B

Baroness Hoey (Non-Afl)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 23 July 2025

Debate

Casement Park: Spending Review

Contribution

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her remarks about Enniskillen and for her Answer. She must realise that back in 2011 football, rugby and Gaelic got similar amounts from the Northern Ireland Executive to develop their stadiums. Football and rugby did theirs, but Gaelic did not. Casement sat empty for years. That was not football’s fault or anyone else in government’s fault either. Given the importance of equal treatment for communities in Northern Ireland, will the Government, having given this £50 million to the GAA, now recognise that football, which is a cross-community sport—Gaelic is not—deserves the same Exchequer funding? Does the noble Baroness realise that people who opposed it in Northern Ireland—British citizens—remember that Casement Park is named after an anti-British gunrunner who was tried for treason in the same month that 3,000 Ulstermen gave their lives for the UK at the Battle of the Somme? Is it any wonder that British citizens were opposed? If the Government are giving this £50 million, will they ensure that equal funding is given to the IFA, which deserves it just as much?

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