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In the GAA | June 02, 2016What is your most prized piece of sporting memorabilia? A jersey signed? A ball? An autographed photo
This week Brazilian soccer legend Pele is in the news as he auctions his most famous memorabilia. Among the most sought after items in the auction room is a one off replica of the World Cup Jules Rimet trophy presented to him in 1970. This was in recognitions of Pele featuring in three world cup winning teams.
Also up for sale are his World Cup medals from 1958, 1962 and 1970. Other items include New York Cosmos jerseys, the ball with which he scored his 1000th goal and the boots he wore in the film Escape to Victory.
This got us thinking, in your fantasy auction, what would be among the most sought after items in the GAA? If they still exist and we could get our hands on them!
Original Cork Jersey
Cork GAA teams wore this jersey in blue fabric with an embroidered 'C’ until 1919. During a raid on the Cork County Board office, the British army confiscated the jerseys, never to have been
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In the GAA | May 27, 2016The other night Westmeath GAA’s Warren Casserly finished the u21 match against Kilkenny GAA with a goal to his name and a significant slice in his head. As the saying goes pain is temporary but the glory lasts forever. Don’t ask what your county can do for you but what you can do for your county. For Warren and hundreds of other lads, it is worth it. What’s in a jersey?
Westmeath don't beat Kilkenny in hurling matches, the just don't. But they did. And for Warren and every man among them it made every minute of everything they've done worthwhile. Not to mention the grown men openly weeping in the stand. The county game. The pinnacle of your career. Epictetus the Greek knew all about it.
So you wish to conquer in the Olympic Games, my friend? And I, too... But first mark the conditions and the consequences.
You get to train. A lot.
Yes if you make it onto a county panel one of these days you can be sure that you will train. And train. And train. You gotta love that training. Whether it’s
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In the GAA | May 26, 2016The Dublin Jersey: Style and Finesse
There’s something about the Dublin GAA jersey. Reminds you of an Irish summer. For years now the Dubs have been trendsetters.
From the change to navy shorts from white in 1974 on the advice of media presenter Mick Dunne because it would look better on the telly; to the famous white O’Neills tracksuits they wore onto the field for the All Ireland final, the Dubs epitomized cool.
In the seventies, the Dublin players were like stars in the city, at a time when the GAA was at a low ebb and needed a injection of life and quickly. The sky blue jersey with the famous navy and white trim, a classic. It was instantly cool, and the sort of kit others wanted to mimic and source. I remember a primary school team looking like mini Dubs with the same shirts and shorts. Since then it’s been one classic Dublin GAA jersey after another. A best seller and a must have souvenir for tourists in the capital.
Kevin Heffernan
The irrepressible Heffo. The mastermind of Dublin’s
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In the GAA | May 13, 2016It’s all about to kick off. Or throw in as the case may be.
Imagine if every county captain gave his speech at the start of the year instead of the end, the things he would say, the hopes, the expectations, the dreams. The people that have brought us to this great day. Only four men can lift a provincial football championship and only one lucky man will ascend those Hogan Steps.
Fail to Prepare Prepare to Fail
Getting a team to the championship starting line is a big enough ask. Every man and woman has his or her part to play no matter how big or how small. The Co Board flat out sorting tickets. Logistics in the form of food and transport for players. Maybe a minor team to sort out as well. All hands to the pump..
Pundits may speculate on the potential of a different format for the GAA fan everywhere, but when it’s warm weather, and the smell of fresh cut grass filling up the senses, it means one thing and one thing only, The Championship.
For management and players this week is what they’ve
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In the GAA | In the Archives | April 18, 2016The Brogans, the O Sé brothers, Eamonn and Neil McGee. What of the McEntees of Crossmaglen, Henry and Seamus Downey, or in Tyrone the Cavanaghs, the McMahons, the Donnellys Mattie and Richie and in Derry the McGoldrick clan? Monaghan’s Kieran and Darren Hughes. It's a feature of the GAA with its family ethos that you often don't see one brother without the other. Sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. Often one lad suffers in the shadow of his sibling. What with wearing each other socks, lifting the wrong initialled and occasionally even getting a yellow card in the wrong.
Pity the poor Irish mother. Bad enough going through the wringer over one son but imagine having two involved. It was said in Derry that the Downey’s mother could never bring herself to watch Seamus and Henry play. But play they did. Gaelic football and hurling are full of bands of brothers plying their trade. Some are more successful than others. Wrong it is too, to ask one how the other is going. They tend to get treated
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In the GAA | April 06, 2016Club jersey. Wintergreen. Kinesio tape, new boots, the Gaagle Waterbottle, the new Size 5 O’Neills All Ireland; the firm rimmed sliotar and the freshly banded hurl. It's that time of the year again, the club season is getting a head of steam and it's time to celebrate all that we love about the GAA.
The Club Jersey
No team talk worth its salt can be without the manager pointing to the Jersey and exhorting lads to play for it, remembering the lost generations and the heroes of the club that have passed before them. An impassioned oration about the importance of the Club Jersey does the soul incalculable good. We only have a lend of it before we pass it on to the next generation. So it is said. An hour and a half later the very same jersey is lying in a pool of muck on the Dressing room floor, before being unceremoniously dumped into bag and taken off to be washed. And who is it that is responsible for this onerous task?
The Man or Woman that Washes the Jerseys
A mythical figure, this
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In the GAA | In the Jersey HQ | March 11, 2016Cork 1916 Commemoration Jersey
As part of the Easter Rising centenary commemoration, Cork will wear a special jersey designed in the style and colours worn by Cork teams of 1916 for their match this weekend against Kilkenny. It’s not known whether they will also use the sort of hurley featured instead of their trademark big bas camans as they bid to get a result against the Cats.
Cork teams wore this jersey in blue fabric with an embroidered 'C’ until 1919. Then during a raid on the Cork County Board office, the British army confiscated the jerseys and they have never been seen since. If you happen to come upon one in your attic let us know! Having no jerseys to wear, Cork borrowed the colours and kit of the defunct Fr O’Leary Total Abstinence Hall Hurling Club, and these were subsequently officially adopted. The ‘TA’ from the original Abstinence jerseys was removed after a while so that a plain red geansai remained providing the blood and bandage jerseys so famous since.
Explaining the
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In the GAA | July 08, 2015It always seemed that gaelic football was the more likely of the gaelic games to become widely played worldwide, however in recent years hurling has gained a foothold in the United States, increasingly common among non Irish communities, where players are attracted by the skill and physicality of a game that they say has it all.
Hurling has featured in North America since reports in the late 1700s reported matches between rival Irish immigrants, with the occasional row breaking out among players and partisans!
At the start of the twentieth century there were about a dozen American hurling clubs. Indeed in 1910 a group of American hurlers toured Ireland and in the 1930s teams from the States played in the Tailteann Games.
Hurling is now spreading beyond the Irish communities in the United States with some success. More and more unfamiliar, yet distinctively Irish hurling and gaelic football jerseys are appearing on the O’Neills website. There is a thriving interest among Irish American communities
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In the GAA | June 29, 2015Over recent years there has been a steady stream of GAA players heading to Australia for work or extended holidays. Gaelic Games in Australia and in New Zealand have probably never been stronger. We take a look at some recent developments.
In March 2015 O’Neills opened its first Australian office headed up by Antoinette Brophy from Kildare, who moved Down Under to take on this role. Speaking at the time Antoinette told us: “There is some O’Neills brand awareness due to the fact that most of the Australian Gaelic football players have become familiar with the O’Neills brand through their love of Gaelic football.”
To build a picture of the rude health of the GAA in Australia and New Zealand we caught up with Jamie Fitzsimons, PRO for the Gaelic Football and Hurling Association of Australasia to get his insights on the Games Down Under.
Q: What is the general state of GAA there in the Australasia Board region and is it growing?
Jamie: The GAA is represented in all Australian states