Brian McCargo cried when he was asked to leave his Co Antrim GAA team because he was a member of the RUC. "I not ashamed to say it - I was terribly emotional," he says of the incident in 1970. "I asked them whether 20 years of being a good club member and player counted for nothing and the answer was it didn't."
Now a deputy Assistant Chief Chief Constable with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), he believes the vote to scrap Rule 21 on Saturday was "the most momentous decision in the long history of the GAA".
The 59-year-old is already talking about setting up a PSNI Gaelic team. "The likelihood is that we will form a team within a few months and launch the GAA into uncharted waters," he says from his home in Co Down. "There is a bit of work to do before that happens. We would need a committee, a kit, not to mention a ball."
The issue goes beyond the police force and the British army, according to Chief Supt McCargo, who feels the GAA should now be looking to create a "neutral environment" to encourage all to participate.
"Many members of the unionist community in Northern Ireland have indicated that they would like to experience Gaelic games but feel the culture and ethos of the GAA excludes them," he says.
"There are sensitivities on both sides, not just in the GAA. Many in this community were killed by people who were members of GAA clubs and that is a fact the GAA has to realise that this is wider than just Rule 21," he says.
Back in 1970 when McCargo was asked to leave the GAA, he joined the RUC rugby team which he went on to captain. "When one door opens another closes," he says. For a year after he left he continued playing Gaelic football for a team in Co Down. "They said they didn't give a hoot that I was in the police I wasn't surprised that Down took the lead in Ulster on lifting the ban," he says.
His clandestine GAA career came to an end when the Co Antrim Board discovered the policeman was still playing and threatened the Co Down team with expulsion if McCargo did not leave. "The GAA has a lot to answer for, it should have done this 10 or 15 years ago. Saturday's decision was the end of an embarrassing period for the organisation but the beginning of a new chapter," he says.
This new chapter will include the training of several out of practice and novice GAA players from both sides of the community in Northern Ireland. "In forming a new team, we will be aware of the sensitivity that still exists within certain areas, it will not be our intention to cause conflict," he adds. "Any games that are played will be of a friendly nature perhaps for charity.
"It is going to take some time before we reach the required standard," he says. "Someone suggested playing a Garda team first, but I think a Garda ladies' team might be better."
The organisation should leave the past behind and move forward now, he believes. "It is time to draw a line in the sand and take another step towards a more peaceful future".