GAA World Games: bringing whole new ball game back home

Kitted out in an all red tracksuit, and fresh from playing two games yesterday morning, Salim Alrahbi of Oman GAA said it has been a dream come true to play in the home of Gaelic football.

Salim and his team-mates were in Belfield in UCD to compete in the GAA World Games, which brings together teams from all over the world, including expatriate Irish and those who picked up a love of the game having watched the Irish play away from home.

Salim began playing Gaelic games 2½ years ago. In the beginning, he was not sure what to make of it, but he was soon convinced. “The first game [today] was good. The second game against San Francisco was really tough, they are really strong,” he said.

The GAA World Games ends with the finals on Friday in Croke Park. In all, more than 1,100 people from 56 teams and 20 countries, including Argentina and those from the Middle East are taking part. China and South Africa are fielding entirely non-Irish teams.

President of the GAA Aogán Ó Fearghaíl said it was a good year to hold the World Games in Ireland in the wake of the celebrations to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising.

"This is a reflection of what is happening in Ireland and has happened for hundreds of years, Irish people have gone abroad and they've brought their games with them," he told The Irish Times.

Sharing

“But there is one crucial difference. In the past we used to bring our Gaelic games all around the world but we kept it to ourselves. In the recent past, all the newer younger Irish who are going abroad are now sharing it with the local people,” he went on.

Two competitions are taking place this week: one for Irish-born players and the other for those who picked up a love of Gaelic football, hurling and camogie in their home countries. Each nine-a-side group stage match lasts for nine minutes a half.

The length of the games increases as the tournament progresses: 12 minutes a half in the knockout stages, shield and plate games and the final games will last for 15 minutes a half. Eight finals will take place in Croke Park on Friday, from 11am.

Physical nature

The GAA has international appeal, said Mr Ó Fearghaíl. “They like the physical nature of it, yet it’s a safe sport. American football they find dangerous, rugby they find there are a lot of injuries in it, soccer they find it a bit slow, that’s what they’re telling me. They find there’s a good mix in Gaelic football . . .”

The GAA has 400 affiliated clubs outside Ireland. Diarmuid Kelly, from Co Kildare but now living in Dresden, Germany, is helping a German and "European" team, who have travelled to Dublin this week.

Having moved to Dresden, Kelly found that he missed hurling. Wanting to do something about it, he printed a few posters and put them up in local pubs. Soon, he met with interest – but only for hurling. There was no interest in football.

“A lot of the native guys were sick of playing soccer over there so they wanted to play another sport,” he said .

Germans’ interest in hurling has increased massively in recent years. Twenty-one of the 26 players who have travelled from Germany this week are German.