During the week, GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail stated that the Association may have to reconsider its use of the national anthem and Irish flag in the event of any future political realignment on the island.

"You certainly cannot look at these issues in advance of an agreement," the GAA president said. "The flag and the anthem means a lot to the GAA and will continue to do so, but who knows in the future?

"In the future, if there are different agreements in place for the whole of Ireland, of course the GAA would be inclusive in that."

His comments were met with scepticism from many, with former players among those to voice their concerns.

In today's intriguing Sunday Independent column, Joe Brolly has had his say on Ó Fearghail's suggestions.

Brolly writes: "Alternatively, Phil Coulter could write one for us as well, another Hallmark job with one-syllable words that a two-year-old could sing. Hard to beat those unforgettable lyrics from Ireland's Call, particularly the ingenious rhyming of "tall" and "call".

"After we won the All-Ireland in 1993, we sang The Town I Loved So Well on The Late Late Show. A fortnight later, Phil (who as far as I know was never at a Gaelic match in his life) arrived at a team meeting wearing a lime green suit and lemon tie and presented us all with a signed photograph of himself at the Grand Piano. That's just the sort of man we need to write us a new three-chord anthem. On reflection, calling it an 'anthem' is aggressive, patriotic and unwelcoming. It should instead be a 'jingle', a corporate branding song, lasting no more than 30 seconds."

Brolly also recalls a harrowing tale in Slaughtneil in 1976 when three brothers were callously murdered by a loyalist/RUC/British army gang because of their GAA backround.

Read Joe's full column in today's Sunday Independent or online on Independent.ie from 5pm.

Online Editors