Rockland GAA U11 players on their way to Ireland.
By Cian O'Connell
Action packed with football and hurling games played in every province, Rockland GAA U11s from New York enjoyed a memorable trip to Ireland earlier this month.
The planning and plotting started last year for a real adventure which illustrated the relevance and importance of Gaelic Games to the visitors, who received a warm welcome everywhere.
Cootehill, Ruairí Óg Cushendall, St Jude’s, Inagh-Kilnamona, Portumna, Carrick Iomáint, and Gortletteragh were among the clubs visited by the 72 strong travelling party including players, mentors, and families.
Brian McNaughton, Rockland U11s hurling manager and one of the driving forces behind the trip, was delighted how it all unfolded. “We have been talking about it for a couple of years, taking the boys and girls back to play in Ireland.
“Last year then we started to put the thing together and to start fundraising. Towards the end of last year six of us sat down to organise it.
“We wanted to play a game of hurling and a game of football in every province so all the relatives at home wouldn't have too far to travel to watch their grandkids, nieces and nephews playing football or hurling. Peadar Reynolds and myself would be the two main coaches, I take the hurling, and he takes the football.”
McNaughton, Reynolds, Oliver Cullen, Sean Coyne, John Hall, and Barry Annett spearheaded the tour.
“We tried to keep everybody happy,” McNaughton says. “On the way from the airport on the Saturday we landed, we stopped off in Cootehill in Cavan. We had a training session at John Hall's club, we got well looked after there.
Rockland GAA and St Jude's U11 teams pictured in Dublin.
“All the kids from there were playing and the coaches took a session. It was the same in every club we went to, we were very well looked after, we were fed with tea and sandwiches.
“It was a very special trip. For Peadar, he was the same. His son led out the team at the county grounds in Leitrim to play hurling and finished up with his son leading out the team on to his club's new pitch in Gortletteragh which hadn't even had a training session. We were the first to grace it. It was a very, very special trip.”
The first games in the tour took place in McNaughton’s home club, Ruairí Óg Cushendall, who have produced several classy Antrim hurlers. “We were in Cushendall for the first two days, we played Cushendall in the hurling and Cushendall don't play football so a neighbouring club, Glenravel played us in the football,” he adds.
“From there we went to St Jude's in Dublin, Danny Sutcliffe, I'd be friendly with, he set that up for us. We played them in hurling and football. We were in Dublin for two days. Then we moved on to Clare, we played Inagh-Kilnamona in Inagh. I have to say the hospitality we got from every club, my own club, Cushendall, St Jude's, who wouldn't really know any of us, the same with Inagh-Kilnamona.
“One of the parents was originally from there. Then we went to Portumna, John Madden, who used to live in New York, he set us up. We played them in hurling and football. We finished up in Leitrim where we played hurling in the county grounds in Carrick, we played them in the morning and we finished up the trip on Saturday evening in Gortletteragh. We played them in football.”
The opportunity to return to Ireland was something embraced by the Rockland U11s and their parents. “We only have five families, who would be like Peadar and myself - born in Ireland,” McNaughton explains.
“The rest would be all third or fourth generation. Some of them have no connection to Ireland really at all. So the parents got behind this and the financial burden on them to bring their families and to do this trip was amazing.
“Whenever we brought it up to them, they all got behind us and gave us a commitment. We started working towards that. I cannot say enough about the parents, how much they helped.
Rockland GAA U11 players pictured at Croke Park.
“As far as the logistics it was a lot of work for the six months beforehand, especially in the last few weeks, making sure everything was 100 per cent in place.”
Fitting so many matches into the schedule was important, but McNaughton acknowledges the work being carried out by clubs in New York.
“The underage system in New York is fairly strong, especially football wise,” he says. “You probably have nine or 10 clubs here so the football championships at that age group would be strong. You are playing a very good standard of football, there is good intensity.
“The hurling is a bit behind, it is probably 10 or 15 years behind football. It is only getting the push it needs now. So you only have two or sometimes three clubs for hurling. Getting games is pretty difficult, we travel to Boston and teams from Boston travel to us on a regular basis, just to get good competitive games.
“We ended up playing five games of football and five games of hurling. We played in every province which was brilliant so it was a special trip.
“Personally to see my own son playing in Cushendall, we created a bit of novelty. Cushendall wouldn't have football so I don't know if we were the first team to play football in Cushendall, but there hasn't been many football games played in our pitch at home.”
Rockland GAA are investing in the future by affording young players ample training and match time. “These kids are basically brought into it the same way as kids at home would be,” McNaughton says. “Rockland is basically a community in itself around our area. The kids start going over to the club at six years of age, the same as any club at home.
“The U11 group train on Mondays and Wednesdays, we do one hour of football first and an hour of hurling after that. Usually we'd have a football game on a Saturday and a hurling game on a Sunday.
Rockland GAA U11 players pictured in Cushendall.
“The kids are definitely getting plenty of ball time between trainings and games. There isn't much difference between our kids and the kids at home.
“The only big thing is our kids wouldn't be walking around with a hurling stick in their hands going to school or walking around the streets with hurling sticks. Really the only time they are playing hurling or football is at training or games.
“Obviously we are in America, the amount of sports the kids play here is insane. My own son plays soccer three or four days a week, then you'd have basketball, other kids have baseball and lacrosse. You are competing with a lot of different sports.”
That 19 young players representing Rockland in Ireland is a source of considerable pride. “New York sends a Féile team home every year,” McNaughton says.
“Some kids in every club in New York will get that experience, going to Féile, getting the trip home and playing hurling or football. We wanted to give all of the kids in our club that experience.
“Whenever it comes around in a couple of years we will be lucky enough if four or five kids make the hurling team or the football team to get that experience. Not everybody will. Our goal was to give them that experience.
“We have things in the pipeline, this was like a trial run for future endeavours. Thankfully everything went brilliant. The kids were amazing, parents were amazing. I don't think anything could have gone better, to be honest.”
It was a rewarding spell in Ireland for Rockland GAA.