Win for New York could pose major headache for HQ

IT SEEMED like a good idea at the time, several years ago, the decision to allow New York play in the Connacht Senior Football Championship, thus keeping the exiles in touch with home base.

Now, however, it’s assuming nightmare proportions for the GAA HQ. With the deterioration of the economy here and the subsequent strengthening of the playing base in various Irish centres across the world, there is a very real possibility that New York could beat Roscommon in Gaelic Park this weekend.

That would mean Roscommon eliminated from the Connacht championship, New York advancing to the semi-final meeting, in Connacht, against the winners of Sligo and Leitrim, and therein, the problem. With so many undocumented Irish in New York, the probability is that the exiles would be considerably weakened for that semi-final back in Ireland — what then? “That would be a serious challenge,” agreed GAA president Christy Cooney yesterday, “It could be an issue because legislation hasn’t been sorted out with regard to illegal immigrants — that’s a problem.