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Recession revives GAA's fortunes in New York

Boost for NY GAA as economy drives footballers out of Ireland

By
KIRK CARAPEZZA,

Published Friday, June 26, 2009, 4:21 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:34 PM

 

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Gaelic Park in the Bronx is undergoing a reversal in fortunes as Irish footballers flock back to Big Apple
Gaelic Park in the Bronx is undergoing a reversal in fortunes as Irish footballers flock back to Big Apple

The recession has affected all walks of American life and sport is just one of the many victims. Fewer fans are willing to pay top dollar and sponsors are hard to find.

But the global nature of the recession is boosting the fortunes of one particular sport: New York’s Gaelic Athletic Association.

The storied 95-year-old amateur football league is experiencing a revival as laid-off footballers have fled Ireland for America.

At Gaelic Park in the Bronx, players showcase the requisite skills for Gaelic football – a hyper-charged hybrid between rugby and soccer. They punt and shoulder tackle, sprint and toe-tap, handling the ball - as if it were covered in Velcro - just like their counterparts in Ireland.

But these players are amateurs who, off the pitch, must earn a living. The majority are construction workers; the overwhelming majority Irish immigrants - some illegal, others legal - like Gary Dowd, a New York City union construction worker.

Dowd, 32, is a midfielder for team Donegal. He first emigrated to this Irish working class neighborhood in the Bronx 10 years ago, and as he often likes to say enthusiastically, “I’m back in New York, and I’m here to stay.”

Two years ago, deflated, Dowd had returned home to Ireland for good because it was increasingly difficult to maintain his working status following September 11, 2001. At the time, he also thought he was returning to a land that would be flowing with milk and honey. In January, 2007, the Irish economy - the so-called Celtic Tiger - was roaring. But then, six months later, the credit crunch hit, the real estate market dried up, and, Dowd says, everything just went “belly up.”

“Buildings were shutting down. Banks had no money. People were under severe pressure,” Dowd said. “And at the moment, it’s still getting so bad yet.”

Before it got worse, Dowd applied for a working visa last year and came back to the Bronx, and now he’s truly "here to stay" because unemployment has reached nearly 20 percent in Ireland. That’s the worst joblessness rate in Europe, and it has triggered some of the most talented amateur Irish footballers to emigrate here in search of jobs, infusing New York City’s one-time thriving Gaelic football league once again with some much needed young blood, and, Dowd says, more players are on the way.

“There are plane loads. Slowly but surely they’re coming back,” Dowd said.

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