How Healthy is the Gaa now in the States / London

Maroon Heaven · March 26, 2009, 12:22:29 PM

As we all know it seems alot of our Gaa players are emigrating again. Sad times for us all.

But what is the feedback from places like London or the States about the state of GAA over there. I know Westmeath won the Gaa Championships in New york in the Early part of this decade but the club folded since like many other of the counties there

1. Are they finding it easy getting clubs
2. Any word of the Standard - Set-up
3. Have the Gaa looked at the what to do with all the new players arriving?

isourboydownyet · March 26, 2009, 12:44:00 PM

Quote from: Maroon Heaven on March 26, 2009, 12:22:29 PM
As we all know it seems alot of our Gaa players are emigrating again. Sad times for us all.

But what is the feedback from places like London or the States about the state of GAA over there. I know Westmeath won the Gaa Championships in New york in the Early part of this decade but the club folded since like many other of the counties there

1. Are they finding it easy getting clubs
2. Any word of the Standard - Set-up
3. Have the Gaa looked at the what to do with all the new players arriving?

jesus have they folded?i played for them in the early 90's and won a c'ship.people invovled in the club at that time were john moore and yer man lowry,sorry to hear that.

Canalman · March 26, 2009, 01:51:10 PM

Clare hurling club folded in NY some years ago. Clare people wide and far were very sorry to see it go.

armaghniac · March 26, 2009, 03:21:07 PM

The GAA is not healthy in these places if it requires people fresh off the boat to keep it going. Unless people born there are taking part then these are not proper GAA clubs.

The Iceman · March 26, 2009, 03:35:46 PM

there is a lot of great work being done on several of the large football and hurling clubs around North America to promote Gaelic games and field teams of Americans of Irish decent. It has a long way to go but I can't see it dying too soon.
the opportunities to emigrate to America post 9/11 are slim and the majority of Irish heads out here are illegal. Australia has a better chance to improve and develop a strong GAA network I think.....

umgolaarmagh · March 26, 2009, 06:06:41 PM

Quote from: armaghniac on March 26, 2009, 03:21:07 PM
The GAA is not healthy in these places if it requires people fresh off the boat to keep it going. Unless people born there are taking part then these are not proper GAA clubs.

Have to laugh at this comment?

Have you ever been out of Ireland?

Alot of people "fresh of the boat" NEED GAA clubs to survive themselves, they provide a focal point to the local irish community all over the globe, and our vital for networking and obtaining work.

Maguire01 · March 26, 2009, 06:37:39 PM

Mickey reckons we're just about ready for a world cup. Must be very healthy so.

irunthev · March 26, 2009, 06:54:59 PM

Quote from: Maguire01 on March 26, 2009, 06:37:39 PM
Mickey reckons we're just about ready for a world cup. Must be very healthy so.

There actually was an international tournament in the 1990s and early 2000s played every second year in Dublin to facilitate all those overseas units. It was held over a week with teams from Oz, NY, the rest of North America Board, Canada, Rest of Europe, London, Scotland and Rest of Britain all taking part. The first two tournaments were just complete piss-ups but it did get more serious and competitive towards the end, although NY refusal to travel one year and the fact that the Ozzies could only make it over every second tournament kind of finished it as a tournament, I think that was 2002 was the last year and 1994 the first. Ciaran McDonald played for North America in 1996. I was lucky to have been involved in every one of them, although the reality was that no team ever was able to get their best team over as it involved missing too much work or family life. Great idea, but really didn't amount to much more than a great week away for single guys on the piss and on the pull. Happy days

Rossfan · March 26, 2009, 08:51:18 PM

Quote from: irunthev on March 26, 2009, 06:54:59 PM
, but really didn't amount to much more than a great week away for single guys on the piss and on the pull. Happy days

Jasus lad what more did ya want ?

irunthev · March 26, 2009, 09:12:16 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on March 26, 2009, 08:51:18 PM
Quote from: irunthev on March 26, 2009, 06:54:59 PM
, but really didn't amount to much more than a great week away for single guys on the piss and on the pull. Happy days

Jasus lad what more did ya want ?

There were several other members of this board there with me too and we all have the scars to prove it!!!!

As for the game in London. The game will prosper better now that more Irish are heading that direction again. Over the past 10 - 12 years over 25 clubs folded in London as the Celtic Tiger roared. When I first arrived there in the mid-1980s there were 62 clubs (hurling and football) affiliated to the board, by the time I left a few years ago that was down to the low 30s with many of them really struggling.

There was a lot of work being done at under age level and plenty of young players coming through, but almost to a man ( and I know there was the odd exception) they were never any better than average intermediate players. Part of the problem with their development at under age level is the lack of quality competition for them in their teens eg no competition of the intensity of the likes of Hogan and the likes, as well as provincial inter county minor football. It does exist, and the effort is to be applauded too, but it just isn't of a very high standard. The players were good within their own environment but not on the broader landscape... but as I saw there were the odd few exceptions.

There are some really dedicated people in London who keep clubs going out of their own pockets and have done so for years, but there are plenty of stroke pullers there too.