Joan Henchy

Joan Henchy was born in New York in 1966 but her family returned to Kerry when she was still a child and she grew up in Tarbert, Kerry. Her father was the Fianna Fáil politician Dan Kiely. The interview covers the area of Gaelic football in North Kerry in the 1970s and 1980s – the role of her local club, Tarbert, the facilities and politics, and the restrictions on girls’ involvement in the GAA at that time. The Kerry County side of that era is also discussed. The interviewee moved back to New York in 1985 and the interview covers her thoughts on the GAA in New York at that time, including the importance of Gaelic Park as a social and networking centre. The interviewee’s involvement with the Kerry club in New York is covered and her role as registrar of the New York Board, as well as the challenges of keeping a club going in New York, the bringing over of players from Ireland, fundraising, and the problems of emigration and the undocumented Irish. The difficulty with finding training facilities and the weather are also discussed, and the challenges of developing Irish American talent. The interview also covers the changing ways in which the Irish community have kept in touch with the GAA at home down the years and her trips home for All-Ireland weekends. The improved relationship between the GAA in new York and Ireland is also discussed as is amateur status and Rule 42. Ladies football in New York, politics and the New York GAA, and refereeing are also touched on.