Members of Eoghan Rua GAC Coleraine

Five members of the Owen Roe club in Derry discuss the history of their club, and of the GAA in the wider community. They recall the early days of the club and building it up over the years, eventually securing grounds of their own and proper facilities. Along with the modernisation of the GAA came a more rationalised approach to structuring which helped the club to develop, especially at underage level. The Owen Roes members also discuss other matters in detail, such as the north/south divide within Derry football and the impact of the Troubles on GAA activity in the area. Through their stories it is possible to appreciate the strides that the Association has made to shed its image in some quarters as ‘the IRA at play’ and become an integral part of a society where trust between communities is much stronger in 2011 than it had been in the preceding decades.