Emigration the effect in the GAA

youbetterbelieveit · January 13, 2009, 01:54:34 PM

With this been a topical issue at the moment, I though it appropriate to try and gauge gaaboard members on what direct effect it was having on your county and even club,

Just to start off a list,
- Gary McCloskey (Leitrim) - off to London around xmas and a doubt whether he will be lining out for Leitrim.
- Aidan Foley (Tipperary) - he is away to America

Gabriel_Hurl · January 13, 2009, 02:47:21 PM

I'm getting 3-4 emails / phone calls a week enquiring about our club - and it's not from university students

irunthev · January 13, 2009, 02:49:58 PM

If I'm not mistaken Gary McCloskey actually played club football in London in 2008 and played for Tir Chonaill Gaels in the county final. Football and hurling at club level in Ireland especially will be damaged by the economic downturn and the boom that the country has experienced has been reflected in the boom and increased profile of gaelic games in Ireland too. As someone who left Ireland in the mid-1980s I appreciate how important the GAA is to people when they arrive overseas. However, the difference between when I left and now is that at present there are very few places that people can go to do better than they are in Ireland. Certainly, London is suffering from the economic downturn in all sectors (banking, construction, IT) and while for many years it was a safe haven in times of poverty in Ireland, that is not necessarily the case now, given how bad the recession is there at present. Manchester and Birmingham are no doubt similarly troubled, while the States is hard to get into, while Australia is also starting to go into decline. The GAA will be hindered by the recession at home, but it might not be as easy for players looking to get away to find somewhere to go. This recession is unique in many different ways and certainly there are no previous experiences that people can compare it to. I have no doubt that established Irish people involved in the GAA around the world will do all that they can to help any good players arriving in their respective cities, they always have. But they can't magic work out of thin air. They might be able to carry a few of the so-called stars, but for the short term at least, there might be no where to run for a lot of "Joe the corner backs". It does make me smile though that given the amount of negative publicity and abuse that has been directed towards the efforts of the GAA in London over the years while things were good in Ireland, that all of a sudden London is very much back in vogue. It's a long road without a bend as they say.... And it was always going to be such.

heganboy · January 13, 2009, 03:46:12 PM

Gab,
thats interesting, in New York we have seen the opposite effect over the last few years, the quality of football with all due respect to those involved has plummeted. The weekend warrior who flies in and out obviously has disappeared and with that the reliance on the home based player has been increased. However as the immigration clamp down here in the US has impacted the Irish in New York there has been a huge number of players that have gone back home, or to Australia, Canada or the UK.

Back in 97 we had a good young team in Ballyhegan, we'd just won the intermediate in Armagh 2 years after winning the junior and the average age of the team was 22. By the time the 99 season started we had 8 of the starting 15 in the US, one in Spain, one in Sweden and 2 in England. Add that to the impact of 2 players training full time with the county and the effect on a small parish team was massive.

thejuice · January 13, 2009, 04:25:26 PM

I can think of 6 lads from our club thats abroad now. and thats not even counting myself.

INDIANA · January 13, 2009, 04:30:44 PM

60 players went during november alone. If you consider thats more than happens in year on average.

FL/MAYO · January 13, 2009, 05:32:10 PM

Back in thew mid 80's if New York had been in the Connaught Championship I believe they would have won a couple due to the amount of county players in the city at the time. The likes of Larry Thompkins, Pauric Dunne (Offaly), Tommy Dowd to name but a few were playing in Gaelic Park each week.

muppet · January 13, 2009, 06:27:44 PM

Quote from: FL/MAYO on January 13, 2009, 05:32:10 PM
Back in thew mid 80's if New York had been in the Connaught Championship I believe they would have won a couple due to the amount of county players in the city at the time. The likes of Larry Thompkins, Pauric Dunne (Offaly), Tommy Dowd to name but a few were playing in Gaelic Park each week.

In the 1980s in Mayo the U-21 club championship was 13 a side due to the effects of emigration. A lot of clubs couldn't get 15.

pintsofguinness · January 13, 2009, 07:53:06 PM

There must be half a dozen of my club's senior panel gone to Australia now.

Bogball XV · January 13, 2009, 11:35:23 PM

Quote from: irunthev on January 13, 2009, 02:49:58 PMIt does make me smile though that given the amount of negative publicity and abuse that has been directed towards the efforts of the GAA in London over the years while things were good in Ireland, that all of a sudden London is very much back in vogue. It's a long road without a bend as they say.... And it was always going to be such.

What negative publicity and abuse was that? Was the Evening Standard giving out about the lack of success or something?

Owenmoresider · January 14, 2009, 12:10:39 AM

Our club was well shook from emigration in the mid-80's. We won two Co U21's in 82 and 84, and supposedly all bar 2-3 of the 84 crew were abroad within two years. We never really recovered from it, were tilting at getting to Senior back then but the wheels came off fairly soon after.

Re McCloskey - seemingly he could be lining out with Leitrim yet, despite being in London. Thought I seen something to that effect in the Observer. Ross Donovan of 07 fame is gone from our panel, off to the States I believe. Tony Taylor was gone but has returned, will probably be a good few more players at club level heading off this year too.

J70 · January 14, 2009, 12:12:11 AM

Quote from: INDIANA on January 13, 2009, 04:30:44 PM
60 players went during november alone. If you consider thats more than happens in year on average.

From your club?

NAG · January 14, 2009, 11:14:47 AM

Has no one taken into account that this is a global trend and there is probably as little work going in the US and Oz as there is here at present. Used to be that one of the other would be going well enough to support a migration of sorts but with all of them going belly up what is the point in leaving here because of no work and arriving there to no work?

irunthev · January 14, 2009, 04:00:57 PM

Quote from: NAG on January 14, 2009, 11:14:47 AM
Has no one taken into account that this is a global trend and there is probably as little work going in the US and Oz as there is here at present. Used to be that one of the other would be going well enough to support a migration of sorts but with all of them going belly up what is the point in leaving here because of no work and arriving there to no work?

My point exactly NAG. I have a lot of friends on London who are there a long time and are pretty well established and they are seriously worried about where the pay cheque will come from next month, let alone trying to accomodate new arrivals from Ireland. As for OZ, I know from my contacts there that things are slowing down and a lot of guys have had to go out to the mines and out "bush" to get work. Ain't no GAA out there that's for sure. Snakes and spiders yes... GAA no.
This was always going to happen in Ireland although there was a tremendous naivety about people's attitude to the boom and it was hard to get people to listen four or five years ago. When there is an up there will always be a downturn of some nature, it's a fundamental principle of economics. This time it has been made worse because of the global nature of the down.
Every sector of the GAA will have to clip its wings a bit and the days when clubs and counties have been throwign money willy-nilly at strangers to come in and train and manage teams may well be put on hold for a while. If people are struggling with their individual finances, it will be very difficult for parish clubs and county boards to get people to delve into their pockets to pay some guy to manage the local GAA team, especially given that the vast majority of these guys were a complete waste of money anyway. The GAA, for the immediate future at least, may get used to a more simplistic approach to the sport.