It’s the GAA, innit?
Outside of Ireland, London and New York are by far the most popular destinations as far as the GAA is concerned, with upwards of 70 clubs between two cities that are long established outposts for the Irish ex-pat community.
There are over 30 GAA clubs in the English capital alone and one of the most recent additions to the pack is Éire Óg in North London, who have been on the go for the last four years.
The clubs is always on the lookout for new players and can assist incoming members with accommodation and employment.
The club covers a wide catchment area in east, north and central London, have their own pitch and clubhouse and can arrange transport to and from training and pick-ups from tube and train stations where necessary. For more information, check out their website.
We caught up with club secretary Patrick Reynolds lately and Patrick was more than happy to reveal all the secrets from the inner sanctum of the dressing room.
He also reminded us of the time we gave them their five minutes of fame for one of the worst misses in the history of the GAA.
Focus on Éire Óg
Club: Eire Óg London
Year established: 2011
Home Ground: Downhills Park, Haringey, London
Number of members: 65
Biggest rivals: For the year that’s in it, St Claret’s.
Biggest representation from a club/county in Ireland: Cork and Dublin. We also have non-Irish members from Luxembourg, Portugal and Australia.
Most famous ever member: Conor McGinn, Conor is a founding member and Club President. Conor started the club in 2011 with the help of the London Irish Centre in Camden.
Conor was elected as MP for St Helen’s North in the recent Labour elections and is held in high regard in the GAA community in London.
Most memorable moment in the club’s history: We won our first ever trophy this season, beating St. Claret’s in the Mularkey Cup final.
Most eye-catching score line in the club’s history: In our early days we were on the end of some huge defeats, the biggest being 6-27 to 0-00. In terms of wins we have had some impressive victories over the past couple of seasons; our biggest win was over Dulwich Harps in the league this season when we beat them on a scoreline of 3-17 to 1-1.
Player who makes the longest commute to training: There is a toss-up on this one, Billy Keohane makes the trip from Putney (South London) to Canary Wharf in East London for work and then onto our home ground in Downhills Park, North London. Billy has a track record of never being on time for training and arriving as we warm down.
Adam McAviney (the fittest man in the club) loves to cycle and he would often cycle to and from East London to training and then back. When Adam first joined the club a couple of years ago he was very sluggish in a game. Our manager asked him what was up and he said he had cycled 18 miles to the match in Greenford!
Most dedicated club person: In five years we have gone from a few guys kicking around to one of the few clubs in London with their own pitch and changing rooms.
Quite a few have worked tirelessly to make that happen whether through fundraising or developing our infrastructure.
Notable mentions this year go to Paddy Reynolds and Harry Murray for leading the Downhill’s Park project and to Chris McNabb and Steve Perry for raising the funds to make it happen.
Player who could have made it big if love/career/drink didn’t get in the way: Without a doubt it would have to be John Bradley, the cousin of Derry’s Paddy Bradley. JB is a man of many talents and dating would be one of them.
Biggest character: Liam Dunne, who hails from Athy in county Kildare. Liam is the biggest in more ways than his character!
There is never a dull moment in the clubs WhatsApp group when Liam is online. There has been many a serious message sent out by the committee only for Liam to lighten up the mood with his love of being a vegetarian. The club wouldn’t be the same without him.
Loudest in the dressing room: That would school teacher Naul Mullen, from Donegal. Not only does he come down to training dressed like he is a member of Boyzone, but he never shuts up.
Number of romances that started in the GAA club (feel free to name names): None yet. Liam Dunne did get married this year but there is a popular belief that he still holds a candle for Cian McGovern.
Duck to water award – Best new player who had never played GAA before: Niall Murray, an English born player with roots from Mayo. Niall joined three years ago having never played football. In the first season Niall would get the odd few minutes as a sub in the forward line.
We were over in Amsterdam in 2013 playing in a pre-season tournament. We were light on defenders. Niall stepped up and was our player of the tournament. Niall has gone on to play for the London Junior team, he has been awarded with the most improved player award and has played nearly all of our games at corner back since Amsterdam.
Most annoying person in the club WhatsApp group: Patrick Reynolds for the official stuff. Naul Mullen for the completely inappropriate!
If you’re a member of a GAA club abroad and would like to be featured on the site, feel free to send a mail to [email protected] or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
