The untapped global potential of Gaelic games

[mrdeeds]

Great to see viewing figures of GAA rise on Sky. I believe a lot of Irish watched it on Sky because of better quality HD picture.

[Any craic]

This is a cool story about a non-Irish Ladies Gaelic Football team from UCD taking part in the Fexco Asian Gaelic Games next month in Kuala Lumpur. It's sort of Global GAA in reverse...
http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/1109141248-video-ucd-team-make-history-at-asian-games/

[Any craic]

Good story from New Haven where you see them using dynamite to blast through rock to get a longer GAA pitch...
http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/1609140849-new-haven-are-having-a-blast-/

[thejuice]

Was it dynamite or Larry Reilly?

[sligoman2]

Great to see the progress made by new haven they have a good club and I wish them the best

[johnneycool]

If we could only get the Kiwi's to play;

http://hotelandrestauranttimes.ie/new-zealand-journalist-pens-ireland-hurling-finals-article/

A View from the Sideline – The All Ireland Hurling Finals

by Chris van Ryn

An arm extends high into the air. Forearm muscles crease with tension, a white-knuckled fist grips the end of a curved pale stick. Thigh muscles ripple like the powerful flank of a running horse as studded boots leave the earth.

A single player ascends towards a white ball which arcs high from the other side of the field, cutting through the air with razor blade sharpness. 82,600 heads rise in unison ... and fall, following the trajectory of the sliotar as it hurtles towards the player. Seconds later he is intercepted by a furious swarm. There is an almighty thunder from the crowd as hurleys and players collide.

This, then, is the legendary "clash of the ash" – a demonstration of the most powerful release of sporting energy I have ever seen.

The spectators' roar of approval is a wave of sound that reverberates around the vast arena. It reaches my ears where I am at the edge of the field, crouching behind the goal. I am a New Zealand photographer on a press trip. And this is my first game of hurling.

Before me 30 athletes move across a lawn three times the size of a football field, like a wave upon the ocean. I watch spellbound as the Cats dominate the first half of the game. And then I watch the Tips reach deep inside themselves as they fight for territory and reclaim their ground, in a spectacular second half.

The shrill warble of the whistle brings the game to an end. The players seem deflated, unhinged by a state of neither victory nor defeat. We are not afforded the luxury of a defining game.

The players seem to me like artists. They deliver skill, blinding speed and physical prowess in a sport which calls for each player to draw upon his own unique pool of energy. And they deliver a visceral demonstration, epitomizing the peak of human physical – and spiritual – achievement that is awe inspiring. This is all the more incredible in a sport played by amateurs. Yet, perhaps their exceptional capacity is precisely because they are amateurs. An amateur requires a personal commitment that money cannot buy.

Earlier in the week at a meeting with the GAA I had been the recipient of passionate speeches about what makes hurling special. I heard about the struggles of the Irish: the repression, the famine, the fight for independence. And I heard about the unashamed territorial sporting behaviour of county versus county.

Through my lens I saw before me a sport which has come from the forge of life's journey, the players harnessing all of history's emotions in play on the field. It is as if each player is imbued with centuries of the emotional ebb and flow of Ireland.

I had heard about the players prior to attending the game. I saw them in action. But nothing prepared me for the crowd. When the tidal wave of sound reached me it resonated with meaning. I heard that each and every one of them was down on the field playing alongside the teams. They pursued the silotar. 82,600 sets of hands swung the hurley. And in the sound of the crowd I heard the pride of the fighting Irish.

The players rose up and mingled with the audience. This was a symbiotic relationship. County against county, yet a single voice, a unified Ireland. I saw the true spirit of sport played out before me. Long may it last.

[RealSpiritof98]

Good story from New Haven where you see them using dynamite to blast through rock to get a longer GAA pitch...
http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/1609140849-new-haven-are-having-a-blast-/

pretty sure i played on that field on a Tour with St.Pats Armagh back in 1999, the heat was unreal but i mind the big cliff behind the goals. Good Luck to them.

[Any craic]

Here's a video from Day One of the Australasia State Games today in Melbourne http://www.gaa.ie/6e94d5 

[Eamonnca1]

Would this be the start of their season now?

[Any craic]

Video: Pat McEneaney, Noreen O'Sullivan from Castlehaven & Jason Phelan all feature on this Finals Day report from the Australasian Championships on the GAA website http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/0410141813-2014-australasian-championships-day-4/

[Any craic]

Asian Games preview for tomorrow with Cora Staunton, Paraic McGrath and Denis Cleary who's brother won All Irelands with Cork years ago and his sister is Nollaig Cleary of Cork Ladies fame http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/1010141158-fexco-2014-asian-gaelic-games-preview/

[North Longford]

Won my 1st tournament as an international manager this weekend. Its a piece of cake....dunno what Roy Hodgsons problem is!! Great weekend in Kuala Lumpur at the Asian Gaelic Games.....

[Any craic]

Asian Games Finals Day report.. http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/1310141151-video-day-2-review-of-2014-asian-games/ Are you in there North Longford?!

[North Longford]

Not in it....managed to stay out of the limelight although the camera was very close during our game. Is it possible to get a copy of any of the finals? Second highlight for me was a few quiet pints with the bomber on Friday night in a less than quiet part of KL!

[Any craic]

Yeah sure I'll talk to the organisers and see about putting the best stuff on a DVD in the next while, great event, fantastic Ladies Final too.