THIS IS A busy week for the London footballers. Busier than most. Back-to-back trips to Ireland presents challenges for the team that few other sides have to contemplate.
For the county board, there’s a squeeze on to book flights over and back. And over and back again. Arranging hotel accommodation for the group on separate weekends is another tricky step of the logistical dance. Journeys of this scale are an excellent bonding opportunity for the players, but it’s also time away from their homes and families. Upsides come with downsides.
A greater effort is needed from players based in cities like London and New York compared with teams in Ireland. That’s what made London’s first-ever competitive win over Mayo on Saturday a sweet reward for their effort. And there could be more where that came from when they meet Roscommon in the FBD League semi-final this weekend.
“We’ve got back-to-back away games in the league as well and that’s two full days away for us,” says London manager Michael Maher.
“But the time together is developing the unity in the group so there’s plus sides to everything we do.”
There’s no other way around those additional challenges that affect teams like London. Navigating long commutes through the England capital is just part of their way of life. The only way out is through. Maher and his management team put a particular emphasis on that when asking for buy-in from the players.
“Whatever it takes, it takes.” That’s their battle cry.
London GAA doesn’t have any floodlight facilities that are essential for these harsh days of winter football. In keeping with their philosophy to go the extra step when required, they’ve done what they needed to do to find alternatives.
“All our training is done on a rugby pitch. That certainly brings challenges but the weather has been torrential [lately]. I’ve never seen rain like it.
“Last Thursday, the pitch we were using for preparing for Mayo was completely saturated. Puddles everywhere. London has the challenge of getting a facility down the line that will allow inter-county teams to train on full-sized floodlit Gaelic football and hurling pitches. I guess we’re probably the only county that doesn’t have that. But we don’t use that as an excuse, and we have to drive on with the best we have.
“There would be absolutely no point in doing it at 95%. We have to control the things we can control.”
Scored 0-6 on his senior intercounty debut. Well done Shay.
— London GAA (@LondainGAA) January 7, 2024
Another player making the step up from the London-born Junior team.#LondainAbú 🟢⚪️ #GAA https://t.co/bbPx5YsdiS
Shay Rafter was the player who grabbed the headlines in the aftermath of that one-point win over Mayo. He kicked six points in what was his senior inter-county debut to cap off a fine first outing for London in the Connacht Air Dome. The Tara full-forward is one of six London-born players in the 26-man squad, while Maher is the first native of the city to become manager of the team. That’s where the evolution is at for the Exiles.
The Irish expats have always been a reliable group for building panels and fielding teams. But that dynamic is changing. The aforementioned six players all have Irish connections in their families. However, more and more athletes who have no Irish heritage are becoming involved in Gaelic Games at underage level in London.
“Having London-born players makes the process easier from year to year because then you have more of a core group of lads,” Maher says.
“It’s far more diverse at underage level. Kids of every background and culture are welcomed into clubs in London. The amount of people moving from Ireland to London has definitely decreased over the years and to rely on the second-generation Irish kids to be filling the clubs isn’t a model that’s sustainable.
“Most of the guys on the London panel at the moment do have some Irish connection in their family but I do think if you look back in 20 years time, it will be completely the opposite. Whatever London lads are involved probably won’t have any Irish heritage in their families. That’s the way London is changing.”
Like every other team, maintaining high player retention rates is a key target for London GAA. All the players on the current panel have played on underage squads and development squads on the road to becoming a senior. And Maher says that London plans on being involved in the All-Ireland minor championship this year. It’s “more or less a done deal,” he adds.
“That will be the start to the next step up,” Maher says. “Kids want games, they love structure and they love coming to a training session where they know they’re going to have fun, improve and once all those boxes are being ticked, kids will stay in the system and you’ll get more lads coming through naturally.”
Maher took his first steps into coaching at the age of 16, and has never taken a step out again. There’s simply no shaking off the bug. He’s been the London manager since 2019, taking over from Ciarán Deely. Maher stepped into the position after being part of the former Wexford captain’s backroom team, during which time London had a fourth-place Division 4 finish in 2018, and gave Galway a scare in the Connacht championship the following year.
Maher is also the manager of the men’s and ladies teams at the Round Towers club in the Sutton area of South London, and has been for the last decade. He has coaching experience in football too. He holds a Uefa ‘A’ coaching licence and once brought Redhill FC, a non-league English club, to the last qualifying round of the FA Cup, meaning they were just 90 minutes away from drawing a professional side in the first round.
His crossover journey from soccer to GAA has taught him many things, including how well the sports compliment each other.
“When I went back from coaching soccer to Gaelic, my mind was on what could I bring in from soccer to Gaelic football to make it fresh and new for the players. There’s loads of sports that are transferrable, like basketball, football, rugby. The more sports a kid plays, the better rounded the player will be.
“I find they’re a small bit easier to coach. Their movement off the ball and on the ball, and their ability to read the way a game goes is probably the biggest thing. They’re not playing in the moment, they’re looking for the next moment and understanding what the next play is. I find lads who have played soccer would maybe be a step ahead in the way they see a game play out.”
Maher’s charges are back in the Dome this weekend to chase down a spot in the FBD League final. Another long road with hopefully another reward at the end of the march.
“The thrill factor of playing in a place for the first time is gone. We went for a walk around on Saturday to get that out of the system so that Sunday was all business. It’s great to get another game.”
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