister, Catherine, and the mother of the then Council chair, John McNamee.

Tyrone GAA has endured tragedy and loss in recent times with the tragic death of Michaela Harte and the murder of Ronan Kerr. It would serve Ian McCrea better to recognise the hugely positive impact the GAA has had in local communities rather than resorting to taunting young athletes who have gone out and represented their county.

Come on, Ian – play the game.