From Tír Chonaill Gaels to Glenbeigh-Glencar, Kerry footballer Darran O’Sullivan knows how important GAA clubs are to communities, at home and abroad.
In the GAA’s own manual for clubs the Association itself states that: “The GAA Club is the bedrock of every Irish community and provides an organised structure from which great community spirit is generated.”
From some sporting bodies a line like that might be seen as an inflated sense of their own importance but for virtually the entire island of Ireland, and a growing number of places around the globe, the GAA really is the heart of the community.
A man who knows that better than most is Kerry footballer Darran O’Sullivan.
Born in London, his first experiences of the GAA were in the ex-pat community in the English capital. Then he returned to his roots and began his playing career with Glenbiegh-Glencar in the Kingdom, a career that has so far yielded three All-Ireland titles at inter-county level.
Like most kids, he played his first game aged around eight or nine, with a cockney accent, for the Donegal exiles club.
“I actually feel very close to some of the lads over there, and the coaches, still which is incredible since it is about 16 years since I played for them,” Darran tells us.
“My first game was against Kerry Gaels, funnily enough, but I spent most of the game talking to the lad I was marking as I was amazed that he knew Killarney and places in Kerry.”
That love of all things Kerry brought Darran’s family back to the county and there, thanks to his regular visits every summer and the family connection, he slotted right into the swing of his new/old club, even with his cockney accent. But the importance of GAA clubs, especially to those away from Ireland, is massive.
“When you are away in big cities, like London, New York, or more likely Dubai these days, it makes you feel more at home. Chatting to fellas you know, about places you know, makes life a bit easier when you’re away.”
Agony of defeat…
The GAA club in Glenbeigh is, for Darran, like a lot of GAA folk, an extension of his family, in most cases literally. Darran had a stack of cousins in the club when he arrived from London, making it instantly feel like home, where as in London, it was all new faces, at least originally.
“The one thing we had in common in London was that we were Irish fellas living away but in Glenbeigh these are the lads I grew up with, their cousins, or cousins of cousins or family friends of 20 years so it is very close knit here.”
That closeness can translate into success, and as Darran says, winning All-Irelands with Kerry is hard to beat but success with the lads you grew up with and live with is very special too.
“The thought of winning a Kerry title, or getting to Croke Park with the club with the boys I grew up with would mean an awful lot to me”
“We won a mid-Kerry championship a couple of years ago and it was our clubs first time winning it in 36 years so that meant a lot to us, even if it meant very little to anyone outside mid-Kerry,” says Darran. “The club is going well now, we’re in the semi-final of the Junior championship now so the thought of winning a Kerry title, or getting to Croke Park with the club with the boys I grew up with would mean an awful lot to me.”
Darran is currently back in college, meaning he has the summer off and he is spending it, where else, but in Glenbeigh.
He might spend most of the year in Dublin, but he won’t be making a big transfer.
“I don’t get to come down for training but I still get back for matches. There’s no hope of me ever transferring or anything like that. I don’t think I’d enjoy club football if it wasn’t with the boys I grew up with.”
And, like his father, he expects to be actively involved long after his playing days are over.
“For as long as I can remember my Dad (Connie) has been a trainer at the club. I enjoy going back and having the craic with the younger lads and even now my Dad is vice-chairman. There is a group of them there that are friends and they run the club and keep it going. I like the way they all row in together, take on the load. I like the idea of that so I’m pretty sure I’ll be roped into one of those roles when my playing days are done.”
In the current climate, that attitude, that togetherness in a club, is vital to success, on and off the field.
“When a club, in any sport, wants to go in the right direction, pulling the one way, it makes everything an awful lot easier. Once fellas are willing to give up their time, and others are willing to recognise it, it makes the job s much easier.
“If people go on solo runs, or pull rank, things can go pear shaped but if a club has the one purpose, the same vision it makes everything, raising money and winning matches, easier.”
Considering that Darran has commitments to his college, his divisional team in Kerry and the Kerry team, his clear love for, and time for, his home club shows just how important it is to him.
There are thousands more, much less well known, who feel exactly the same.
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