A financial settlement has been agreed between Crossmaglen Rangers GAA club and the Northern Ireland Office over the British army's occupation of the club's ground in south Armagh. The occupation ended in 1999.
The compensation figure is understood to be between £450,000 and £500,000 sterling but the final sum, including costs, has yet to be agreed. The news brings to an end a long-running source of resentment between the nationalist community and the authorities. A spokesperson for the government's Compensation Agency confirmed that a settlement had been reached but declined to confirm the amount. "It is not our policy to discuss individual cases," said the spokesperson.
The occupation of the ground began over 30 years ago in 1971 and was maintained by a persistent sequence of land requisition, release and re-requisition over the years, despite constant protest from the GAA during that time.
Crossmaglen's Mr Gene Larkin proposed a motion at every GAA congress up until his death 10 years ago and the matter was always taken as first item on the list.
The occupation was spotlighted further by the success of the club in winning the All-Ireland club title, which they did in 1997, 1998 and 2000. After the Belfast Agreement in 1998, the then Northern secretary, Ms Mo Mowlam, undertook to prioritise the issue after further representations by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the GAA.
The ground was finally handed back to the club in April 1999 and the question of compensation has been in negotiation since then.
Mr Duffy, former chairman of both the club and the Ulster Council, is a long-time campaigner on the issue and took over Mr Larkin's role in proposing the perennial motion to Congress.
He said that he was surprised word of the settlement had leaked out before the deal had been completed but confirmed that compensation had been "agreed in principle" and that it was within the speculated region of £450,000 to £500,000.
"We're still negotiating the final figure. There are still things being sorted out in relation to costs and final details. When that's done, the court will rubber-stamp the agreement, but we're not expecting that hearing to be fixed until the end of March or beginning of April."
"The club is pleased with the settlement," said Mr Duffy, "and appreciates the great efforts from [GAA president] Sean McCague and Croke Park because we got a lot of help from that end.
"Peter Quinn [former GAA president] was our top financial advisor in this area and through his office worked very hard on this," he added.