By John Harrington

Former Association President, Christy Cooney, has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II by describing her as “a very personable and nice person” when he met her on her historic visit to Croke Park in 2011.

Cooney also expressed his condolences today after the British Monarch died on Thursday.

“It's a very sad time for any family,” he told GAA.ie. “With a high-profile person like the Queen who was Queen for so many decades, it's also very hard on the British people. But it's especially hard on her direct family.

“I'd like to pass on my condolences to her family and express my deepest sympathy on their loss.”

Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Ireland in 2011 made history because it was the first time a British monarch had visited Ireland in 100 years and also the first since the nation gained independence from Britain.

Her decision to take a tour of Croke Park, where 14 civilians were shot and killed by British forces on ‘Bloody Sunday’ in November 1920, and the manner in which she was warmly welcomed there by Association officials and players, was a significant moment in the history of Anglo-Irish reconciliation.

“The first thing to say is that when you greet any respected person and welcome them to your home which Croke Park is to us GAA people, you treat them with absolute respect and dignity,” Christy Cooney told GAA.ie when recalling the historic visit.

“We did everything in our power to do that, and I found her to be a very personable and nice person and very relaxed.

“In some respects when you look back at it now, it was probably a day we never saw coming. At the time Paraic Duffy and myself were requested by the President of Ireland Mary McAleese, to consider a visit from the Queen to Croke Park.

“We discussed it and we made the decision that we felt it was the right thing to do. Then we spoke to our various representations around the country, particularly the people in Ulster, because it was going to be quite challenging for them.

“We got an agreement to move forward and went ahead with the visit. And also because Croke Park is such a part of our history, not alone for our games, but for the events of Bloody Sunday.

“In that respect it was important for us to show that we were moving forward as an Association, but also that we were very conscious of the Good Friday Agreement and what that was creating and that we as a sporting Association and a cultural Association who were very much a part of the fabric of our country would support what was happening with that agreement.

“We were also conscious not only of the people in Ireland who were playing our games, but also the people in Britain that were keeping the GAA flag flying there. It was so important to Irish people in Britain and important that we recognise them through this process as well.

“I think people felt it showed a sense of maturity on behalf of our Association that we had taken this step to welcome the Queen and Prince Philip to Croke Park. And I believe it was the right thing to do.

“Myself and Paraic Duffy never had a question mark over whether we were doing something that wasn't right for our Association or right for our membership or right for the people of Ireland.”

Accompanied by her husband the Duke of Edinburgh and President Mary McAleese and her husband Dr. Martin McAleese, the Queen was greeted at Croke Park by Cooney and the then Director General of the Association, Paraic Duffy.

34 children waving flags and dressed into the colours of the 32 counties of Ireland as well as London and New York lined the Hogan Stand entrance of Croke Park to greet the delegation.

They were then given a tour of the Hogan Stand dressing-rooms where they were introduced to footballers Kevin Nolan (Dublin), Joe Sheridan (Meath), and Tipperary hurlers Lar Corbett and Padraic Maher.

The British monarch was then brought on to pitch where she watched a short film on the big screen that detailed the history of the game.

“The only time we had a real chat was when we went onto the pitch,” says Cooney. “I described what Croke Park meant to us, the games that were played there, and what it meant not alone to our players, but the 80,000 people that would be present at our games and who watch our games throughout the world.

“But also I spoke about the events of Bloody Sunday in a very mature way. And I also identified the Hogan Stand which is named after Michael Hogan who was shot on that day. She listened very carefully and acknowledged what I said.

“She was quite aware before she visited of the history of our Association and also the history of Croke Park.”

The visit might have been freighted with history, but there were plenty of lighter moments too that showed the human side of the Queen and Prince Philip.

“I remember when I presented a hurley and sliotar to Prince Philip I said in a throw-away manner that he'd get great joy out of doing a bit of hurling in his back-garden now,” says Cooney.

“And he said, 'Yes, in my 300 acre back-garden,' and we had a big laugh. The day was just all about people being human and understanding.

“In fairness to our President at the time, Mary McAleese, she showed tremendous courage in asking us and it showed the trust and faith she had in us as an Assocation by asking us to allow the Queen to come to Croke Park.

“It's important to say too that Paraic Duffy played a significant role with the organisation of the event and making sure it went off extremely well. He and the staff of Croke Park did an outstanding job.

“The GAA is an inclusive oraganisation and it's so important that you can see teams now being formed in Belfast in particular with members of different denominations and different beliefs playing our games.

“I think the Queen’s visit to Croke Park helped that in some ways. It showed that we were open as an Association and were committed to moving forward in a very positive way to what was best for our nation, country, and Association.

“She came to us, we were pleased to greet her, and delighted to be part of that historic event.”