GAA’s united front on battlefields and hurling fields
The bulk of the teams and spectators had yet to arrive so the vast swathes of parkland adjoining the Delaware River were mostly empty.
That made it all the easier to spot a unique sight: two orderly lines of hurlers walking slowly but purposefully towards the main section of the sprawling five-pitch set-up. Volunteers had cut the grass and lined the fields, pitched the tents and laid out all the paperwork, stocked the fridges and risen the flags and goal posts, all to create a temporary bastion of the GAA just outside the limits of the City of Brotherly Love.
Teams from all over the US and Canada had arrived in by planes, trains and automobiles. They brought with them uniquely coloured jerseys to go with the unique stories that had brought them to the game in the first place.
No story is more unique than that of the Barley House Wolves. Nobody celebrated a title with deeper joy than they did after overcoming Allentown by 0-16 to 1-11.
Let’s refresh the memory about a team you may probably have heard about: the club was founded in 2006 by US National Guard soldiers in New Hampshire. On their way home from a deployment to Iraq, they saw a hurling match on television in Shannon airport. Two years ago, Ruairi O’Mahony got involved. At the time he was playing with Boston Tipperary having played underage with Cork and senior club hurling with Delanys during the Dublin Hill outfit’s four-year stint at the top. “It’s easy to coach them because their effort is out of this world,” O’Mahony told me on Sunday. “You tell them to do stuff and they’re down on the line, all 20 of them, no questions. It makes a big difference. It’s gone from strength to strength.”
A Junior C team, they were in Philly this year to avenge a narrow loss at last year’s NACB finals.
“Last year we lost the final by a point. We should have won it but it didn’t work out for us. We sat down together afterwards and we decided we had to put in the extra effort and get some recruitment going.”
Not long after, a pair of gifts arrived in the shape of the Naughton brothers. Their grandfather was from Ballinadee — hinterland of Courcey Rovers in Cork — and their father would keep in touch with his own father’s roots.
Pat and Seán’s sporting interests were more local to the North East though: ice hockey, baseball and lacrosse.
“Out-and-out athletes,” is how O’Mahony describes them. “They started playing hurling in January. One was midfield today, the other was half-forward. They’re popping over points from everywhere. A month after they joined I went down to training and they were there before me, popping over 65s. That was after a month!”
“I’ve been playing sport my whole life but I think hockey and baseball helped the most with the ground stroke and the swing,” Seán told me after I dragged him away from his joyous team mates. My dad gave me and my brother a couple of hurls for Christmas and had us join the team. Seeing the way they’re reacting to the win is really emotional. A lot of these guys have worked very hard for six years to get here. I’m just glad I was able to help them out.”
The approach put in place by one of the founders, Lt. Colonel Ray Valas, is very much alive even if military veterans are less evident.
“I won’t say the military aspect is phasing out,” said O’Mahony. “But it was all military at the start whereas now it’s just four or five starting who are military. But the whole ethos of the club has been maintained. We walk in here, double file, polo shirts — that’s a huge contrast to at home where fellas stroll in and get ready when they want. It’s the discipline, no messing.
“In the semi-final against St Louis, I won’t say they were trying to draw us out but it was getting scrappy. Every time though, our fellas put the ball down and got on with it. With Delanys back home, we were plagued with disciplinary problems. It’s refreshing. It’s just not tolerated and that comes from the military guys.”
Tired and happy, O’Mahony went back to his seat, watching his team mates, all the while calmly smiling. The full-time whistles kept ringing out around Pennypack Park as 13 finals churned out winners and another raucous cup presentation. Every unique story adding another chapter.
* john.w.riordan@gmail.com Twitter: JohnWRiordan
