How GAA took root on London rugby soil

The newest GAA club in London has sprung up at the ‘home away from home’ of Irish rugby, writes Michael Duggan.

Hazelwood in Sunbury, just west of London, is the headquarters of London Irish. The professional squad, currently topping the Greene King IPA Championship, train here. The amateur sides train and play their home games here. The mini and youth rugby set up is one of the most impressive in England, and ladies and girls teams are also up and running.

In short, this is a true rugby bastion. A bastion of Irishness too, but also proud to reflect the cosmopolitan setting London provides with players coming from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. So how does it end up as home to a GAA club?