The main governing body of the GAA, the Central Council, has ruled that the rally cannot take place in Casement Park because it breaches rule 7a of its official guide, which dictates that the association must be non-party political.

However, despite this ruling by the Central Council, the rally is set to go ahead in Casement Park at 3pm today. The organisers of the event . . . the National Hunger Strike Committee . . . say the event is nonparty political, despite the fact that the main speaker at the rally will be Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams and it will be jointly compered by Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein councillor Toireasa Ferris, daughter of TD Martin Ferris.

The decision to use Casement Park has been criticised by Sports Minister John O'Donoghue, SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell and the DUP. In a statement to the Sunday Tribune, minister O'Donoghue said that he respected the right of anybody to commemorate, but it was "inappropriate for any political party to use sports grounds for political occasions because sport is meant to unify not to divide".

Alasdair McDonnell expressed concern that Sinn Fein was continuing to go against the wishes of the GAA. "This is absolutely a Sinn Fein event. It is being organised by Dodie McGuinness of Sinn Fein and will be addressed by Gerry Adams.

Mary Lou McDonald is even addressing the event . . . she has everything to do with Sinn Fein and nothing to do with the Hunger Strikes.

"The GAA have made their wishes very clear. They don't want this event to go ahead. The GAA constitution is very clear . . . GAA grounds should not be used for party political purposes.

"It is profoundly regrettable that Sinn Fein has walked over the GAA and has made clear they will turn up no matter what the GAA says or does. That is an insult to all GAA members who support many different political parties on this island and want to keep the traditional sport independent of them all. The GAA is a proud sporting organisation and should be respected and protected . . . not used and abused by any political party, " the MP and MLA said.

However, a spokesman for Sinn Fein was emphatic that the commemoration was not a party rally.

"Anybody is welcome to commemorate the hunger strikers. It's not our problem if other parties don't commemorate them". The issue surrounding the Central Council's ruling on the use of Casement Park was a matter for the GAA and the National Hunger Strike Committee, he said.

A source close to the GAA said that in the event of the rally taking place at Casement Park today, the Central Council will be "revisiting" the matter "one way or another".