GAA the greatest sport on earth

HAVING witnessed another outstanding All-Ireland hurling final between Tipperary and Kilkenny, I feel compelled to write this letter in the GAA’s favour.

Both Gaelic football and hurling are the two greatest sports in the world, without rival.

I watch soccer every week in the form of the English Premier League and enjoy it immensely, but the obscene amounts of money they earn clouds my judgement of their commitment and makes me question their loyalties.

GAA players play for their club from underage to senior, if they are lucky they make their county teams and play with pride every time they grace the field. A man who can come in from a day at work, head to a strenuous training session and not receive a penny in return has my complete respect.

That is the embodiment of sheer commitment and pride of place.

Watching Christiano Ronaldo prance around the pitch having snatched his €200,000 pay packet doesn’t give me the same satisfaction as watching Henry Shefflin or Colm Cooper score a point from an impossible position in the dying embers of an All-Ireland final. GAA players play for their parish and their families, soccer players play for the wages and the fame.

After the dust has settled on the hurling final, the players will go back to work or college and continue to train hard for their clubs and counties, all for one sole purpose, to make their people proud.

Clubs all over Ireland including my own beloved Edenderry GAA go through years of lows and disappointment in the hope that through pure gritty determination they can rise again to moments of time-honoured glory.

This makes GAA the greatest sport on earth.

Justin Kelly

Edenderry

Co Offaly