He’s been there before.
He’s in London long enough now to know not only the effort, but the standards these lads are operating at. It was back in May 2017 when the Tyrone man represented his adopted home in the championship and though they lost to Leitrim that day, it was a very enjoyable experience and he’s confident that lessons have been learned and progress made since.
He’s enjoyed himself across the water. The GAA has kept him ticking for most of it.
With emmigration from this country a growing trend over the last few years, the Irish community has continued to grow in London and when that’s the case, the GAA is always going to be on an upward curve too.
The facilities may not be the greatest, the logistics are difficult but there’s good GAA people there who are doing their best.
“Tír Chonail Gaels have the best underage structure – under 12s, 14s and 16s – like we have over here and that’s what you have to have if you want to succeed,” says the Paddy Power news columnist.
He’s a Fulham Irish man, won a championship with them in 2017 and he’s the club’s manager for this year.
“They want to be there, no airs or graces, they’d be changing on the side of the pitch and they want to win a championship and that’s why lads like me are over there.
“The Tír Chonaill Gaels club have a great youth structure which other clubs should be following, if you want to bring up those London based players. Because if you look at lads like myself – I’m there a year, I’m not there any other year and that’s why the London lads have to drive it on.
And that’s exactly what they do. Hardened Gaels like the rest of us, they mightn’t have been born into it, but they’ve certainly taken to it.
“They’re good fellas, it might be hard for them to adapt but the most of them are great lads. I couldn’t say a bad word about them, they gave me their time and I tried to help them along with my experiences.
“The facilities wouldn’t be that great in London. The pitches wouldn’t be great but it’s 15 or 20 lads who want to represent the GAA culture over there. When they want to be there, it’s a great place to be. I’m in managing now at the minute, they’ll do anything you tell them, they want to win a championship, they’re brilliant.
“It’s probably a 1 hour 20 minute commute so it’s not glamorous. But they want to do it, they want to be there”
In Ciaran Deely they’ve a brilliant manager and Mugsy is confident that he’ll have them primed to give Galway lots of it when they meet in championship curtain raiser in a couple of weeks time.
“There’s no difference between that and the Tyrone camp. They’re all good, genuine lads. They all want to win. If you want to be there and you want to try and best for your county or your club or whatever it is – that’s what you have to do, your best,” says the Paddy Power news columnist.
“The London set up was class, Ciaran Deely was unbelievable to me and he’s still a good manager. Listen, Galway is a massive, massive ask for them. It always is, you look at New York and London – on the day, I know my year, we were right in the game up until the last 25 minutes and they pulled away. Maybe it was a bit of fitness, a bit of cuteness that we wouldn’t have had. We had 7 London based players, they’re exceptional lads and they want to learn. Galway is a different animal coming to town.
As for his own managerial stint, Mugsy as usual, is taking it in his stride.
“I was playing with the players and trying to encourage them as a player and then you have to pick the team as a manager. I’ve got close to the players so the hard decisions are going to mean maybe dropping a friend. But I’ve always said it’s for the benefit of the club, the benefit of the team.”
Pictured is Paddy Power News Columnist Owen Mulligan
