The GAA and Me

For some the G.A.A. in recent years has become big bucks. Take a look at any of the Daily or Sunday Newspapers and you will find at least one former inter county hurlers or footballers writing articles on a regular basis.

Tune in RTE, Sky Sports or TG4 and even local radio for any inter county game that they might be covering on a given day and you will find former inter county players or managers filling the role of co-commentator or analysis.

To be honest I don’t know what these players, former players and managers are getting paid to give their views but I am sure most are not doing so for nothing.

There is other that has found other ways of boosting their weekly income through coaching.

There once was a time when the local team was coached by a former player from the club who would work alongside others that he might have played with or played under, but in recent times this has become something of a thing of the past as more and more clubs are bringing in outside coaches, men from other clubs even from outside the county in the bid to win some silverware for the club.

When someone has to travel some distance to attend training sessions often two or three times a week and maybe a match at the weekend, it is only right that they are compensated, but you have to wonder about some of the expenses that you hear that some are getting and then think about the return the club is getting. I am sure some clubs are starting to wonder are they better off getting a former player from within their own club to coach their team and maybe plough their money into other areas, maybe into their local school or underage teams, or maybe even to provide better facilities at the club grounds.

But for those that are doing well out of the games in one way or another, there is many who are involved in the G.A.A. for the love of the games.

For those that don’t know me, but who have decided to follow what I have to say on social media about the G.A.A. or whatever else is on my mind at times, let me tell you a few things about me.

I am someone that never played hurling or football, well not competitively at any level anyway. The reason for this is I was born with Spina Bifida.

Spina Bifida is a term that is used to describe a series of birth defects that affect the development of the spine and central nervous system. The central nervous system is made up of the brain, nerves and spinal cord. The spinal cord runs from the brain to the rest of the body and consists of nerve cells and bundles of nerves that connect all parts of the body to the brain.

During the first month of life, an embryo (developing baby) grows a primitive tissue structure called the neural tube. As the embryo develops, the neural tube begins to change into a more complicated structure of bones, tissue and nerves that will eventually form the spine and nervous system.

However, in cases of Spina Bifida, something goes wrong with the development of the neural tube and the spinal column (the ridge of bone that surrounds and protects the nerves) does not fully close. Spina Bifida is a Latin term that means split spine.

All this means that many people born around the time I was born and before I was born in 1973 as well as some after me are confined to a wheelchair or have to use crutches to get about. I regard myself as one of the lucky ones and can get around using crutches.

Thankfully, in more recent times because of the advancements made in medicine medics can now work on a mother to be who is known to be carrying a Spina Bifida child and many of those born in more recent times have a much more normal way of living and are able to get around without any of the aids needed by older people who have Spina Bifida.

Despite having Spina Bifida I have never tried to let things stop me doing from what I want to do, and I have from a very young age have had an interest in the G.A.A.

Some of my earliest memories are heading off in the back of my father’s car on a Sunday with my brother Pat, my father Michael and his sister Joan to games in Fraher Field, Cappoquin, Walsh Park or any other venue where the local Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s G.A.A. Club were playing.

The first port of call after getting to the ground was to the mobile shop that was always to be found at the ground, be it in the back of a van parked close to the dressing rooms in Fraher Field or plank of timber on top of milk creates in Cappoquin most of the time and then heading to the bank side of Fraher Field opposite to the stand which was a grass bank back then or in the case of Cappoquin on the bank opposite the dressing rooms which did not exist back then. Instead the players togged off in one of the local pubs up down and then jogged to the venue in time for the game.

When there was no shop at the Cappoquin venue for matches a visit was always made to Uniacke’s shop in Cappoquin, who happened to be double cousins to my Father.

A must for me going to matches as i got older was a pencil or biro and an empty box of my mother’s fags which had four equal side boxes on the inside of it, and the names of the two teams playing marked on it, each club given two boxes each, one for the goals they would score the other for the points, and each score was marked with a stroke. When I started to do this first at games it was a very important task in my eyes for those around me, just in case the referee or umpires made a mistake and I had the correct score to give to those that might ask, which would happen at times when you were four or five and older people knew what you were at.

In primary school in Touraneena we had a Kilkenny man Joe Devoy as principal, and like all other Kilkenny men he loved his hurling, but unlike other Kilkenny men he allowed us to play football. He always took great joy in getting onto those that had a real interest in the G.A.A. when his native side would beat Waterford in the National Hurling League, which happened fairly frequently in the late 70’s and early 80’s, but thankfully Kilkenny played in the National Football League back then so we got to have a go back at him.

It would not be allowed to happen nowadays, but back in the 70’s and 80’s on a Monday afternoon from 2 to 3 O’Clock the girls in the school went to one of the female teachers and they were taught how to sew and knit while the boys were brought to the principals classroom where for about 25 to 30 minutes they were allowed to do whatever homework they had to do that evening and for the last half hour were brought out in the school yard where they played in football or hurling leagues.

Everyone was expected to take part and I was no different. When it came to hurling I was told to stand in goal for one of the teams and had one of the better players play fullback on my team to give me some protection. After a score went past me or the ball was pucked wide I was instructed to take the puck out but was to pass it to the full back who was not to be marked for the puck out but once he had the ball normal rules again came into place.

These leagues went on for maybe eight weeks or so and at the end of the league each player was given a medal for taking part. The teams were the same each week, and the winning team was the team that won most games over the course of the league.

When it came to football or soccer which was played during the lunch breaks I played at Corner Forward, even in soccer and I was to cause as much hassle in front of the opposition goalkeeper often swinging my crutches around like a madman when the ball came my way and was allowed to score with them even in soccer and even though they were in my hands.

For the West Waterford School League I did not take part but was not left out. I was brought to the games and given a jersey just like all others in the classes taking part, and was often given the important task as an umpire, and should the school reach the final of a competition, whether Touraneena won or lost I was given a medal just like everyone else and still have a number of these somewhere.

In 1993 I took up a year long position of School Secretary in Touraneena which lasted just over 15 years. In those years I got to know many of the children very well and loved to see them playing hurling and football and even handball for a while, and encouraged as many as possible to play the game regardless of how good they were, just as I was encouraged ten years or so earlier.

I have to admit in my time at the school to see the girls playing gave me particular enjoyment. In the mid’s 00’s it gave me lots of joy one day when a group of girls came to me and tell me that they were bored. I asked them did they ever think of playing Camogie. Two of them said to me shur we be useless at that to which I said you never know till you give it a go. Heading to where the hurleys were stored they got some each and a tennis ball and began to hit it along the ground to each other.

After a while they got the confidence to try and strike it out of their hand and at first attempts failed and I remember them saying to me ‘see we are useless’ but I told them to keep at it and they will get it.

Over the next week more and more girls joined with them and in a matter of days it was clear they were enjoying themselves in what they were doing and they were asking me would I ask the teachers if they would enter them into the Camogie School Leagues. It’s not all the coaching that the girls got over the course of a few weeks, but they were made to believe that they were nowhere near as poor as player they thought they were and it worked as they reached the final of the league and the semi finals of the mini sevens competition, something that no-one would have thought was possible that day they came to me telling me that they were bored.

A decade earlier I got involved in the administration side of the association.

Late in 1995 while attending the AGM of the Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s Club during the election of officers, nobody was willing to take up the position of PRO. I had initially refused to take up the position, but when nobody was after taking it the second time I was asked, I said to myself take it so that the meeting could move on.

I remained in the position for two years, resigning when I took up the position of Chairman of the Na Déise Ladies Football Club.

In early 1996 I joined the committee of the Naomh Brid Club and a year later I became Assistant Secretary and PRO and became the Secretary the following year.

          The G.A.A. to some is known as the Grab All Association and to a small few people it is known as the Gammy Archeries Association. I first heard the latter in 1998 when the then secretary and treasurer of Western Bord na nÓg suffered heart complaints. Eddie O’Shea the then secretary at the end of 1998 indicated that he intended to stand down as both secretary of Western and County Bord na nÓg.

          While a replacement could be gone in Catherine Tuohy for the County Position, no-one was willing to allow their names to go forward for the position in the west.

I was approached off the record and asked would I take up the position. I said I would but said only if Eddie would stay on as an Assistant Secretary which he agreed to.

A year later I became PRO when Eddie O’Shea became Chairman and remained in both positions for a number of years, and also became an Assistant PRO at County Bord na nÓg level working with John O’Leary for a number of years before succeeding John in the position.

In November 2008 I decided to step back from my position in the school in Touraneena on health grounds having twice having to go to South Tipperary General Hospital with chest pains a few weeks apart.

I intended to do nothing for a while. After standing down from my position in the school at the end of December, I got an email out of the blue in January 2009 asking me would I be interested in becoming a reporter on matters relating to the G.A.A. with the Munster Express.

This is the side of the G.A.A. that I love most and jumped at the chance, believing it to last only a few weeks.

While I had given up all positions with Bord na nÓg at the time I was still keeping very much up to date with what was happening within the G.A.A. as I was involved with the Publications Committee on the County Bord during the time that Joe Cleary who I had worked with in Bord na Óg was PRO.

Before this I had served alongside Joe on the County Youth Committee, organising a number of Youth Conventions in Dungarvan and also the County Awards Night where the winners of the Man of the Match Awards from the Bord na nÓg Finals were presented with their awards.

In the last decade through my involvement in the Munster Express I have got to write for a number of other local papers who might have needed reports for games played in Waterford and were not sending a reporter themselves.

I have also reported for a number of Daily and Sunday papers as well as for a number of websites.

In 2012 I began to report on all things relating to the G.A.A. for both the Men’s and Women’s games on my own blog page. I know that what I put on this blog page is not entirely a blog, but the page does allow me to post reports free, and is at times widely read.

Through this page for a number of years was a regular on the G.A.A. Programme on Community Radio Youghal giving details of the different Western and County Championship games and got to mention a number of Ladies Football and Camogie Games that were taking place, something that was important to me, as I enjoy the Ladies games as much as the men’s games, and at times even more so.

The G.A.A. to me is something that can be enjoyed by everyone, and for everyone with an interest in the games a roll can be found. The G.A.A. is not just about playing.

There is need for administrators, coaches, referees, members of management teams, reports etc.

And it is not just about men involved in the men’s games and women in the ladies games.

In Cork for example we have a woman as Chairperson of the County Board. Can it happen here in Waterford at divisional or county level? I would love to think it can.

In 2019 we will see a woman as the main presenter of The Sunday Game. Can we see women involved in other positions? Could we see someone like Anna Geary become regular analysts for big games or doing co-commentary? One thing is for sure, I love listen to the former Cork player speak about the games.

Could we see a woman take charge of a major inter county hurling or football game, even an All-Ireland Final. Well there is Maggie Farrelly from Cavan who is moving in the right game and has taken charge of some secondary competition games.  

Whether some wants to admit it or not, within the G.A.A. there is a place for everyone that wants to be involved.

Down the years me, a disabled man has helped a number of positions. Right now I love what I am doing. Will I go for any other positions in the years ahead? Right now I have no plans to do so, but who knows what the future will hold.