My brother once played Gaelic Football for Thailand. The sevens team he played for only had five players. The slack was taken up by two English girls who got a crash course in what to do and what not to do. Nowadays it seems they’re taking it more seriously in China.
Fair play to Iain, he managed to get over 2,200 people voting in his poll for the top Northern Irish blogs this year… We (just, I imagine) retained our top spot, with Splintered coming straight in at number 2, no doubt his pet subject du jour will have garnered him a lot of fans… I’ve [...] read our review »
The nod and wink politics of Ireland’s last two or three decades as practised par excellence by Bertie, Albert and Charlie is ultimately what has the Republic in the stew it’s in. Don’t get me wrong, the effective monitoring of those exercising of power does not demand full disclosure of everything all the time. But [...] read our review »
‘news’ is often a polite way of saying ‘editor’s whim’ Given the shift from print to online and e-ink, maybe Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists was a suitable first first book for me to finish reading on the Kindle. Considering the economic pressures on the newspaper industry, his novel perhaps captures the spirit and soul of [...] read our review »
Very good and funny article. Mary McAleese handed out the medals at the last games, I believe. It has caught on and is an excuse for Asian based Micks to meet up and party.
As a founder member of the all-conquering Manawatu Barbarians, I can only say: We’d bate de shyte outta dem….Wonderful post.
Thanks for the free publicity. Our founding member and coach of the Dalian GAA team (Mikey Farrelly) wrote that article. If ya want to keep up with the newly formed Dalian wolfhounds some more come and visit us at:
http://www.valehru.com/gaa
I watched 4 teams playing in the Cayman Islands a few years ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon. They had about 80 mixed players in the GAA club (can’t remember their name), amazing in such a small place – the Irish there all work in the financial areas there.
Plus I played a game of hurling (with 4 people) on top of the Eiger mountain in Switzerland. Is this an altitude record I wonder !
We had a puck around a number of years back in the Swedish port of Umeå … got some odd looks from the locals I tell ya. You’ll find Gaelic Games almost anywhere these days.
Well done to all those involved in in promoting the games in the Far East.
‘It has caught on and is an excuse for Asian based Micks to meet up and party. ‘
If they ever get to play in Ulan Bator I can already think of a great name for the lads
Gobi shite Ramblers
I took a German friend one time to Croke Park to see an All Ireland Hurling semi final . It was a magnificent game with the lead changing a few times in the last 15 minutes and the crowd was on it’s feet for every score .
I think he was expecting something like cricket.
I was recently asked to particiapate in a GAA game in Denmark. It was a swift refusal explaining that I didn´t participate in sectarian sports or endorse the recreational wing of the IRA.
“recreational wing of the IRA”
oh jesus…what other things has your daddy been telling you?
Flaming lip
Certainly the recent behaviour of the Antrim Association, hosting the hunger strike murderer celebrations, give my claims some credance.
It is also an organisation which refuses to divorce itself from politics.
Say no to sectarianism
Justsayno. I am glad for at least two reasons you just just said no with a few predictable comments in Denmark. First, you probably have never played (Gaelic) football. Second, your way of thinking is so out of line with not only Irish thinking and senses of humour and irreverence (read the post) but that of the world, outer Mongolia included. In with the Poles…
William for someone who claims to be so worldly you come across a tad narrow minded.
I have never played Gaelic football, like I said I was asked, a bar named the Shamrock in Copenhagen recruits members for the local GAA team, when I refused the invitation, needless to say I wasn´t welcomed back into that company.
If you think it is acceptable to use a Sporting Arena to celebrate murderers who martyr themselves, then i´m afraid you are very lost, if you think it is predictable that I should complain of such montrsous behaviour so be it.
Why do you treat it so lightly, if Windsor Park was used to martyr Billy Wright i´m sure you would have a thing or two to say about it.
Justsayno: As the Provos used to say before they signed up for the RUC: For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t know, no explanation is possible.
I assume it was a deaf and dumb Dane issued the invite. At least, when Billy Wright played (Gaelic) football, he probably played (either the man or the ball, makes no difference).
William
You seem to want to boast that GAA is a Republican sport for a Republican people, in that case it´s chances of catching on on the international scene are zero, but then parochial little bi··ots like you won´t mind that.
Morbius: As the Provos used to say before they signed up for the RUC: For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t know, no explanation is possible.
As regards your snipe about parochial little bi-ots, just look who brought the rancour in here. And it wasn’t me. There is much more chance of Gaelic being played in any corner of the world than there is of people from any of those corners being able to walk down an Orange street. Guess why? It is something to do with small, anal retentive minds, the polar opposite of the article’s spirit. I could easily imagine the scene in Denmark where Justsayno was asked to paly Gaelic by guys obviously set on taking the mickey out of him.
William
The reason I was asked to play Gaelic was that I am quite an accomplished football player, having played to a reasonably high level. I also have what many would assume to be a Catholic sounding name. The people who asked me to play where a mixture of North and South Irishmen living in Denamark who assumed alot things about me, until I told them to FECK AFF.
Which is exactly what i´m telling you to do right now William.
They must have been strange Irishmen, with no sense of smell. Did they never even speak to you first to see what type of person you were? Come on, Billy Wright and Willie Frazer both played Gaelic. Were they so in awe of your “football” (soccer, rugby, Ossie Rules, American?) they couldn’t suss you out? Too many Elephant beers or tabs of acid all round maybe. Is acid still classed as a serious drug in Denmark btw? You woundn’t be telling us a wee fib here, would you?
“Certainly the recent behaviour of the Antrim Association, hosting the hunger strike murderer celebrations, give my claims some credance.
It is also an organisation which refuses to divorce itself from politics.
Say no to sectarianism”
yeah…but you actually went as far as calling it the recreational wing of the IRA ffs, that’s pretty lazy. It’s kinda funny, I use a lot of GAA message boards, and some of the guys from the republic are as partitionist as you could get. Anyways…I’m more of an SDLP guy myself. Is there a rock I can crawl under?
Umeå? What time of year? If it was anytime between October and March, I can guess what the funny looks were for!
JSN,
You’ve made your point, but can you please move on and make another?
“JSN, You’ve made your point, but can you please move on and make another?”
Maybe he has no other point but to believe that all members and supporters of the world’s largest amateur sporting organisation are members of the IRA and every little girl who does step dancing is in Cumann na mBan, just like the man from the Daily Mail and his more sinister readers in places like Portadown and East Belfast.
Yet another sporting thread descends into into the ‘political’ sluge.
JSN: You’re talking out of your ass. I saw more people of different colour, nationality and religeon playing a sport that I love this past weekend in Shanghai than I’ve ever seen before. It’s a shame that this kind of small minded thinking still exists in Ireland. I’d love to see you come over to China and try and peddle that kind of bullshit to the people. who played out of their skins this past weekend.
The reason the whole even was started was to honor an Irishman known as Derek Brady who sadly died whilst working in Asia many years ago. Croke park got involved very late in the day with this competition but it is only due to the hard work of people from multiple denominations that this small competition has become a true success.
You should go back to the last century where people who think like you belong. You might have more support there and then.
By the way, the Dalian wolfhounds played 5 competitive games, won all five of them well, reached the final and lost by a single point to a very experienced Shanghai team. Not too bad for a team who only got their first proper Gaelic football last Friday night, one day before the competition started.
I wonder how many of these Aisian men who played out of their skins, where aware of the antics of the Antrim association.
BTW the jibe earlier about the “recreational wing of the IRA” was a joke, glad some of the less “anal retentive” among you got that.
I enjoy watching Gaelic Football and indeed wouldn´t mind playing it. Until it moves away from sectarianism I will not participate, as I feel I would be spitting at victims of Sands et al.
JSN: Bobby Sands was a soccer player like you. He played soccer with guys who went on to join the UVF. He was not a GAA player.
The George
“JSN: Bobby Sands was a soccer player like you. He played soccer with guys who went on to join the UVF. He was not a GAA player”
LOL..Makes the Antrim Association decision to let the Bobby anniversary martyrdom all the stranger then.
Morbius: “LOL..Makes the Antrim Association decision to let the Bobby anniversary martyrdom all the stranger then”
Not really. Bobby Sands was born on the worng side of town and his subsequent involvement with the IRA was a product of that. As Sinn Fein are trying to coopt the entire Catholic/Nationalist thing into their political volkland, it would make sense for them to join the dots and try to link the GAA bandwagon with the Bobby Sands bandwagon.
The Amtrim GAA is also a product of its environment and its Casement Park complex is a huge community asset. Sinn Fein would gladly mooch into it to solidify their respectability. This might pay them particular dividends in the South where they would hope to make further gains. Under partition, they can probably gain little more in the North.
Martin McGuinness and the 11 plus flip flop is just one indicator of how little they can gain there.
It is a pity we have to go down these cul de sacs instead of celebrating the wit and humour of the China GAA or the video making abilities of the youth wing of the FPC. Credit where credit is due.
“My brother once played Gaelic Football for Thailand.”
Funny statements like this or the great post it referred to show the wide gap between communities in the North. One group just does not “get it”.
Mick
“What time of year? If it was anytime between October and March, I can guess what the funny looks were for”
It was August, long before the snows came
JSN:
“I enjoy watching Gaelic Football and indeed wouldn´t mind playing it. Until it moves away from sectarianism I will not participate, as I feel I would be spitting at victims of Sands et al.”
Seems a tad immature.
- Firstly a “sport” cannot be sectarian.
- Secondly you are free to play Gaelic Football all you want without actually joining the GAA. That fact that you seem to have not done so tell us you have no interest in the sport anyway. Makes you sound like just another detractor.
- Thirdly … talk about tarring everyone with the same brush. Did all GAA clubs (approx 3000 in 15-20 different countries) & members (300,000 +) commemorate Sands et al?