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What a joke  “IT’S
a compete joke…” That’s the opinion of the London hurling
manager.
The GAA have stated that they will be keeping a close eye on London’s
exploits in the League and Championships this year.
Now the competitions are more structured, they expect the Exiles to hold
their own and no longer be the whipping boys of the GAA.
Perhaps they should consider giving teams in Britain a level playing field
before they start scrutinising, for hurlers on this side of the water
cannot even purchase hurleys from any shop or manufacturer and must either
rely on their county board for supplies or fly across the water and pick
them up themselves.
Hurling may be considered an amateur sport but some kind of assistance
from the bigwigs in Croke Park would be appreciated.
Say two guys sat down to dinner and only one was given a knife and fork,
with the other told to go and find his own cutlery, what would you think?
It’s hardly a fair situation is it? It’s rude almost.
Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in the GAA at the moment.
Players in the 32 home counties are spoon-fed while the rest are left
to scrap for leftovers.
“It’s quite the eye-opener for lads who have just moved over
to London,” said London manager Mick O’Dea.
“It’s a complete joke that they have to travel back to Ireland
in order to pick some up. Every hurler has an idea of his preferred hurley,
from where it’s made to its length and weight. They have very little
option over here though, don’t they?”
Never mind the well-documented lack of facilities, to not even be able
to get a hold of the correct equipment makes you fear for the future of
the sport in Britain.
All the Development Officers in the world can be appointed but if players
don’t have easy access to hurleys or helmets what lifespan can they
hope it to have?
At the moment the only places you can obtain hurling gear is off either
county or club boards but even then you’re not guaranteed they’ll
have a hurley to which you’re suited.
Not that it’s their fault. London Chairman Tommy Harrell has to
make trips back and forth to Ireland in order to pick up hurls for the
county side while club board officials have to do the same.
Up in Warwickshire it’s no better. As John Mitchels manager Mick
Collins revealed, they thought they’d found a solution to the problem
but instead the situation got even worse.
“There was a guy making them up here at one stage but they were
terrible,” he said.
“We used them for the first while but they just weren’t any
good. One night we managed to break seven of them in a training session.
Our county chairman is actually at home at the moment to pick some up.
He goes back and forth throughout the year so we’re reliant on him
to bring some back to us.”
In Ruislip this Sunday London play Carlow in the National Hurling League.
One team has been training on floodlit and all-weather facilities for
the past few months; the other forced to sweat it out in the gym.
Yet it’s the latter’s performances that will be under observation.
It’s time for the GAA to turn the magnifying glass the other way
around.
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