Daniel Carey
PÁRAIC McGrath had been in Singapore for four days when someone approached him with the words ‘I know you’. The man recognised McGrath from his involvement with the GAA in Japan, where the Claremorris man had worked for a financial services company, and introduced him to members of the Singapore Gaelic Lions club. Three and a half years later, McGrath is Chairman of the wonderfully-named Asian County Board and planning the organisation of the 10th Asian Gaelic Games competition, which his club will host next weekend.
This tournament is about as international as the GAA gets. Five hundred players representing 41 teams from 13 clubs around the continent will descend on the south east Asian country. GAA President Nickey Brennan will be the guest of honour. Among the throng will be at least three Mayomen – McGrath (son of former County Board Chairman PJ), Newport’s Ger Hanley and Alan Heneghan from Hollymount.
The Games involve staging 200 games in two days, and by McGrath’s estimation, there are ‘about 100 million loose ends’ to tie up over the next few days. Nets have arrived from Waterford. The cup is coming from Portlaoise on Wednesday. The Singapore Gaelic Lions generally rent a rugby ground for matches, but next weekend’s events are being held at the Singapore Polo Club grounds. It’s Gah, Jim, but not as we know it.
“We have 13 or 14 different nationalities in the club,” McGrath told The Mayo News by ‘phone on Monday. “Anyone with Irish relatives or connections, or anyone with an interest in Ireland … the GAA draws them all in. The fact that the GAA takes everybody in gives it a cohesive advantage over other organisations like the IDA. It ties the community together, and we’re getting new members all the time.”
Growing up in Claremorris, McGrath recalls the local football club having ‘a social function’, and it’s the same story abroad. Many GAA clubs overseas have tie-ins with local Irish pubs, while the Singapore club have a programme for 50 children of all backgrounds on Sunday mornings. The upcoming tournament will, for the first time, include teams from Vietnam, Malysia and Thailand, and McGrath says with a laugh that Irish fellas playing Gaelic football in Ho Chi Minh City have attracted a few funny looks from the locals!
“Any coach or club chairman comes from the 25-40 age bracket,” he explains. “We get a lot of transients, so numbers go up and down. The Overseas Committee in Croke Park help out with grants and we get plenty of support from Dublin.”
Ger Hanley, whose mother hails from Newport, ‘had a few stints playing with Burrishoole’ and made his mark with Dublin City University. The 26-year-old works for an Irish company, Xsil International, as an applications engineer based in Hewlett Packard.
“I’m here on a 12-month contract and started in November last year,” he told The Mayo News by email. “Colleagues from work introduced me to the GAA over here. The first couple of months were quite difficult – not knowing anyone in a new place, the usual scenario. Personally, its been a saving grace to be involved with the Lions. They’re a great group of people who understand how to bring newcomers into a society and make them welcome. To be honest, I’m not sure if I would have stuck it out over here without such an outlet. From being involved with the club, I’ve come to realise the amount Singapore has to offer for ex-pats.”
The team trains three times a week and have prepared with three International Rules tests against the Australian Wombats (the Singapore-based Aussie Rules team). Next weekend will see temperatures in the mid-30s, an Irish pub on site, a barbecue, a beach party, and four football fields. Just like home, eh?
“The commitment of some club members to the success of the Games has been amazing,” notes Hanley. “We all get dragged in at some stage. I ended up painting goalposts with P McGrath over the weekend. Everyone is really getting into the swing of things.”
See www.asiancountyboard.com for more information.
