The gaa is too middle class middle Ireland for that to happen. I mean become the symbol of far right shit. The plain people of Ireland wonât have it. The lack of black or any immigrant background players on the Dublin team is crazy but you could say the same for the lack of working class players.
I think youâre more likely to see ethnic minority players breaking through with country teams (like yer man Igkweru in Clare and the fella in Westmeath whose name I canât remember) because thereâs basically fuck all else to do there and GAA dominates everyday life in a way it just doesnât in Dublin.
The Gaeilscoil thing is largely middle class (not exclusively) but thereâs also an unspoken racist undercurrent to some parents sending their children to them. Iâd worry that could happen to the GAA in Dublin. Thereâs so much else to do in Dublin and ethnic minority children will naturally tend to gravitate towards sports with an international element. The schools have a big part to play but it will take a massive concerted outreach from the clubs themselves because immigrants understandably arenât familiar with the sports. Years ago I chanced upon a Cumann na mBunscoil final in Croke Park played across the pitch and the game was dominated by two black full forwards, they each banged in about four goals and basically had a personal duel to see who won. It was great to watch. Maelruainâs from Tallaght were one of the teams.
Children of immigrants should be the saviour of failing clubs in working class areas but I genuinely worry that GAA paraphernalia is going to become a big thing with the far right and make the GAA a no go zone for immigrants.
A star player for Dublin of say Nigerian parents, somebody somewhat comparable to Rhasidat Adeleke in terms of impact, this would be a massive, massive, massive deal in terms of inclusive perception for the GAA as a whole in Dublin. The longer Dublin senior teams stay all white, the more questions will start to get asked why ethnic minorities arenât breaking through.
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There were a few dissenters
Anyone who doesnât like Tom Barr isnât worth knowing
He hardly believe that?
Isnât JBM into the doggy dogs?
I was castigated for highlighting an alleged gambling & doggy dog debt he ran up shortly before he appeared out of nowhere to take on the Cork job in 2011. The apparent debt disappeared shortly afterwards. These 2 sentences may or may not be related in some form
Informative.
Heâs a potential wrong un
Your attitude towards debt was markedly different when your bestie fucked off to Wales to let the Irish state cover his losses
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Oooft, they didnt like that.
Didnt deny its veracity either.
Youâve given me an idea for a parody rapper from Cork called Jimmy Rappy-Murphy. Watch this space. Iâm going to gatecrash Up For The Match.