WHEN THE CAPTAIN of the 50th Precinct, which takes in the corner of the Bronx that houses Gaelic Park came along on Saturday night, he looked at New York County Chairperson Joan Henchy and said in a thick Noo Yawk accent, ‘This is organised chaos, Ma’am. But so organised’.
They can’t be sure exactly on the numbers that were there to see New York’s first-ever Connacht championship win, which came after penalties against Leitrim, for the reason they let all children under-16 in for free. And they have separate rates for pensioners and for students.
But they reckon it was around 5,000.
A good number of which headed straight to McLean Avenue for the renowned watering holes, including PJ Clarke’s, the Leitrim jersey sponsors.
Henchy didn’t take a drink herself but it was still 3am by the time she returned home. Two hours’ sleep later and she was back on duty, off to Gaelic Park to open up for Fr Brendan Fitzgerald to conduct a pre-arranged Dawn Mass. The night of debauchery fading to a solemn and then joyous Easter rising with over 200 present.
New York GAA people will enjoy this one and they will relish the trip home to play Sligo in the Connacht semi-final on 22 April. But Henchy will come back to that. She wants to share the credit to the GAA’s international dimension everywhere.
“We have taken this Connacht championship serious since the day we have gotten into it,” said Henchy, who was brought up in Terbert, Kerry.
“New York have been really, really competitive. But that goes back to the work we are doing here. And that has come through. We have 14 American-born players on our panel.
“We needed the win. The win is personal for New York. But it’s more than just us.”
She continues, “This solidifies what we do overseas. New York is now the template, and has been for a while, but this solidifies it. And Larry’s reign as An Uachtarán just shows how important world GAA, is to the GAA.
“People and pundits, reporters and keyboard warriors need to realise that this is bigger. There is a bigger picture all-round in terms of diaspora. We have a hurling club in Uganda! People need to realise that our games are beyond the island.”
Now, back to matters local, and the customary, ‘youse writ us off,’ call-out.
She says with a hint of hurt on her voice, “Like, Joanne Cantwell made a statement there a few weeks ago on The Sunday Game, about Leitrim going on holiday for their game in New York.
“Well, I have news for ya! Coming here for a holiday? Wasn’t a great holiday, was it?”
For her, it’s part of a wide battle they have for respect and for people to recognise that New York GAA is worth investing in for its’ own sake, rather than the occasional shakedown of the diaspora.
“We have people coming over from Ireland and some of our people giving them money. You have to ask them if they would support us and they are looking at us, thinking, ‘Ah sure, whatever,’” says Henchy.
“This changes that. People now are saying, ‘We knew what your vision was, but now we believe.’
“We needed to get one over the line for that.
“It’s the GPA, Kerry, Limerick, two of the largest counties in the country in terms of accolades, coming in here taking constantly out of here.
“I believe another small county in Ireland is planning on coming out here in September. But they might have to change their tune on that and they may not get the money they think they are.
“It’s time to invest in our kids here, and the future of our children and the growth and promotion of the game here in New York, because we’re not done.”
Right now, there are 38 football clubs in New York, and eight hurling clubs.
Their footballers will take part in the Tailteann Cup in July. Heck, they might even play in the Sam Maguire Cup if they strike lucky once more.
Later this year, three teams will travel to Ireland for the Féile. Three other underage teams are going ‘home’ for tournaments, and for the first time they are sending an underage camogie team home too.
Their hurlers won the Connacht league shield over the winter, beating Leitrim at the dome in Bekan. A colleges’ team won the Corn McAleer, and now they have their first win in the Connacht championship.
And naturally, they will be looking for some help to get everyone into Markievicz Park for the Connacht semi-final.
“We are talking to Connacht already,” admits Henchy.
“We will cross that bridge when we need to cross it. Right now, we are just focussed on getting the boys home and whatever it takes to do it.”
The Connacht council might take some convincing after a weekend in which the Mayo bandwagon was derailed and they lost out on all that massive following and ticket sales. But New York will rally their own support.
“All of the parents that had young men on that panel, are going to be travelling. We have girlfriends and wives who are going to be travelling. We have supporters who booked flights on Saturday night after the game,” says Henchy.
“We have businessmen who have supported us, all booking. I don’t think there is an officer not travelling. Not only that, but former Exiles who have moved home, are all looking to know how they can get tickets for this game.
“We are expecting a lot of our former players, lads that wore that jersey back in the day, to get to that game. There will be a big call out for people to come and support us.”
The Stars and Stripes in Sligo town on a Saturday night. Romance will never die. Not out west.
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