“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little”.

The 18th century Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke is better remembered for another quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

Yet that first remark from the Dubliner is better suited to the current sad situation within the GAA.

Many of its members have called for the Association to end its links with insurer and major sponsor Allianz due to the German firm’s funding of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

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The GAA could have done that ‘little’, could have sent a message to the world.

However, the GAA leadership has decreed that even taking that small step is too far to go.

So it does nothing.

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Remember that Burke was a conservative, not a radical.

He also stated: “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle”.

The GAA is arguably the greatest sporting organisation in the world; it is certainly the greatest amateur one.

Yet it is currently divided, far from united.

The major questions facing it now now may appear simple but they are deep and complex:

What does the GAA represent?

Who represents the GAA?

© The Irish News