However, in the year 1975, the use of these same words by a certain Government minister about the then President of Ireland, was sufficient to cause the President to resign in anger and undoubtedly hastened that particular administration's well-deserved political demise.

Unfortunately, in GAA circles today, vulgar language is becoming more widespread. Not too long ago, we had the unfortunate incident during the football tour of Australia where the Meath captain, the Senechalstown Publican Himself, Graham Geraghty, called one of his Australian opponents a 'black c**t'. Of course, at the time, some of the lads around Nobber way couldn't rightly understand what all the fuss was about, since the same or similar words are a frequent form of address in parts of the Royal County. See Geh' Hup Ya Bhoy Ya Graham!'

Anyway, without digressing too far back into a history lesson - but for the benefit of our young readers - the politician who made the remark was a man called Paddy Donegan, a publican and auctioneer from Monasterboice, in the County of Louth, who rose far beyond the level of his own incompetence to become Minister for Defence. That was in the ill-fated Fine Gael/Labour coalition government led by The Great Mongrel Foxhunter, Liam Cosgrave. Donegan was reported as calling the deeply respected and popular President, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, 'A Thunderin' Disgrace'. He did so at a lunch in Mullingar Army Barracks, following the official opening of a new cookhouse for the local officers and square bashers.

Now the opening of a new cookhouse is an important event in any army. It was the great Napoleon himself, 'the Little Corporal', who declared that 'an army marches on its stomach'. At that rate, the Irish Army could outmarch and beat the Yanks, Brits, Russkies and Chinks combined, since no other army in the world lavishes as much money, time and effort in feeding itself as do our own beloved lads and lassies in the green bullswool. The present Minister for Defence, that extremely unctuous Tipperary man, Michael Smith, recently declared that 'the Irish Army leads the world in military cuisine'! Now we can all sleep soundly in our beds at night knowing that if there is an invasion, the enemy will be beaten off by pelting them with three-day-old baguettes and scones baked by the finest military cooks.

The President, under the Constitution - as some of An Fear Rua's learned legal acquaintances (God bless the mark!) would point out - holds the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces. So, insulting the President in front of members of the Defence Forces was a particularly heinous transgression on Donegan's part. However, the 'Law and Order' Taoiseach opted to back his Minister and left President Ó Dálaigh no option but to resign with dignity. Donegan, on the day, had thought there were no journalists present and, probably after a few Sherries in the Officers' mess, let his tongue run loose. However, a somewhat bemused reporter from the 'Westmeath Examiner' was there and he reported the story to the national media. An Fear Rua can reveal, however, that the phrase used by Donegan was whitewashed to save his and other people's blushes. It was a lot closer to the Nobber and district style. The exact phrase used was: 'The President is a f*****g b******s'!!

The phrase 'A Thundering Disgrace' came to An Fear Rua's mind on a recent Monday morning in the middle of his regular, enjoyable perusal of the many pages of GAA coverage in the three national newspapers. Having read the many high profile match reports and the colour features it occurred to AFR to check on the results of a couple of inter-county camogie matches in which he had an interest that weekend. AFR looked in vain for even the bare scorelines in Doctor O'Reilly's Patent Middle Abbey Street Organ and in the Old Lady of D'Olier Street. Sure, the Indo had the results of the Girls Munster U-14 Football Championship, the Connacht Girls U-14 football and the Leinster Girls U-16. The 'Times' carried a series of scorelines from the Womens' National Football League. Only in the Crosbie's Examining Organ were there camogie results and short match reports available. The games involved were senior National League semi-finals involving Cork, Clare, Tipperary and Galway as well as the two Junior semi-finals. In other words, games that seem to An Fear Rua to be far more important than any Girls U-14 championship!

In AFR's considered view, this neglect of camogie by two national newspapers is indeed 'A Thundering Disgrace'. Has camogie become the poor relation to Womens' Gaelic Football? Or as some people still insist on calling it 'Ladies' Gaelic Football, prompting visions of young women cavorting and pirouetting around places like Parnell Park or the Fraher Field in Dungarvan in frilly pantaloons and crinolines. Or a new line by stand up comics: 'Who was that lady I saw you with last night?' 'That was no lady, that was a Gaelic footballer from Mayo!'. Even in the foreign sports like hockey, tennis, cricket and soccer, the adjective used is always 'Women's'.

If women's football is starting to dominate camogie to the point where the latter sport is starting to disappear from our newspapers, then it is a poor lookout indeed for DGAOO (Dis Great Association Of Ours). Maybe it no more an issue than that one association is better at PR than the other and in getting their results to the newspapers. If so, that is easily fixed. An Fear Rua expects that Frank Dunlop will have a fair bit of spare time on his hands in the coming months and he might be able to advise An Cumann Camógaíochta on their PR needs - on a voluntary basis of course - with no need for money to change hands in plastic bags or brown envelopes. An Fear Rua also understands the legitimate desire of many young women to emulate their fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins and boyfriends on the field in Gaelic football.

But camogie is the traditional GAA game for girls and young women. It would be a pity indeed - and their loss - if an undue concentration on football were to lead many young women to missing out on the sheer enjoyment of hurling...