http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/07/24/from_londons_grassroots_gaelic.html
From London’s grassroots, Gaelic football could go global
Paul Doyle
July 24, 2007 4:25 PM
It didn’t have the glamour of Wimbledon, the Tour de France, the Open or the British grand prix, and it certainly wasn’t as well attended - in fact the number of spectators at each game could be measured on the legs of a single centipede (or even a married one) - but it was in many ways the most intriguing sporting event to take place in Britain this month. For though the London Gaelic football team’s attempt to become champions of Ireland yet again faltered at the first hurdle, the circumstances of their failure are fascinating - and the efforts being made to ensure more successful runs in the future could propel a great and ancient sport to a whole new level.
Since its origin, Gaelic football, as with hurling and camogie, has been more than a sport; it has been a fundamental expression of Irish identity, a role that was reinforced by the British colonisers’ banning and oppression of it (in turn, the Gaelic Athletic Association and its supporters in the post-independence Irish state sought to suppress “foreign” games: right up until the 1970s it was common for boys to be expelled from school after being spotted playing soccer). In Britain, North America, Australia and elsewhere, Irish exiles founded Gaelic clubs, and since the late 19th century London, and later New York, have entered teams into the All-Ireland championship. London also play in the lowest division (the fourth) of the national league.
Recently, however, the increased power of Ireland’s economy and the diminished power of its church have combined to curtail - indeed, reverse - emigration from the island, stemming the flow of players to Britain’s Gaelic clubs, who traditionally recruited by offering emigrants help with finding jobs and accommodation. They still try to lure talent from Ireland with such offers, but far fewer people are taking them up. So the clubs have resolved to broaden their appeal and are now trying to take the game to the British masses.
“We can no longer survive on the trickle of players coming from Ireland,” says the London manager Noel Dunning. “But the future is rosy none the less because the clubs here have very good underage infrastructures and are improving all the time.”
There are Gaelic clubs all over Britain but the ones in London are most advanced in this approach, providing free coaching and kits in schools throughout the city, particularly in the south. The result is that children’s teams in clubs such as Dulwich Harps are comprised mostly of players who have no family connection to Ireland. “It’s not inconceivable that in 10 or 15 years we’ll see a London team competing in the All-Ireland with a panel made up almost entirely of players with British, African or Asian backgrounds,” says Dunning.
Of course, it’s one thing getting kids playing a new sport, it’s quite another to convince them to stick at it when they grow up and realise there’s absolutely no money to be made from what is still a strictly amateur pursuit, despite the fact that the top teams train and abstain like professionals and, in Ireland, perform in front of tens of thousands of fans. Why would young athletes in England commit to holding down a day job and making immense sacrifices in their social lives when they could more profitably turn their attention to football, rugby, cricket or just about any other sport? Perhaps for the same reason that some of the current London team did.
Twenty-eight-year-old captain Paul Hehir is one of four England-born players who started for London when they were beaten, but not outclassed, by Antrim earlier this month. In Gaelic terms he’s had a successful career so far - winning youth championships in England before playing for five years with Clare in Ireland, representing Munster in the Railway Cup and even being invited to play for a few months for a club in Chicago - but he still has to work a day job as a procurement officer for an engineering company, which makes you wonder Why In the Name Of All That Is Green And Foldable didn’t he take Les Reed up on his offer, when the then-assistant manager of Charlton Athletic invited him to try out for the role of goalkeeper.
“I didn’t pursue that opportunity because it would have meant giving up Gaelic and that’s just not something I was prepared to do,” Hehir says. “Gaelic has always come first in my household.” OK, so that reflects a social, almost spiritual significance that is unlikely to be shared by someone from a non-Irish background - but there’s also a simple, potentially universal sporting motive: “I also think Gaelic is a better game.”
Catford native Paul O’Donoghue, 23, agrees - and he’s in a privileged position to judge, what with having played at Tottenham Hotspur for five years, including two as a professional. "When Spurs let me go two years ago, several League Two and Conference sides came in for me but I decided I wanted to play Gaelic. I’d been doing that anyway when I was at Spurs, sort of sneaking off in the summer to play for clubs in south London.
“My mates thought I was mad to turn my back on the possibility of earning a living from football, but my real dream is to play Gaelic at the highest level. I guess I just prefer it. I find it a more skilful game. I also think the mindset is totally different. As a centre-back in English football, all I was ever told to do was head the ball clear or pass it to someone else to do something with; Gaelic is much more demanding, you’re always involved in the action and have to constantly have your wits about you. It’s just more exciting.”
So instead of preparing for a season of professional football, O’Donoghue is waiting to hear back from Tralee technical college, where he has applied to study PE. “Hopefully I’ll be accepted and then start playing for a club in Kerry and just try to work my way up the ladder and see how far I get.”
Discover that O’Donoghue’s parents are from Kerry and you immediately deduce that the prospect of a return to his roots is what really appeals about the game. But he’s not so sure. “When I was 17 I was called up to the Republic of Ireland Under-19 soccer squad and at the same time was told I could have trials with England schoolboys. I chose Ireland. But the funny thing is that if you forced me to define my nationality now, I’d probably say I feel more English than Irish even though I prefer Gaelic football to soccer. I couldn’t tell you why, it’s just how I feel. Maybe I’m just a confused young guy … or maybe nationalities are just very limited definitions.”
Indeed. What does it matter whether he’s English or Irish or neither or both or more? What’s certain is just as his relaxed honesty can only enrich society, his talent can only enrich his chosen sport. What more could anyone ask for? “I went to an Irish festival in Peckham recently and there were some Gaelic football matches going on,” says O’Donoghue. “Peckham is a very mixed place now, in fact the majority of people are probably of African or Caribbean background and the amazing thing was that most of the players were black. It was strange to see, but really exciting. It made me think of just how good the game could get if it became truly global. Imagine a Gaelic football World Cup!” To repeat: what more could anyone ask for?