GAA breaking new ground in 'final frontier' of South America

By John Harrington

As Gaelic games continues to grow inexorably worldwide, South America is one of final frontiers to be colonised.

The GAA has long had deep, historical roots Argentina, but now new tendrils are emerging in countries like Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, and Peru.

Ulster GAA recently twinned with South America and the province’s Coach Education Manager, Roger Keenan, travelled there earlier this month to get the lay of the land.

He visited clubs in Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina, and by his own admission he was “blown away” by what he found there.

“It was fact-finding mission to see where they're at, to help them from a coaching perspective, to work through the Department of Foreign Affairs, who are very central there in their outreach program to Irish communities in South America,” Keenan told GAA.ie

“I was blown away by what I found. The level of enthusiasm and the level of passion for Gaelic games was just unbelievable. And the level of governance, how well they're organised and how they arranged access to local facilities was hugely impressive too.

“It was a brilliant experience. It was full on, but it was really good. Really, really good. I got my eyes opened, I have to say.”

Keenan’s first port of call was the Los Andes de Santiago GAA club in Santiago, Chile. Founded late last year, they’ve already become the first South American club to be fully affiliated to the GAA.

“They’re going about eight months but they've great, strong links with the Irish Embassy there,” says Keenan.

“The Irish ambassador Colum Hatchell and Béibhinn Cogan from the Department of Foreign Affairs are doing great work out there and you have very motivated people then in the club like Mark Taylor, Paddy Coary, and Martin Flannery who are driving the thing from a culture and governance perspective.

"The Irish that are there are generally married to Chileans and they're there for the long haul. They're not going to be over back for summer or anything like that, they have young families and they're there to stay.

"They’re very well set up because they’re using a local school there as their base. It’s called The Grange School and is an English private school but there are teachers there who are from Ireland and it’s a great facility, they have floodlit pitches and everything.

“We coached for three hours on a Friday night, six hours on a Saturday. And then I took them through their ICGG (Introduction to Gaelic Games) course on the Sunday.

“All of their club coaches have now received their certification for that ICGG course.

“The enthusiasm of everyone I met was fantastic. We had 45 out of the last training session there and you're talking about a mix of people who had barely ever played the sport before and some who played it at quite a decent evel and then one or two ex-pats that had played at quite a high level.

“You had people there from the age of 12 to 70 and there was a brilliant family feel to it. It is humbling to see how much volunteerism there's going on, how much work they're putting on, how much they really care about the culture. They really are living out the values of the GAA.”

The second stop in Keenan’s South American adventure was Asunción in Paraguay where he visited Las Arpas (The Harps) GAA club who get great backing from the Irish consulate and also a Mayo native by the name of Conor McEnroy who is the owner of the biggest bank in Paraguay.

There aren’t all that many Irish ex-pats involved, in fact the club was founded by a Thai by the name of Mozz Suraphot.

He discovered Gaelic football with Thailand GAA and when he moved to Paraguay wanted to continue playing it. The only option open to him was to set up his own club which has gone from strength to strength in its first year and now has over 30 players.

“Mozz is a very good and humble fella, and a very decent player too,” says Keenan.

“He didn't play Gaelic until his 20s but he's actually developed himself into a good footballer.

“They’re a really well-run club and have submitted all of their documentation for full affiliation. They’ve established great links with the local rugby club in Asunción.

“When I got there we did a six-hour training session. In South America they don't just come to training, train for an hour and a half, and then go home again.

“When they come to train on the Saturday they stay for the whole day and they have a barbecue at the end and it's a big family affair. There’s a great community feel to their club already.”

Both Los Andes de Santiago and Las Arpas competed in the Almirante Brown Cup in November which was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which you could probably call the GAA capital of South America.

The GAA scene there is much more established, with the Cuenca de Plata GAA club and the Hurling Club both vibrant units who are very proud of their Irish heritage which stretches back centuries.

“The clubs in Buenos Aires would be descendants of people moved there between 1830 and 1870 from the likes of Westmeath and Longford, and who have still kept that really strong Irish cultural connection,” says Keenan.

“The Hurling Club was established in 1925 and is an institution in itself that caters for a lot of sports like tennis, rugby, hockey, and Gaelic football.

“When you visit you’d think you were in an ancient part of Dublin or any part of Ireland with the plaques on the wall. All the names…Casey, Reilly, Lynch, Fahy...it's really amazing. And yet they don't speak English, they're completely Spanish speaking, but they're really steeped in the Irish culture.

“Between those two main clubs in Buenos Aires you'd have around 150 active senior players and they also have youth teams as well and would arrange local leagues.

“When I was there I took a group of U15 players for a session and I was amazed just how good they are.

“Their U15s wouldn't have been out of place playing in a grade three or four level at underage in Tyrone. They have been coached well and their skills are very developed. I was pleasantly shocked to see how good they are.”

The pure enthusiasm for Gaelic games that Keenan experienced on his South American trip left an indelible mark on him and he’s convinced that Gaelic games will only get stronger and stronger on the continent.

“Absolutely, there is so much scope for growth,” he says. “I know there are also new clubs after starting up in Bogota and Lima as well.

“It might be easy for them to get a wee bit forgotten because of the distance and the language barrier, but I think we could do a wee bit more for them that could immediately help them in the short term as well as long term.

"There is a slight danger we'll have slightly hybrid games developing there in terms of the rules if we don't have proper referees trained and qualified. We can deliver that online through webinars, we don't have to do that in person, so that can happen in the relatively short-term.

“What I think really needs to happen now in South America for their long-term benefit is to have a South American board with a representative on that board from each club in South America.

“It would be a lot easier for national level GAA here in Ireland to govern, to help, to support, and to distribute funding and equipment, whatever it may be. That would all be easier managed if there was a South American board rather than go to every individual club.

“They have bought into that idea and we just need to give them a wee helping hand now in terms of how that is formed.”