All-Britain Competitions20-22 July, Greenford

8 PAGE SPECIAL | APRIL 28, 2012 | www.irishpost.co.uk

2 | April 28, 2012 The Irish Post

Young Gaels are goingfor Greenford gold

Up to 1,000 boys and girls will take part in the ABCs at Greenford this summer.

BY JOHN COLLINS

THERE’S an intensity aboutRonan McCarthy that Irecognise well. He possessesthe kind of attitude thatyoung players with ambitioncan easily buy into.

He’s the sort of guy that leavesa positive impression on eagerminds.

My own experience of such anattitude dates back to when Imyself was a minor playing forLondon under the inspiringleadership of Johnny Frain.

For two years I had thepleasure of playing for Johnnyand by the time those two yearswere over, I can honestly say thatif he’d handed me a hammer andasked me to go through a wall forhim, I would have told him toforget the hammer, as I would tryand do it with my bare hands.

Such interactions at a youngage are important in sport. Weall need our heroes and rolemodels, people we yearn toplease and aspire to be like.

To me, Scotland communitydevelopment administratorRonan McCarthy comes acrossas a person who inspires.

His background screamsmotivation, inspiration andleadership and before movingacross to work in gamesdevelopment in Britain, firstlywith his role in London and thenin his new role in Scotland,Ronan’s life was all abouthelping people improve, be it asa personal trainer, or a coach

within the Portaferry hurlingclub structure, or as a member ofthe coaching teams workingwith Down’s developmentsquads.

Each discipline required theability to engage with people andthen, in turn, get them tocommit fully to what you weretrying to achieve with them.

Having first arrived in Londonin 2009, McCarthy workeddiligently for two yearsimproving structures, bothwithin the schools programmeand also with the county teams.

His tasks with the CountyBoard included accompanyingthe London team to New York forthe IntercontinentalTournament and also inbringing the London minors toIreland for an intensive trainingweekend of games and coachingsessions.

However, after two years, theDown native felt it was time tomove on as he explained to melast week.

“I believed that when I leftLondon I had the set-up inexactly the place it needed to be.

“They had good relationshipswith the schools and there was ahigh standard of coaching goingon in the schools and the clubs.

“I think for London at the timethey just needed to maintainwhat they had.”

So with London in a goodplace, McCarthy turned hisattention north of the borderand the role of CDA in Scotlandoffered a whole new set of

challenges, especially given thatit is a joint role involving thenormal duties of a CDA and alsoa role within the Universitystructure in Britain, a slightchange in direction but one thathe was all too happy to make.

“Previously there had beentwo CDAs in Scotland and theydecided to make it one role and Ithought it would be a goodchallenge for me.”

Away from the well-established university stuff, thegrassroots football in Scotland isin its infancy, but is showingsigns of growth.

“In comparison to London,Scotland is definitely at thatfoundation level and it is justgoing to need to have a lot ofwork put into it,” explainedRonan.

“The clubs need to learn allabout the club-school link and

how important it is in helping tomaintain a club in a place likeScotland.

“The clubs here need to first ofall set up their foundations atunder-8 and under-10 level andbuild from that.”

And while Ronan is aware ofwhat needs to be done inScotland, he is also quick torecognise that there have beensome massive strides made inScotland before his arrival.

“There’s already been greatwork done here already, it’s just amatter now of picking it up fromthere.

“There is one club in Glasgow,Tir Chonaill Harps, who will beworking with under-10s, under-12s and under-14s and thenCoatbridge Davitts have a lot ofcoaching going on and on atraining night for them, theywould have about 50 kids.

“Then in Edinburgh we haveDunedin Connollys, who aregoing very well under NiallConsidine, and they definitelyhave a good plan in place.

“But they are very much atthe foundation level becausethey are just working withunder-8 and under-10 teams.”

The diversity of age groupsand experience among the clubspresents a problem for Ronanand the rest of the peopleinvolved with promoting youthfootball in Scotland.

There is no easy solution,although concepts like theupcoming ABCs will provide areadymade answer to some ofthe challenges facing them.

A lot of the background workbeing done to get the kids tothese clubs in the first place is asever being carried out in theschools and this is whereRonan’s experience in Londonwill be valuable to the Gaels ofScotland, as he explained.

“The clubs are buying into theschool thing well. You need toexperiment a bit with schools tosee where the main schools arethat you are going to get playersfrom and most of the clubs knowexactly where their players willcome from, although it takes afew months and a few half-termcamps to see where they’re goingto come from.

“In my opinion, you are betterto give 100 per cent of yourattention to three or four schoolsthat are really interested than 20per cent of your attention to 10

schools who are only a little bitinterested.”

But once the kids are out ofthe clubs, the attention willalways turn to coaching andgetting quality coaching for thekids is a challenge that Ronan ismeeting with great success byusing the most naturallyoccurring resource there is atany training session – theparents of the kids involved.

“If you can get the parents onboard, then you’ve already gotyour coaches.

“Regardless of theirbackground, after watching twoor three sessions they pick upwhat needs to be done veryquickly.

“Then I run foundation level-one courses for people who wantto learn about coaching.

“And as well as the parents ofthe kids, I’m doing a lot insecondary schools for kids whoare doing Sports Studies and PEfor A-level.

“I go into the school and do afoundation course in Gaelicfootball and then the schools willsend them out to their feederschools to provide coaching.”

The experience Ronan gainedduring his time in London isgoing to prove invaluable both tohimself and also the Gaels ofScotland over the coming years.

The co-ordination of thedevelopment of Gaelic games inScotland is in very capablehands: hands that will inspire,motivate and ultimately deliverresults.

McCarthy hopes to harness power of Scotland

YOUNG athletes will descend onLondon this July, primed totest their skills against the

cream of what’s out there,determined to be at their personalbest and get amongst the medals.

But forget about that minordistraction in Stratford, all roads lead tothe north-west of the capital thissummer.

Hundreds of young GAA playersfrom across the UK will descend onGreenford this summer for the firstever All-Britain Competitions.

The games will take place over theweekend of July 20-22, withapproximately 100 teams set toparticipate.

Football, hurling, girls football andcamogie teams aged from U-8 to U-18will be catered for, while up to six teamsfrom mainland Europe will also makethe trip.

The British Council of the GAA planto host the ABCs annually.

Between players, management,family, friends and supporters, thegames are expected to attract in theregion of 3,000 people to Greenford overthe three days.

In this eight-page pull-out, our writerJohn Collins checks in with thecommunity developmentadministrators (CDAs) all over Britainto see how plans for this monumentalevent are coming together – and also to

ask about the health of the Associationin London, Hertfordshire,Gloucestershire, Warwickshire,Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland.John has gone the extra mile-and-a-halffor this project and we’re sure you’llagree that the end product is afascinating read.

The ABCs are the brainchild ofBrendie Brien, chairman of the BritishCouncil of the GAA, and formerpresident John Gormley, who ischairman of the ABC committee.

The idea is based on the ContinentalYouth Championships in the USA, atournament that has expandedsignificantly since its establishment in2004, with over 100 teams competing inBoston last year.

“We’ve been taking a team tocompete in America for the last sevenor eight years and it was costing a lot ofmoney just to bring one team out,”Brien explains.

“We felt that we needed value formoney in Britain and that setting upour own competition was the wayforward.”

Seven-a-side games will be played atU-8 level, nine-a-side for the U-10s, 11-a-side for U-12s, while U-14s, U-16s and U-18s will contest 13-a-side games. It’shoped that reducing the numbersrequired to field a full team will allowclubs of all sizes to participate.

London senior footballer Mark

Gottsche, who is the GAA’s CommunityDevelopment Administrator forLondon, has been appointed secretaryof the ABC committee.

“There will be a massive amount ofwork involved but things like this havebeen successful in other places sothere’s no reason we can’t do the samehere,” says Gottche. “The ABCs willallow kids to test their skills againstother kids from all over Britain.

“It’ll also give clubs a good indicationof where they stand. It’s a fantasticopportunity as well to show theimportant social role the GAA plays inBritain.”

When asked what the primaryobjective of the ABC committee is forthis summer’s event, chairman JohnGormley said: “I think it would be togive the young players the chance to goon and continue their development.

“We want to keep giving them thatopportunity because the intention is forthis to be an annual thing. We’ve almostdoubled our number of underage clubsover the last four or five years so this issomething we feel we should be doing.”

Gormley added: “We want to makethis a cultural weekend with Irishmusic and Irish dancing so it should bevery enjoyable for everyone attending.

“It’s only a week before the Olympicsas well so there should be greatexcitement and we feel it’s something toreally look forward to.”

Scotland community development administrator Ronan McCarthy, and, right,former GAA president Christy Cooney with U14 captain Connor McGuire.

The Irish Post April 28, 2012 | 3

All Britain CompetitionTír Chonaill Park, July 20-22

� Fun family weekend� GAA games � Skills development� Clubs showcasing their work and skillsA must attend event for clubs

Irish PostTHE

For more information contact: Mark Gottsche on 078 7260 0074 or mark.gottsche.cda.london@gaa.ie

BY NEIL WEBB

WARWICKSHIRE are primedto travel to the ABCs with alarge and highly-competitivegroup of teams.

There is a strong JuvenileGAA set up in the county, with10 clubs fielding sides. These are:James Connollys, Erin GoBragh, John Mitchels, NaomhPadraig, Roger Casements, SeanMcDermotts, St Barnabas, StBrendans, St Marys and Setanta.

Games between these sideshelp to raise the skill level,which is reflected in the 2011honours list for clubs and county.

While there is rivalry betweenthe teams, there is an excellentrelationship between the clubswhich is evident through theCounty Youth DevelopmentCommittee that works hard atimproving all aspects of school,club and county juvenile GAA.

This is a highly progressivecounty and the clubs often travelto places outside ofWarwickshire to take part intournaments and forge links withother clubs (some of these linkshave now been forged for years).

Indeed, Roger Casements havejust returned from Buncrana, CoDonegal, where over 60 playersand club members had aweekend of fun, trainingsessions, blitzs and craic withBuncrana CLG.

2011 CLUB HONOURS

U16 All-Britain champions:Sean McDermotts

U14 All-Britain champions:Naomh Padraig

U14 All-BritainDivision two champions:

St Brendans

U13 British Feile Peil Platerunners up:

Roger Casements

U12 All Britain seven-a-sideDivision three winners:

Roger Casements

2011 COUNTYHONOURS

U18 British Feile runners up

U16 British Feile winners

U14 British Feile winners

U14 Irish Feile Division fivequarter-finalists

U12 Arklow Geraldines Shieldwinners

U11 Arklow Geraldines Shieldwinners

Healthy rivalry raises thebar in Warwickshire

TOUR: U12 squad at Croke Park.

STEP UP: Warwickshire’s U11 Arklow Geraldine Shield winners.

4 | April 28, 2012 The Irish Post The Irish Post April 28, 2012 | 5

BY JOHN COLLINS

THE summer of 2012 promisesto be a pretty demanding one formany of the young players fromthe Parnells and St Clarets clubsin London.

Not only will they be gearing upto do their best for their clubs inthe London county competitionsand also the ABC tournament,but they then have the challengeof making a trip across thewater to test their skills againstIrish opposition.

Having lifted the London inter-schools title last year, the Gaelicfootballers of Douay MartyrsSecondary School in Hillingdonare now setting their sights onsome Irish opposition for 2012.

In July, the school’s youngfootballers, accompanied bytheir coaches Mr Tadgh Lee andMr Kieran McInerney, will betravelling to County Wicklow totake on three local club sides inwhat promises to be anexhausting five-day trip acrossthe Irish Sea.

However, despite the demandsthat the trip will make onplayers and managers alike,team coach Mr Lee, who playsfor Tir Chonaill Gaels and who isa product of that club’s ownyouth system, sees only thebenefits in the excursion.

“From the school’s point ofview, we’re obviously delightedthat the parents and the childrenare so keen for us to make this trip.

“On top of that, it gives us theopportunity to show people inIreland how involved in, dedicatedto and skilful at Gaelic games thatthese young people are.”

The Douay Martyrs team is aquite a close-knit group ofplayers, with the overwhelmingmajority of them representingjust two clubs in London – StClarets and Parnells, so in manyways they are a well-drilled unit.

However, the opportunity toplay for their school always addsa little extra prestige to anysporting achievement, a pointthat hasn’t been lost on Mr Lee.

“Obviously the pupilsthemselves take great pride inbeing able to represent theirschool at sport, especially whenthere is an international flavourto the games that they areplaying. And certainly the schoolare proud of what they haveachieved in the name of DouayMartyrs so far,” he said.

The trip to Wicklow couldprove to be invaluable to theseplayers when they come to playin the ABC games later in July,as you’d imagine it will beextraordinarily beneficial tothem as they prepare to take onthe best in their age group inBritain.

Martyrs tothe cause

BY JOHN COLLINS

DURING one of my manyAntipodean adventures, I had anevening job in a bar in Auckland.

It was the sort of thing that helpedsupplement the meagre living I wasmaking as an atrociously bad painterand decorator.

During my first week working there,I was asked what shifts I would be ableto do during the week and I repliedthat I could do as many as was needed.

“You can’t do more than three a week,”came the reply from the bar manager.

Curious, I asked the managerwhether it was because of someemployment law or other that existedin the always quirky bureaucracy ofNew Zealand. He told me it wasn’t, butthey didn’t want their staff to suffer“burn-out”.

For me it was my first encounterwith the term and although it’scommon speak these days among justabout every sports person and theoccasional city trader, I had never heardit as a reason for stopping someonefrom pulling pints of Guinness.

It was as though Rafa Benitez hadmoved Down Under and had taken tothe hospitality industry.

For me I could see no logic to thisrule, but I liked the bar, so I carried onworking there the nights I could andworked in another bar the other nights.

In my view, the rule was created forpeople who were working solely for thebuck at the end of the night, joylessslaves to their economic situations, butfor me, while the money was of coursea factor (I really was a truly awfulpainter and decorator), I also got agreat buzz from the work, it was fun tobe in the middle of what was going on.Burn-out to me wasn’t an issue.

And that experience came to mindwhen talking to London communitydevelopment administrator MarkGottsche last week, as at this momentthe personable Galway man is prettymuch up to his armpits in Gaelicfootball but, at the same time, he’sloving it.

When not earning his crust in thenine-to-five world (and then some) ofhelping to develop Gaelic games inLondon, Mark then has the notinconsiderable commitment that isdemanded by Paul Coggins and therest of the London senior football teammanagement, as the side pursue theirfirst Connacht Championship win in35 years, to add to their historicChampionship win last year againstFermanagh.

Then of course, when there’s a bit oftime to spare in between all this, hisclub Tir Chonaill Gaels are alwayspleased to see him as well.

As a potential victim of burn-out,you’d think that Mark would be onsome sort of GAA watch-list. However,that’s not the case, not by a long way, ashe explained.

“I’m in a lucky position that I workin a sport that I grew up with and havea lot of time for. I don’t have to get upin the morning and put on a suit and

join the rat race so to speak. It’s a greatjob and it’s very easy to come in and dothe job when you have a passion for it.”

A graduate of NUI Galway andJordanstown, Mark is in his currentposition since October 2011, and whilethere was a great deal to get to gripswith when he first started, he feels hewas fortunate to have some exceptionalsupport around him to help him get upto speed.

“I was lucky that one of the previousCDAs was here for two months when Itook over and he showed me the ropes.The transition period was good. RonanMcCarthy, who’s now the CDA inScotland, was here before me andBrendan Cleary was here to help whenI came in.”

However, no sooner had he got his feetunder the table, than the call came fromthe Provincial Council to request help inorganising the ABC Championships inJuly, a monumental task, but one thatMark feels is under control, thanks in themain to the excellence of the people he isworking for.

“It’s not been as daunting as it wouldseem. It’s great that we’ve got peoplelike Brendie Brien, John Gormley andTadgh Meehan and they’re the realdriving forces behind it. I’m just here tohelp them wherever I can.

“They’re so passionate aboutmaking the weekend a total success.”

And part of the process for arrangingthe games is about monitoring thefeedback from clubs, both in Londonand further-a-field, and so far the noisescoming back are easy on the ear.

“The clubs all think it is a verypositive thing and the feedback I’mgetting suggests it will be a great event.

“A lot of the clubs are of course verykeen to try and get their travel planssorted out, but until we have finalnumbers, it’s hard to give them definitetimetables,” he explained.

And while it’s good for Mark to seethe enthusiasm for the event fromclubs all over the country, it’s theLondon clubs that are his main focus,and as is the case in other parts of thecountry, there seems to be a lot of buy-in for the event from across London.

“We won’t know for sure how many

clubs will be participating from Londonuntil the end of the month or so. Thereare 53 teams affiliated to the MinorBoard, so we’d be aiming to try andhave all 53 of those teams at the event.”

And of course one of the mainfocuses for development in Londonespecially is hurling and this is an areawhere small but important steps arebeing made, steps that will be on displayin July at the ABC Championships.

“With hurling, we have three clubswith youth teams, with another onetrying to get set up. The clubs ingeneral are fielding teams at under-12,under-14 and under-16 levels, with twoof them also having minor teams.

“In comparison to football, thenumbers are quite small, but there’s alot of good work going on at the clubs.”

And while the ABC games are goingto be taking up a lot of Mark’s timeover the coming months, he can’tafford to allow his eyes to stray too farfrom his day job either, which is ofcourse looking after the developmentof Gaelic games in London. It’s aroundthis time of year that the heat reallygets turned up in the kitchen, with theschools programme being on the frontburner at present.

“We’ve got some excellent involvementwith the schools throughout Londonand they run a six week programme ofGaelic football in the schools afterEaster, where we send in coaches to runsessions and get the kids interested.

“After that, we encourage the clubsto go down and meet the students andtry and get them involved in the clubs.Each school is also affiliated to a club.”

While the work is time consumingand demanding, Mark is pleased withthe capable assistants he has, and thattakes a lot of the pressure off him.

“There are four coaches involved inthe scheme during this period, sothey’re kept busy. The clubs are findingit a very useful resource, as once theyget one or two kids from a school,they’ll always encourage their friendsalong too. So there’s a lot of benefits init for everyone.”

And no sooner have the schoolsstarted their programmes than theclubs kick into action too, withcompetition time just around the cornerfor many age groups in the capital.

“The competitions in London arestarting in the next couple of weeksand the fixture plan is just gettingfinalised at the minute, so the wholething is really coming to life now.”

I’m not quite sure what my barmanager in Auckland would make ofthe workload that Mark Gottsche istaking on in London, but judging frommy experience with him, he’d probablybench him for a few weeks at least, justto avoid any risk of burn-out.

In Marks eyes though, that’s not anissue. There’s so much going on, somuch involvement, so much enjoymentand so much potential gain, there’s nothoughts of any time-outs at themoment.

And he’s right too. If you’re enjoyingwhat you do as much as he obviouslyis, then why stop?

Gottsche makingcapital gainsLondon’s CDA is aiming for 100 per cent ofcounty’s 53 minor teams to compete

Next generation of Saints are getting ready to shineBY JOHN COLLINS

THERE’S a murmur going aroundHayes these days, it’s an old familiarsound, a hum that anyone who wasaround the place in the 1970s and 1980swill recognise all too well.

It’s audible at the moment but notdeafening, but it’s the sort of buzz that youjust know is going to get louder as time goeson.

The whisper in the wind is that St Claretsare back on track with their youthprogramme, a programme that downthrough the years has served this club sowell.

Each landmark in the Hayes team’shistory, dating right back to the club’sformation in the mid-1970s, has been markedby the presence of a sizeable contingent ofLondon-born players, players developedthrough the club’s youth ranks and then

slowly nurtured on to the senior team.It’s the way they’ve always done it in

Hayes, and it’s the way they hope tocontinue doing it for years to come.

In 1982 and again in 1989 the clubcompeted in Intermediate ChampionshipFinals, losing the first one and winning thesecond, and on each occasion, over half ofthe starting team were London-born.

In 1999, when they again won theIntermediate Championship, they had sixhome grown lads and in 2002, when theyplayed in their first ever Senior Final, theyhad five on the starting 15.

This is a club who have a proud historyof investing in young players and who thengive them the opportunity to flourish.

And how some of them have flourished.Denis McCarthy, son of one of the

founding members of the club, won an AllIreland Junior Football Championship withLondon in 1986, while Steven Sherry and

three of the Lynott brothers have allplayed senior football for London.

And it’s with the Lynotts that the nextgeneration of footballers is starting to bedeveloped.

Colm, a former London minor, under-21and senior player, who had the honour oftravelling to New York back in 1987 withthe first London minor team to cross theAtlantic, is now the man providing theopportunities for others.

Having guided a quite brilliant under-14team to Championship Shield glory lastyear, as well as success in the League andConrad Ryan Cup, Colm, along with hisfellow coach Mick Buckley, are now hopingto push on with that group of players forfurther success this year.

And as his focus becomes concentratedon that team, so he is joined by otherswilling to take responsibility for the otherage groups and once again, a familiar

name is to the fore, with Denis McCarthy,that same Denis who went on to AllIreland glory, looking after the under-8sand under-10s, along with another formerLondon senior footballer Martin Hession.

Meanwhile, the under-12s are in thecapable hands of Steve McElroy.

For this club, the upcoming ABCChampionships promises to be an occasionof great excitement.

They’ll certainly be looking for someglory in certain age groups, but as always,the focus will be on development andenjoyment, regardless of what the finaloutcomes might be.

Colm himself, whose own son, alsoColm, is part of the club’s under-14 side, isvery much looking forward to the gamesand told The Irish Post: “It’s a greatconcept and the guys who came up withthe idea deserve an awful lot of credit.

“It’s a massive undertaking and I can’timage how much work must be involved inorganising something like this.

“Hopefully most clubs in Britain will doall they can to get behind and support.

“Certainly that’s what we’ll be doing atSt Clarets. We’ll be trying to bring as manyteams, and more importantly, as manyplayers, to the event as possible.

“It’s the first one and it’s great to be partof it.”

And club chairman John Kelly echoesthe sentiments of Colm and is also quickto acknowledge the phenomenal workthat has been carried out over the pastfew years within the youth section of theclub.

“For us at present, the youth section isthe most vibrant part of the club.We’redoing alright within the adult section, butthere really is a buzz about things aroundthe kids, especially after last year’ssuccess.

“As a club we’ll be trying to supportthese ABC Championships as much aspossible. I’m sure it will provide somegreat memories for the young players.”

When it comes to great memories foryouth players in London, there are fewclubs as good as St Clarets at providingthem, and the way things sit at themoment, it’s hard to see any reason whythat should change any time soon.

It’s a great concept and theguys who came up with theidea deserve an awful lot ofcredit.

“GREEN GIANT: Mark Gottsche in actionfor London. Tadgh Lee, coach of Douay Martyrs.

HOOPS AND GLORY:St Clarets, U14 Shieldwinners in 2011.

4 | April 28, 2012 The Irish Post The Irish Post April 28, 2012 | 5

BY JOHN COLLINS

THE summer of 2012 promisesto be a pretty demanding one formany of the young players fromthe Parnells and St Clarets clubsin London.

Not only will they be gearing upto do their best for their clubs inthe London county competitionsand also the ABC tournament,but they then have the challengeof making a trip across thewater to test their skills againstIrish opposition.

Having lifted the London inter-schools title last year, the Gaelicfootballers of Douay MartyrsSecondary School in Hillingdonare now setting their sights onsome Irish opposition for 2012.

In July, the school’s youngfootballers, accompanied bytheir coaches Mr Tadgh Lee andMr Kieran McInerney, will betravelling to County Wicklow totake on three local club sides inwhat promises to be anexhausting five-day trip acrossthe Irish Sea.

However, despite the demandsthat the trip will make onplayers and managers alike,team coach Mr Lee, who playsfor Tir Chonaill Gaels and who isa product of that club’s ownyouth system, sees only thebenefits in the excursion.

“From the school’s point ofview, we’re obviously delightedthat the parents and the childrenare so keen for us to make this trip.

“On top of that, it gives us theopportunity to show people inIreland how involved in, dedicatedto and skilful at Gaelic games thatthese young people are.”

The Douay Martyrs team is aquite a close-knit group ofplayers, with the overwhelmingmajority of them representingjust two clubs in London – StClarets and Parnells, so in manyways they are a well-drilled unit.

However, the opportunity toplay for their school always addsa little extra prestige to anysporting achievement, a pointthat hasn’t been lost on Mr Lee.

“Obviously the pupilsthemselves take great pride inbeing able to represent theirschool at sport, especially whenthere is an international flavourto the games that they areplaying. And certainly the schoolare proud of what they haveachieved in the name of DouayMartyrs so far,” he said.

The trip to Wicklow couldprove to be invaluable to theseplayers when they come to playin the ABC games later in July,as you’d imagine it will beextraordinarily beneficial tothem as they prepare to take onthe best in their age group inBritain.

Martyrs tothe cause

BY JOHN COLLINS

DURING one of my manyAntipodean adventures, I had anevening job in a bar in Auckland.

It was the sort of thing that helpedsupplement the meagre living I wasmaking as an atrociously bad painterand decorator.

During my first week working there,I was asked what shifts I would be ableto do during the week and I repliedthat I could do as many as was needed.

“You can’t do more than three a week,”came the reply from the bar manager.

Curious, I asked the managerwhether it was because of someemployment law or other that existedin the always quirky bureaucracy ofNew Zealand. He told me it wasn’t, butthey didn’t want their staff to suffer“burn-out”.

For me it was my first encounterwith the term and although it’scommon speak these days among justabout every sports person and theoccasional city trader, I had never heardit as a reason for stopping someonefrom pulling pints of Guinness.

It was as though Rafa Benitez hadmoved Down Under and had taken tothe hospitality industry.

For me I could see no logic to thisrule, but I liked the bar, so I carried onworking there the nights I could andworked in another bar the other nights.

In my view, the rule was created forpeople who were working solely for thebuck at the end of the night, joylessslaves to their economic situations, butfor me, while the money was of coursea factor (I really was a truly awfulpainter and decorator), I also got agreat buzz from the work, it was fun tobe in the middle of what was going on.Burn-out to me wasn’t an issue.

And that experience came to mindwhen talking to London communitydevelopment administrator MarkGottsche last week, as at this momentthe personable Galway man is prettymuch up to his armpits in Gaelicfootball but, at the same time, he’sloving it.

When not earning his crust in thenine-to-five world (and then some) ofhelping to develop Gaelic games inLondon, Mark then has the notinconsiderable commitment that isdemanded by Paul Coggins and therest of the London senior football teammanagement, as the side pursue theirfirst Connacht Championship win in35 years, to add to their historicChampionship win last year againstFermanagh.

Then of course, when there’s a bit oftime to spare in between all this, hisclub Tir Chonaill Gaels are alwayspleased to see him as well.

As a potential victim of burn-out,you’d think that Mark would be onsome sort of GAA watch-list. However,that’s not the case, not by a long way, ashe explained.

“I’m in a lucky position that I workin a sport that I grew up with and havea lot of time for. I don’t have to get upin the morning and put on a suit and

join the rat race so to speak. It’s a greatjob and it’s very easy to come in and dothe job when you have a passion for it.”

A graduate of NUI Galway andJordanstown, Mark is in his currentposition since October 2011, and whilethere was a great deal to get to gripswith when he first started, he feels hewas fortunate to have some exceptionalsupport around him to help him get upto speed.

“I was lucky that one of the previousCDAs was here for two months when Itook over and he showed me the ropes.The transition period was good. RonanMcCarthy, who’s now the CDA inScotland, was here before me andBrendan Cleary was here to help whenI came in.”

However, no sooner had he got his feetunder the table, than the call came fromthe Provincial Council to request help inorganising the ABC Championships inJuly, a monumental task, but one thatMark feels is under control, thanks in themain to the excellence of the people he isworking for.

“It’s not been as daunting as it wouldseem. It’s great that we’ve got peoplelike Brendie Brien, John Gormley andTadgh Meehan and they’re the realdriving forces behind it. I’m just here tohelp them wherever I can.

“They’re so passionate aboutmaking the weekend a total success.”

And part of the process for arrangingthe games is about monitoring thefeedback from clubs, both in Londonand further-a-field, and so far the noisescoming back are easy on the ear.

“The clubs all think it is a verypositive thing and the feedback I’mgetting suggests it will be a great event.

“A lot of the clubs are of course verykeen to try and get their travel planssorted out, but until we have finalnumbers, it’s hard to give them definitetimetables,” he explained.

And while it’s good for Mark to seethe enthusiasm for the event fromclubs all over the country, it’s theLondon clubs that are his main focus,and as is the case in other parts of thecountry, there seems to be a lot of buy-in for the event from across London.

“We won’t know for sure how many

clubs will be participating from Londonuntil the end of the month or so. Thereare 53 teams affiliated to the MinorBoard, so we’d be aiming to try andhave all 53 of those teams at the event.”

And of course one of the mainfocuses for development in Londonespecially is hurling and this is an areawhere small but important steps arebeing made, steps that will be on displayin July at the ABC Championships.

“With hurling, we have three clubswith youth teams, with another onetrying to get set up. The clubs ingeneral are fielding teams at under-12,under-14 and under-16 levels, with twoof them also having minor teams.

“In comparison to football, thenumbers are quite small, but there’s alot of good work going on at the clubs.”

And while the ABC games are goingto be taking up a lot of Mark’s timeover the coming months, he can’tafford to allow his eyes to stray too farfrom his day job either, which is ofcourse looking after the developmentof Gaelic games in London. It’s aroundthis time of year that the heat reallygets turned up in the kitchen, with theschools programme being on the frontburner at present.

“We’ve got some excellent involvementwith the schools throughout Londonand they run a six week programme ofGaelic football in the schools afterEaster, where we send in coaches to runsessions and get the kids interested.

“After that, we encourage the clubsto go down and meet the students andtry and get them involved in the clubs.Each school is also affiliated to a club.”

While the work is time consumingand demanding, Mark is pleased withthe capable assistants he has, and thattakes a lot of the pressure off him.

“There are four coaches involved inthe scheme during this period, sothey’re kept busy. The clubs are findingit a very useful resource, as once theyget one or two kids from a school,they’ll always encourage their friendsalong too. So there’s a lot of benefits init for everyone.”

And no sooner have the schoolsstarted their programmes than theclubs kick into action too, withcompetition time just around the cornerfor many age groups in the capital.

“The competitions in London arestarting in the next couple of weeksand the fixture plan is just gettingfinalised at the minute, so the wholething is really coming to life now.”

I’m not quite sure what my barmanager in Auckland would make ofthe workload that Mark Gottsche istaking on in London, but judging frommy experience with him, he’d probablybench him for a few weeks at least, justto avoid any risk of burn-out.

In Marks eyes though, that’s not anissue. There’s so much going on, somuch involvement, so much enjoymentand so much potential gain, there’s nothoughts of any time-outs at themoment.

And he’s right too. If you’re enjoyingwhat you do as much as he obviouslyis, then why stop?

Gottsche makingcapital gainsLondon’s CDA is aiming for 100 per cent ofcounty’s 53 minor teams to compete

Next generation of Saints are getting ready to shineBY JOHN COLLINS

THERE’S a murmur going aroundHayes these days, it’s an old familiarsound, a hum that anyone who wasaround the place in the 1970s and 1980swill recognise all too well.

It’s audible at the moment but notdeafening, but it’s the sort of buzz that youjust know is going to get louder as time goeson.

The whisper in the wind is that St Claretsare back on track with their youthprogramme, a programme that downthrough the years has served this club sowell.

Each landmark in the Hayes team’shistory, dating right back to the club’sformation in the mid-1970s, has been markedby the presence of a sizeable contingent ofLondon-born players, players developedthrough the club’s youth ranks and then

slowly nurtured on to the senior team.It’s the way they’ve always done it in

Hayes, and it’s the way they hope tocontinue doing it for years to come.

In 1982 and again in 1989 the clubcompeted in Intermediate ChampionshipFinals, losing the first one and winning thesecond, and on each occasion, over half ofthe starting team were London-born.

In 1999, when they again won theIntermediate Championship, they had sixhome grown lads and in 2002, when theyplayed in their first ever Senior Final, theyhad five on the starting 15.

This is a club who have a proud historyof investing in young players and who thengive them the opportunity to flourish.

And how some of them have flourished.Denis McCarthy, son of one of the

founding members of the club, won an AllIreland Junior Football Championship withLondon in 1986, while Steven Sherry and

three of the Lynott brothers have allplayed senior football for London.

And it’s with the Lynotts that the nextgeneration of footballers is starting to bedeveloped.

Colm, a former London minor, under-21and senior player, who had the honour oftravelling to New York back in 1987 withthe first London minor team to cross theAtlantic, is now the man providing theopportunities for others.

Having guided a quite brilliant under-14team to Championship Shield glory lastyear, as well as success in the League andConrad Ryan Cup, Colm, along with hisfellow coach Mick Buckley, are now hopingto push on with that group of players forfurther success this year.

And as his focus becomes concentratedon that team, so he is joined by otherswilling to take responsibility for the otherage groups and once again, a familiar

name is to the fore, with Denis McCarthy,that same Denis who went on to AllIreland glory, looking after the under-8sand under-10s, along with another formerLondon senior footballer Martin Hession.

Meanwhile, the under-12s are in thecapable hands of Steve McElroy.

For this club, the upcoming ABCChampionships promises to be an occasionof great excitement.

They’ll certainly be looking for someglory in certain age groups, but as always,the focus will be on development andenjoyment, regardless of what the finaloutcomes might be.

Colm himself, whose own son, alsoColm, is part of the club’s under-14 side, isvery much looking forward to the gamesand told The Irish Post: “It’s a greatconcept and the guys who came up withthe idea deserve an awful lot of credit.

“It’s a massive undertaking and I can’timage how much work must be involved inorganising something like this.

“Hopefully most clubs in Britain will doall they can to get behind and support.

“Certainly that’s what we’ll be doing atSt Clarets. We’ll be trying to bring as manyteams, and more importantly, as manyplayers, to the event as possible.

“It’s the first one and it’s great to be partof it.”

And club chairman John Kelly echoesthe sentiments of Colm and is also quickto acknowledge the phenomenal workthat has been carried out over the pastfew years within the youth section of theclub.

“For us at present, the youth section isthe most vibrant part of the club.We’redoing alright within the adult section, butthere really is a buzz about things aroundthe kids, especially after last year’ssuccess.

“As a club we’ll be trying to supportthese ABC Championships as much aspossible. I’m sure it will provide somegreat memories for the young players.”

When it comes to great memories foryouth players in London, there are fewclubs as good as St Clarets at providingthem, and the way things sit at themoment, it’s hard to see any reason whythat should change any time soon.

It’s a great concept and theguys who came up with theidea deserve an awful lot ofcredit.

“GREEN GIANT: Mark Gottsche in actionfor London. Tadgh Lee, coach of Douay Martyrs.

HOOPS AND GLORY:St Clarets, U14 Shieldwinners in 2011.

6 | April 28, 2012 The Irish Post

BY JOHN COLLINS

MENTION Merthyr Tydfil tomost sports fans and the imagethat will spring to mind mostreadily is one of some muddy 18-stone lock coming chargingtowards you with an oval balltucked under his arms.

Likewise, mention moving toMerthyr Tydfil to live and workand most would immediatelythink of collieries and blackenedfaces coming to the surface atthe end of yet another arduousand dangerous shift “down pit”.

And of course, as is the casewith most stereotypes, there isan element of truth in suchcharacterisations, despite thegnawing feeling that thoseparticular caricatures would bebetter placed in an episode ofLittle Britain.

For no matter how you mightimagine life to be in certainparts of the world, there arealways surprises to be found andit is in these alternativecircumstances that we findFermanagh man Phil O’Connor.

Occupations and activities inMerthyr Tydfil don’t come muchless obvious than being the GAAcommunity developmentadministrator forGloucestershire, Wales and thesouth-west of Britain, but that’sthe path chosen by O’Connor,who has been holding the rolefor the past number of years.

In a role that keeps himdarting around the south-west ofEngland and Wales,accumulating what he himselfdescribes as “serious miles”,Phil’s services are in highdemand and his time has to bedivided between places aswidespread as Plymouth, Cardiffand his beloved “Valleys”, as hegoes about the business of tryingto increase the footprint of theGAA in the area.

While attempting to go head-to-head with the likes of rugbyand soccer in places such asCardiff and Merthyr Tydfil mayappear an impossible task, theapproach that Phil and his fellowGaels have taken is to try and tapinto the abundant appetite thatexists for sport in schools and totry and grow the sport from

there, a system that is workingwell thus far, as he explained tothe Irish Post.

“What we have started to dohere in Gloucester is create asystem of what we call satelliteclubs, in other words, in certainvalleys, for example in MerthyrTydfil, the kids go away to a blitzto represent Merthyr Tydfil inGaelic football, but they fallunder the umbrella of StColmcille’s in Cardiff.

“That way they don’t actuallyhave to form a club of their own.So they get to represent their

own area under the name StColmcille’s.

“We started the idea last yearbecause we couldn’t put themanpower on the ground to runthese individual clubs because ofthe infancy of the project.

“It’s worked well and we’rehoping to develop the ideafurther.”

And once the appetite for thegame has been whetted amongthe kids, the next step is toensure that the clubs takemaximum advantage of thisearly work and Phil has come upwith a clever way of helping topromote the games, while alsomaking sure that they havemaximum numbers at trainingeach time they have a session.

“We’re doing a lot of work inthe schools and the clubs aregetting involved in this area too.In some regions we’re runningafter-schools clubs which thendouble as club training sessionstoo.

“That way the parents don’thave to make extra journeys totake kids out again in theevenings. It’s working very wellfor us.”

And with the games startingto develop strong roots in thearea, the next test for the playersof the south west of Englandand Wales will be to pit theirskills against players from otherparts of the country and theupcoming ABC Championshipsin July will be the perfectopportunity for them to do so.

It’s a concept that has certainlycaptured the imagination ofmany of those involved in thesport and it’s one that Phil feelsthe Gloucestershire County Boardwill have good representation at.

“We’re definitely planning onbringing teams up to London.

“But it’s a bit early in the yearto know for sure how manyteams we will be bringing,because generally in the county,most of the serious stuff startsafter Easter, but there is a greatinterest here in the idea of thegames.”

The tournament will alsoprovide Phil with the perfectchance to compare notes withthe other Games DevelopmentOfficers working within theother counties in Britain and hesuspects that the role’s that theofficers in the bigger countiesare carrying out will be verydifferent from the roles of thepeople working in the smallerset-ups like himself.

“In the smaller counties likeourselves, the CDAs probablyhave more contact with theplayers and are more hands-onthan the bigger counties.

“In the smaller counties, we’rerunning all the sessions andthere’s a lot of miles to cover.We’ve clubs in places like Cardiffand Plymouth and thenthroughout the Valleys, we’retied into schools as well. So it’spretty demanding in terms oflogistics.”

Regardless though, Phil ispushing on with his mission tobring quality youth Gaelicgames to the GloucestershireCounty Board area and certainlyit will be interesting to see howtheir work this far compares tothat of the other counties acrossBritain.

THEY’RE not known in the north-west ofEngland for letting the grass grow undertheir feet.

There’s a real industry about the peoplethere, a real “roll up your sleeves and get onwith it” approach to life.

Travel around this area of England and you’llsee landmarks galore telling tales of a gloriouspast; a hardworking, creative, inventive,forward-thinking, ambitious, innovative past.

The epic tale of the Industrial Revolution,probably the greatest story ever told inBritain, is centred around these places.

And as in life, so in sport, and any cursoryglance at the annals of sport in Britain willtell you that these parts are also at the heartof many of the nation’s greatest sportingachievements, especially in football, wherethe names Liverpool and Manchester prettymuch encapsulate the past 50-odd years ofsoccer in England, whether it be the blue orred halves of either of those two cities.Whichever way, they all have a tale to tell.

And that industry and that ambition hastransmitted itself into the spirit, mentalityand ethics of the people who come from hereand also the people who choose to live here.

Here they’re not that keen on standingaround looking for help. And why would they,especially when they’re so good at sortingout problems for themselves?

And that attitude to life is proving to be thelife-blood of the GAA in Lancashire,particularly at youth level where the efforts ofFermanagh-born community developmentadministrator Niall Jackman are helping topush the games on at youth level at an evenand realistic pace.

Talking to Niall helps to create theimpression that things are in good hands andthat progress is being made.

The decisions that are being made by thosein a position to do so, appear to be made bothwith the benefit of experience and also withthe essential cooling agents of commonsense and realism.

However, that’s not to say things are beingconducted at a snail’s-pace, in fact far from itas Niall, who graduated from HopeUniversity in Liverpool with a degree inSports Science and Psychology, explained toThe Irish Post.

“I’ve been working as the Lancashire CDAsince February 2011. We’re working hard to tryto establish and then maintain youth teams inLancashire over a period of time, rather thanhave teams dropping out after one or two yearsand then having to re-form again. I supposewe’re looking to establish consistency.

“We’ve six clubs in the north-west at youthlevel, all operating at various age groups.

“The majority operate at under-10 andunder-12 level, some at under-14 and under-16and we have a few under-8 teams as well.

“It is going well. Despite losing St Anne’slast year, we’ve an extra club now with JohnMitchell’s from Liverpool and they’reoperating very well.

“We’ve started to touch base with schoolsin Liverpool to try and get players out from

there to help John Mitchells.”But it’s not all about creating new teams for

these people and they are keen to make surethat clubs from the recent past get a fresh startas well, fitting for an area of such historicsignificance in the history of the country.

“We’re hoping to get St Anne’s [who foldedlast year] up and running again for next year.

“Obviously, the more teams we have thebetter the competition and the better thestructure we’ll have.”

And to make this happen, it’s felt thatgames are an essential part of the recipe andto that end, youth football in Lancashire hasalready been up and running for severalweeks, testimony to the enthusiasm andappetite there is for the sport and the culturein these parts.

“We’ve had a couple of challenge blitzes forunder-10s and under-12s and I think thatnearly every club took part, and we’ve also hada couple of inter-county development squadblitzes, so the majority of teams are a goodfour or five weeks into their year already.”

However, as is the case in most counties,there are challenges in trying to ensure thatthe games continue to develop at an even andsensible pace.

One of the biggest obstacles that they haveto overcome is getting coaches committed tothe teams for what is generally a very time-consuming year.

“The big problem we are finding, and it’s auniversal thing, is that getting players isn’tthe issue, as we’re in the school and we’recoaching away in there,” Niall told us.

“The kids are keen to come out to the clubsbut it’s making sure you have coaches is thebig issue for us.

“The reason why clubs have folded hasbeen because they haven’t had anyone to runthem, rather than not having enoughplayers,” he explained.

“We’re looking at parents to be involvedbut as we have a good set up with senior andjunior teams in Lancashire at the minute, weare also trying to persuade some of theplayers to get involved too, as a lot of themwill have coaching experience. We’re tryingto get them to give something back to theclubs.”

And it is in this area that the creativity ofthe Lancashire mindset starts to shinethrough and in the case of Niall’s own club,John Mitchell’s, they have come up with anovel idea for ensuring that every youthteam has enough coaches.

“What’s working out very well for JohnMitchell’s at the minute is that they havedevised a rota system for coaches who wantto give their time, but can’t do it every week.

“With the rota, they only end up coachingonce or twice a month. One of the parents co-ordinates the rota and lets people know whenthey’re coaching.

“It obviously won’t work for every club butits working for John Mitchell’s. But for thebigger clubs, with plenty of players, it’scertainly worth looking at,” Niall told us,adding that he felt there was a big win in itfor the kids as well.

“For the kids themselves it’s great becausethey get a variety of coaches and they getexposed to different ideas and differenttechniques.”

And obviously with so much good work andeffort being put into developing the games inLancashire, the players and mentors will bekeen to see how they shape up againstopponents from other parts of Britain at theABC Championships in the summer.

It’s a concept that has got many of theGaels in the north-west more than a littleinterested and there’s no doubt that come thetime for the competition to begin they will beready for the challenge, although Niall doespoint out that it will be another few weeksbefore they have a clear picture of whatteams will be travelling to London for theweekend.

“It’s early days in the season, we’re onlyinto our second or third committee meetingand we have another one in a couple ofweeks. That’s when we’ll have moreinformation and we’ll try and get as manyteams down as possible.

“We have been putting a push on for thelast couple of months at the youth committeemeetings and we are giving the clubs regularup-dates.

“The clubs are now getting back into theswing of things, so the onus is on the clubmentors to get in touch with parents to letthem know the dates and times so that theycan organise their plans.”

What’s for sure though, regardless of howmany Lancashire teams eventually traveldown to the games, those that do willapproach the competition in a typical north-western fashion; with a willingness to workhard, a creative edge, an inventive spirit, awell-managed ambition and a determinationto innovate.

After all, it’s the Lancashire way.

The west’s awake

There is a greatinterest here in theidea of the ABC games.

Spirit of industryalive in Lancashire

“

By John Collins

The Lancashire U17 development squad had success at the CYC in Boston last August.

We’ve six clubs in the north-westat youth level, all operating atvarious age groups. The majorityoperate at under-10 and under-12level, some at under-14 andunder-16 and we have a fewunder-8 teams as well.

“

The Irish Post April 28, 2012 | 7

BY JOHN COLLINS

THE secret to success is often to takeyour strengths, extract themaximum value you can from themand then build on the base structureyou have created.

It’s a sensible and pragmatic way ofgoing about a task: strong foundationscreate strong buildings.

And that’s very much the approachthat Yorkshire community developmentadministrator Andrew Kitterick hasadopted over the past number of yearsas he looks to build the profile of Gaelicgames in his home county.

An educator, facilitator and volunteer,he has used these three pillars toconstruct what he hopes will be a sturdyGAA infrastructure in Leeds,Huddersfield and points even furthernorth as he told the Irish Post.

“I volunteer coached in my club BrosPearse of Huddersfield for a few yearsand then progressed from there andstarted coaching under-16 and under-18teams,” he said.

And these coaching ambitions havebeen backed up with some seriousknowledge and understanding of whatis required from a modern-day trainer.

A combination of his previousworking experience and his love ofGaelic games have provided the perfectmix for a job as a CDA in Britain.

“I have a degree in sports sciencefrom Huddersfield University and I am aqualified teacher with a background inspecial education. As well as that, I havedone some mentoring work and alsosome courses in strength andconditioning.

“When this job came up I just fancieda break from teaching, so I applied.

“It’s the sort of job you’ve got to havea big passion for to be involved in.”

Andrew’s many years involved withthe sport in Yorkshire helped providehim with the sort of sense of realismthat is so important when taking on adevelopment job in what is a largelyunknown sport in a place like Yorkshire,although he does hope there is somelight at the end of the tunnel for Gaelicgames.

“We don’t have UK Sport recognitionat the minute. It’s going be a big thingwhen it comes and that’s hopefullyhappening in the next 12 months.

“It will basically allow us to tap intofunding that comes from the UnitedKingdom. Obviously at present ourfunding is provided by Croke Park andthrough DION.

“We’re working with the UlsterCouncil who we are partneredwith and they have beenthrough the process a fewyears ago, so they’ll be able tohelp us, and if we can get thatit will be a huge step.”

Despite being a minoritysport, the foot print of thegames in Yorkshire is growingand these days theresponsibilities stretch waybeyond the county boundaries.

“My area is pretty spreadout. In Yorkshire, it’s allbased around thewest of

Yorkshire, but we also have a team fromNewcastle, Cuchullains, who play in theYorkshire League.

“They’ve only be going as a club forfour years, we’re trying to develop ourlinks with the schools there andhopefully helping them create an underage club. There’s quite a bit of interestup there.”

Despite the size of the area he has tocover, it is only in the last few monthsthat Andrew has had the luxury ofhaving a part-time assistant to helpshare the workload, although it’s notsomething that he feels has overlyhindered the development of the gamesin the area.

“I’m very much into gettingvolunteer coaches” he said. “I set

up a coach educationprogramme at a place calledNotre Dame College in Leeds.That was set up fairly quickly

after I started in the job.“There is a teacher in

there with links to the GAAin Yorkshire, and every year

we have an enhancementprogramme that enables sixth

form students to get trainedup with a GAA coaching

qualification andwhen they have

that, they go

out and coach for us in local primaryschools as volunteers.

“I’ve replicated that in Huddersfieldand hopefully we’re going to do it inNewcastle as well.

“I’m a big believer that if you startpaying and then the money does dry up,then it is even harder to get people tobecome involved.

“It’s great because we get the backingof schools with ideas like this and thestudents at 17 and 18 realise that maybethey need to have something differenton their CV, maybe a bit ofvolunteering, so I’ve taken advantage ofthat.

“I’ve got about 12 volunteer coachesand one paid part-time coach, so we’rehitting good-numbers.”

Getting coaches on board is one thing,but securing the long term involvementof players is an altogether differentchallenge, especially in an area asculturally diverse as Yorkshire.

“We’ve probably got the sameproblems as a lot of the other countiesaround Britain. Some of the clubs justdon’t have underage systems.

“Four of the seven clubs here inYorkshire have had underage structuresin the past.

“There’s been a big drop-off in thenumber of second and third generationIrish children there are now and

communities are different than theywere 20 years ago.

“The struggle now is to get thetransfer of kids from the coaching thatis going on in schools through to gettingthem to join clubs, but it’s somethingthat we’re working on and I’ve had anincrease in registrations every yearsince I’ve been in the job.

“We’re a little up and down in termsof clubs. We’re focusing very much ondevelopment rather than club andcompetition. It’s a slow process and I’vesaid from the start that it’s going to be along process. There is potential therebut it’s not something that is going tohappen in three or four years.

“We have a school link programmewith the clubs. I had experience of it

before I started this role as I’d createdlinks between two schools inHuddersfield and my club. But you haveto make sure that there’s real interestfrom the school.”

And once the kids are on board withthe clubs opportunities like the ABCChampionship will provide them with agreat opportunity to both representtheir area and also pit their skillsagainst kids of a similar age from otherparts of the country, a notion that isexciting both Andrew and his fellowGaels of Yorkshire.

“The clubs are really up for it but it’sgoing to take a lot of planning. We haveto have a statement of intent in by theend of April regarding how many teamswe’re going to send, so we’ll have to waituntil then to really understand what’sgoing to happen.”

And while some of the counties mightfind the logistics of taking part in sucha tournament quite daunting, in atypical Yorkshire pragmatic stance,Andrew brushes aside such concerns.

“We’re well used to travelling inYorkshire to play games and we want tobe positive about the games. We want toshowcase the good stuff that is going onin the county and it’s a greatopportunity for kids to go out and showeveryone what we’re doing here.

“We’ll definitely be well represented.”

We want to showcase thegood stuff that is going on inthe county and the ABCs area great opportunity for kidsto go out and show everyonewhat we’re doing here.

Yorkshire youth is goingfrom strength to strength

HURLING UP A STORM: Cuchullains young hurlers with club secretary Ciaran McPeake and, below, Yorkshire community development administrator Andrew Kitterick.

“

BY JOHN COLLINS

WAY back in my youth there was ahit song called “It Ain’t What YouDo, It’s The Way That You Do It”.

It was a cover version of an old songfrom the 1930s, recorded initially bypeople like the legendary Ella Fitzgerald.

However, despite what appearancesmight suggest, it wasn’t the iconic soulsinger’s version that was a hit in my era,it was the one by Bananarama and TheFun Boy Three, and it was the sort ofsong that created the background musicto my young life i.e. my father giving outyards about the quality of the music wewere listening to and the fact that“there’s no proper story to that song” andthat “you can’t waltz to songs like that”.

However, enough about the domesticconflict that prevailed in our humblehome back then and on to matters morecurrent, and it was this tune that cameto mind recently when speaking withHertfordshire Games DevelopmentOfficer Ciara O’Brien, pictured.

A Coventry girl, born and bred, and aproduct of John Moore’s University inLiverpool, where she graduated fromwith a degree in Sports Developmentand PE, O’Brien has been in the post forthe past four years, co-ordinating thedevelopment of Gaelic games across acounty that spreads from Oxford all theway to Cambridge and includes severalpoints in between.

It’s a pretty wide parish to serve.However, she seems to be getting all

her parishioners singing from the samehymn sheet, a praiseworthy effort indeedand one which says as much about theeffervescence of her personality and theenergy she has for the job she is doing, asit does for the hard work and dedicationof the Gaels of Hertfordshire.

As the song goes, it ain’t what you do,it’s the way that you do it and that’swhat gets results.

There’s an honest energy toO’Brien that can’t be gainedvia courses or qualifications,but without it, all thetraining under the sunwouldn’t be worth anythingin a role like she has.

And that energy isn’t justlimited to the work she isdoing with the people of herparish, as in the 20 minutesshe spent with this tiredold hack picking herbrains, she remainedup-beat and positiveall the way through,selling the word ofthe GAA in herhome county.

The basicparameters of herjob have beenoutlined by theHertfordshireCounty Board andwere drawn up in ajoint project betweenherself and the Boardas she explained.

“Back in 2009 theCounty Board and Iput together adevelopment plan forHertfordshire, so Iwork towards that,along with other

goals that are set by Britain and CrokePark.

“That includes working in schools,club development, Cúl Camps, as well asthe work we do with ladies football. Ontop of that, we’ve got coaching coursesand referees’ education to look after andorganising the development squads. It’spretty much everything to do with grassroots development of the game.”

Like so many of her peers acrossBritain, the interaction with the schoolsin her area is critical to access potentialnew players and also in promoting thegames to people who previously mighthave been unaware of them.

However, in Hertfordshire, underCiara’s watch, it seems like a prettyeffortless relationship.

“We actually have a fantasticrelationship with schools as the gamesreally sell themselves, and the schoolsare always calling us in to deliver someGaelic football,” she said.

“In the four years that I have been inthe role, we’ve had a great relationshipwith the schools and a lot of clubs havebuilt strong links with teachers.”

Those solid connections have helpedto add a new string to the Hertfordshirebow in the form of one of the first youthladies teams to be started in Britain,with Claddagh Gaels now hoping to beable to field a team in somecompetitions this year.

“Claddagh Gaels were set up a fewyears ago by a group of about 30 girls inLuton as a ladies team. However, theysoon realised that the work they neededto do was to work in schools and to bringthe girls on from there,” Ciara told me.

“A few of the players started coachingin the schools last year and now they haveabout 15 girls coming out and training.

“It’s great for the young girls becausewhile some of them might play youthfootball for boys’ teams, they have tostop at 13 and then they are sort of in

limbo for a few years. It’s a greatinitiative and the ladies involved aredoing a brilliant job.”

And the positives don’t stopwith the introduction of a girl’steam, as there is a lorry load ofcoaching and coachdevelopment going on underCiara’s watch, with plenty ofinterest in both the coaching

and, surprisingly, therefereeing aspects of the

game.“We had 16

coaches for thechildren’s LevelOne course and 14for the Level Oneyouth and adultcourse that weheld last year.

“We’ve alsojust had a youngreferees’ course

too and we had19 lads attend.

We already have 25young qualified

referees who officiateat the Go Games blitzes

and they get mentoredby an experienced ref.

“We’ve just had ourdevelopment meetingand we’ve identified acouple of young

referees who are going to be fantasticsenior referees in the future.”

And then of course there is theunderage boys’ teams as well and this isan area of growth too for Ciara and herfellow coach, Luton-born Luke Moloney,who assists her on a part-time basis andwhom Ciara describes as “brilliant”.

“We’re working in an area coveringLuton, Watford, St Albans, Oxford andWaltham Cross and there is greatactivity going on in all those districts.

“For example, St Josephs in WalthamCross are doing fantastic work and theyhave just created a senior team out ofthe young lads coming through over theyears. The fruits of their labour arestarting to show now.

“It’s fantastic and it’s great to see a lotof the boys who started training with

them when they were under-12 are nowon the senior team.

“Excluding Cambridge Parnells, whodon’t have any under-age teams at theminute, we have six underage clubs inHertfordshire, although you could sayseven as Claddagh Gaels are there now.”

To help with the further developmentof these teams, Ciara has, for the firsttime, run a series of GAA camps invarious locations around the countyover Easter.

“Over Easter we decided to run a fewcamps for the kids. So far we’ve hadthem in Luton, Oxford and Watford. Wehad 30 kids out in Luton, 15 in Watfordand 10 in Oxford. The kids loved theconcept and we got a lot out of it too.”

As far as the upcoming ABCChampionships are concerned, Ciara

will be expecting a large representationfrom Hertfordshire, especially giventhat for most of the teams at least, itwill be a day trip down rather thanhaving to arrange and incur the cost ofaccommodation.

In summing up all that was going onin Hertfordshire at this moment in time,Ciara simply said: “We’ve so many goodpeople involved here and so manypeople willing to give so much of theirown time to the GAA on a volunteerbasis. They really are the catalysts forall that is going on,” she said beforepausing to add: “You know, we’ve a greatlittle county here in Hertfordshire.”

And in response, the Gaels ofHertfordshire would say: “And we’ve agreat Games Development Officer hereas well.”

Ciara’s Herts in the right place8 | April 28, 2012 The Irish Post

Mick Foy withSt Dympnas.

BY JOHN COLLINS

MONAGHAN native Mick Foy is abusy man these days. It’s that timeof the year when the Associationtakes over his spare time, andmerely getting a chance to talkwith him was something of alogistical nightmare.

The St Dympnas clubman’sevenings are fully occupied withthe world of the GAA inHertfordshire and like so manyother dedicated Gaels, when heisn’t dashing to a meetingsomewhere, he’s gathering kids formatches and training.

It’s a full-time job on a part-timetimetable with a volunteer’s salary.

And judging by what lies aheadfor St Dympnas youth footballersthis year, 2012 isn’t going to offerMick the opportunity to get anyrest any time soon.

Fielding youth teams at all agegroups from under-8 to under-18,St Dympna’s are a fine example of

a club that is fully committed andwell established in the developmentof young players in Hertfordshire.

The ABC Championships are anopportunity that Foy, the playersand the club members are lookingforward to, in order to test theirlevel against the rest of the clubsin Britain.

“Certainly from the talks wehave had with parents, everyoneseems to be buying into the idea ofthe games,” Foy said. “We had ameeting with the parents before westarted our season a few weeks agoand they have all come back with agood understanding of the conceptof the games and overall withinthe county there has been a prettygood response from the clubs.

“Playing games within your owncounty all the time means thewhole thing becomes a bit stale.

“The one thing that has sold it toour parents is the chance to playagainst teams from other parts ofthe country so that we can see how

we have progressed as a club.”And those feelings appear to be

echoed around the county, as Mickconfirmed when the subject of thewider picture in Hertfordshire wasbrought up: “I’d say every clubwould be fairly confident that theywill have whatever age groups thatthey are fielding this year inHertfordshire competitionparticipating in the games.”

And as if the challenges of beinginvolved in both Hertfordshirecompetition and also the ABCgames wasn’t enough for the Gaelsof Herts, their younger playersalso have an invitation to play inCroke Park on June 3 at half timein one of the Leinster Championshipmatches to be played that day, amassive honour for the young kidsin the county and one that has themall very excited about the prospectsof running out in headquarters.

So as busy as Mick Foy mightappear now, it looks as if it’s onlygoing to get busier.

St Dympnas up for challenge