John Fogarty
STRAIGHT off the bat, it’s imperative to insist this blog is no way attempt to promote emigration to Australia.
The reasons for getting that disclaimer in early will become evident as you read on, but with so many young people faced with the harsh reality of leaving home it’s worth knowing there are quality, well-organised GAA clubs awaiting their membership Down Under.
More of that anon, but for the moment here are a couple of anecdotes on the difficulties facing a generation.
Last week, it was disheartening to listen to a prominent Cork GAA figure lament about his second son emigrating Down Under this past weekend. “This country has let them down,” he sighed.
Likewise, I know of two families who are cursing the fact their son and daughter have had to move to Cairns to practice in dentistry.
Both are enjoying their new lives in the north Queensland city but that isn’t the point. They should be here.
Earlier this month, I took in a day in Sydney on the way back from having the privilege of reporting on the International Rules series in Melbourne and the Gold Coast.
Visiting the beachside suburb of Coogee where I had stayed for a few months nine years ago (as was the wont of most Irish young twentysomethings back then), it was astonishing to see just how many Irish are based there now.
At the start of the Noughties, it was merely a spill-off for the county jersey-clad Bondi Junction, somewhere frequented regularly by the Irish but not populated by in any great abundance.
That’s certainly not the case now. The cacophony of accents from home in and around the area was breathtaking.
If Bondi Junction is known as the 33rd county of Ireland, Coogee is fast becoming the 34th.
But it’s a different breed of Irish in Sydney at the moment. What fortunately was an adventure for me and others is now a way of life for them. They’re not travellers; they’re immigrants. Suitcases replace backpacks. Drinks in the pub on a Sunday finish up early because of the work the following morning.
The sad thing is many more will follow their example. There are few indications when this brain drain is going to stop, certainly not with swingeing Budgets like next week’s is shaping up to be coming our way for the immediate future. That’s the push but the pull can’t be overlooked too. Better standards of living and great weather allure but then there are the jobs of which they are many.
Newspaper reports in Australia suggest with the deficit in the country’s infrastructure ranging between AUD$250 billion to $700 billion there are hundreds of thousands of jobs available there.
In the northern part of Western Australia alone, it’s estimated there is a shortage of 150,000 positions in the iron ore industry. Naturally, most of the Irish – over 80% in fact – will be enticed to cities like Sydney where there is a thriving GAA community.
Earlier this month, Association President Christy Cooney said it’s an “absolute necessity” for the GAA to have a home facility in Sydney with plans afoot to purchase a piece of land in Rockdale close to the city’s airport.
“It is a priority for the Association to support our clubs and the board to acquire a facility that would be suitable for playing Gaelic games,” said Cooney. We’ll be very supportive of plans that the board have to move that forward.”
For the time being, another Youghal native Micheál Ó Laochdha is doing his best for the GAA in the Harbour City as chairman of the Young Irelands Gaelic and Ladies football club.
Set up in 1969, the club is the oldest and most successful club in New South Wales.
“The numbers playing GAA have more than doubled in New South Wales (NSW) over the last 10 years,” reveals Ó Laochdha, an engineer with the NSW Transport Construction Authority who emigrated to Australia four years ago. “It’s gone from 350 to over 800 and we’ve felt that increase ourselves. This year we set up a ladies team, while we also field a second men’s team simply because guys weren’t getting games.”
Young Irelands have had the likes of Tyrone pair Brian McGuigan and Kevin Hughes, Declan Rooney of Down and Laois’ Darren Strong play for them during their inter-county sabbaticals but the club is discovering the availability of players is no longer as seasonal as it once was.
“Four years ago, you’d notice you have a different team at the start of the season to the one that finished it,” says Ó Laochdha. “That’s not the case anymore. We have three-quarters of what we began with.
“There are not many opportunities for guys to go back home and the trend that’s happening in every club not just ours is guys looking to get their sponsors to stay in Australia.
“We like to see the club as the family away from home. There’s bound to be loneliness and certainly when my own club reached a county final it was tough.
“But definitely having a club helps. We social together, we make a point of organising events like skiing and kayaking.”
What’s also being recognised, and perhaps going hand-in-hand with the amount of Irish staying longer in Australia, is the improved quality of Gaelic games there.
As Ó Laochdha states: “Since I’ve been here the level of football has risen incredibly. (Former GAA President and overseas committee chairman) Joe McDonagh recently made a point of saying the standard in hurling and ladies football has got higher.
“We’ve seen that all across Sydney. Things are becoming more competitive which can only be a good thing.”
Young Irelands rely on the good will of small building contractors for sponsorship. It costs the club AUD$40,000 a year for their training pitch which is leased from a local council while they have the usual overheads such as medical bills, transport and jerseys but they know their facilities are second to none.
As the successful inter-county teams and players of 2010 and ‘11 head away on deserved holidays over the next couple of weeks, they can be thankful they’re coming back to their home country. Others, so many others, are not as fortunate. At least there’s some solace in knowing they can feel as much a part of the GAA 11,000 miles away.
For more information on Young Irelands GAA club, visit www.youngirelandssydney.com
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/CWc1SOfEizc/post.aspx
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