An Irishman’s Diary on the GAA’s strong roots

It may surprise some that Irish international footballer Shane Long first fashioned his sporting credentials wielding the camán. Starring in the 2003 and 2004 All-Ireland minor hurling semi-finals immediately marked him as a star of the future. Following in the free-scoring tradition of Jimmy Doyle, Nicky English and Eoin Kelly, he was, even as a teenager, already on the radar of county senior hurling manager Babs Keating. A talented all-round sportsman, he combined hurling with soccer – a much less glamorous sport in his native Tipperary. This, however, brought his talents to the notice of Cork City FC .

Reputedly, he now earns an annual £2.5 million with English Premier League club Southampton. Meanwhile, Tipperary senior hurlers Paddy Stapleton, Kieran Bergin and James Woodlock, who all played hurling at minor level beside Long, enjoy much the same recognition and status in the Premier County as the Southampton striker, but their earnings lag far behind.

Commitment

In 2015, the Irish Sports Council will provide a total subvention of €900,000 to support the combined efforts of inter–county Gaelic Games players. This figure, which might just pay the monthly salary of a star Premier League striker, amounts to an average stipend of about €500 per individual. Clearly, there is little money in hurling, or indeed Gaelic football, yet by reaching Croke Park on Sunday next the Galway and Kilkenny teams have demonstrated a level of commitment that is arguably superior to what is required by Premier League clubs.

Since the beginning of the year both sets of players will have become virtual teetotallers and models of healthy living and eating. Training up to six times a week, they have also turned out for club and county matches most Sundays. And, as amateurs, they are expected to hold down employment at a time when the inter-county game requires such a work ethic that in any sphere, other than Gaelic Games, it would be regarded as a full-time occupation.

So, why do inter-county players sacrifice so much in terms of career, family and social life for an amateur pastime bringing little financial reward and an ascetic lifestyle?

The answer lies, I believe, with bonds of fellowship within tightly knit communities that are now largely absent from the Premier League. There the top clubs have long abandoned their roots within urban, working-class communities in favour of creating lucrative international brands. Most have become money- or prestige-making endeavours for wealthy owners employing peripatetic footballers in a ruthless pursuit of success.

And so, if you live in north London, loyalties are blurred. You may support Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, but most of the population will remain indifferent to the footballing exploits of an ever-mutating stream of star players, bankrolled by billionaire investors.

By contrast, the GAA draws on a bedrock of local loyalties anchored solidly within clearly defined boundaries. Club or county depends on geography and you are almost automatically inducted as a supporter of the team representing your locality. This – and the fact that players are born into the communities they represent– gives a sense of identity and shared purpose that strengthen community solidarity.

So, as you sit down on Sunday to enjoy the spectacle of the world’s fastest field game, remember the players are the much-lauded, but financially unrewarded, heroes of the day.

Unlike professional sportsmen, they will be expected to give no less effort for their clubs in a grim, mud-spattered county league game next March and Sunday’s “man of the match” will sometime next week be back in the community directing traffic, selling insurance or collecting milk.

It is these strong roots within localities that elevates the GAA above other sporting organisations and makes hurling not just another sport, but an umbilical cord anchoring people to communities. This unabashed parochialism was succinctly articulated by Dublin dual player Ciaran Kilkenny, after he abandoned a lucrative opportunity to play Australian Rules football. “Much as I enjoyed the lifestyle of an Aussie Rules player and relished the challenge of achieving in a different code, I realised that it would never matter as much to me as the sense of community and joy I get from togging out and playing with the people with whom I grew up and live.”

So, what odds then on Shane Long ending his sporting career back in the blue and gold?