Secondly, a large slice of those who ardently follow frontline clubs like Linfield and Dundalk tend to be the ones who hold the fiercest political opinions, unionist and nationalist. To coin a phrase, if ever there is to be peace and understanding, these people need to talk. It used to be called the working class. This may be too Gusty Spence for some, but they fought the war, they must create the peace. And vice versa.
Physical contact is vital to understanding.
Which is where football comes in. To be precise, an all-Ireland competition of some format. From Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers to Ards and Glentoran, a worryingly large chunk of Irish clubs are in serious financial peril. Several could go under, and soon. In the North, the Irish League has been strangled by the Troubles and it is to be hoped that in the debates last week there was full recognition of the damage done by sectarianism and hostility.