Sport is part of life. Therefore sport is connected to politics, which is also part of life. And politicians have the further ability to ensure sport is a significant part of politics whenever it suits the will and the needs of the politicians.

The worldwide furore about the Olympic Games in China and the controversy about whether Ireland and other countries should boycott the event in order to make the strongest possible protest to the Chinese authorities about their disgraceful human rights record make compelling news. The initial question about whether sport and politics should ever mix is easily answered when one follows the common sense of the opening paragraph and especially so when we consider the fact that sport now receives huge financial investment from Governments across the world.

At one time it was just the large countries with the most money that financed sport essentially because of the good image and pride the winners brought home with them from events around the world. The USA and USSR led the way in this respect but during the intervening years all countries followed suit and it has to be accepted that the Irish Government has played a substantial part in the training and preparation of all of our Olympic athletes in the build up to these particular Games.

Some may suggest that I am failing to appreciate the cynicism brought into sport by politicians who wish to make personal progress from involving sport with politics, but I would merely point out that many athletes have themselves hastened the involvement of cynicism with sport by indulging in performance related drugs. We are living in different times from those days when sport was completely untainted, if it ever was, by cheats and cynics. The recent fuss over the Russian athletes threatened with expulsion from the Games, who seemingly attempted to overcome Olympic rules and regulations by creating confusion over urine samples is a perfect riposte to the suggestion that sport is less cynical than politics.

I understand fully the desire of many to make a strong protest to China by boycotting the games. The human rights issue in China is of great concern to all decent minded people. However I feel it would be wrong to attempt to isolate China and especially so at this moment in time. For centuries China was an isolated and mysterious society. Those centuries of seclusion bred a suspicion and distrust of all outside interests and just at a time when some of that distrust may be disappearing, or at least lessening, to force isolation back into their mentality would be a grave error of judgement.

The fact that the Olympic Games are being held in China allows the authorities there to see and feel that they and their society are now an important part of the world society and discourages the isolationist attitude that has helped create the human rights difficulties in the first place. There is nothing to be gained by the rest of the world pretending it holds the high moral ground and thereby quite probably creating a further division in attitudes and a breakdown in dialogue which would help nobody and especially the fundamental point of the argument, those suffering in China.