There are people out there.
You’d have to wonder when it would occur to someone that they should try and ruin the livelihoods of others. You’d have to wonder why it would possess someone to target a GAA club of all organisations.
You’d be left wondering for quite a while, because what was done in Derry the weekend just gone leaves us with loads of questions, but so few answers.
Watty Graham’s GAC Glen are a rural club in the heartland of South Derry. A club that was founded in 1933, and has become a community ever since.
Conor Glass is the poster boy, having captained his county to an Ulster minor title, and gone on to become a successful Aussie Rules star with Hawthorn.
Work hard. Stay humble. 💚💛 @Conor_Glass #GAA pic.twitter.com/1mB5boirlw
— O B (@OdhranBradley) September 23, 2017
Far from getting ahead of himself, far from forgetting where it all began, last weekend he was back home and was giving words of encouragement to the youngsters that aspire to be like him, that are inspired by him.
@WattyGrahamsGAA thanks for U12 tournament today from @CarryduffCLG & thanks to @Conor_Glass @HawthornFC for words of encouragement #roots pic.twitter.com/2VHUo55YwN
— Aidan H (@aidanh159) September 23, 2017
That’s what the GAA is about, the community, the volunteer spirit.
It’s so sad then, when someone feels the need to attack something that isn’t theirs’, and you’d have to feel that it’s done out of jealousy.
That’s exactly what happened to the South Derry club last weekend, when a group contrived to drive onto their pitch, and skid and drift around it for thrills.
Hope the vermin who tried to destroy our pitch last night are proud. Our young camogs trained as usual this morning. Onwards & upwards! pic.twitter.com/3QjRZ9ztjm
— CLG Watty Graham, Gleann (@WattyGrahamsGAA) September 24, 2017
The sad thing was, they did plenty of damage to the pitch, and as the club told us on Monday, they will have plenty of repair work ahead of them in order to fix the damage.
“The same thing happened a few years back but it’s certainly strange. Our pitch is along the main Belfast to Derry road. They took cars onto the pitch and tried to damage it as much as possible. No doubt it’s drink-related,” a spokesperson for Watty Graham’s GAC, Glen told SportsJOE.
“Thankfully it’s a really dry pitch so the damage is mostly superficial. It’ll require some repair work which we’ll do in the weeks ahead.“We’re not sure on costings but it won’t be too bad. Thankfully we’ve two other pitches which will carry the load in the meantime,” they continued.
