A sight for sore eyes.
Hordes of Irish youngsters will flock to America as soon as the colleges quit and the first sun sets on another summer. The American dream is an adventure being taken by more and more of our youngsters with each passing year as the lure of the ‘once in a lifetime’ trip holds sway.
They head to the world’s biggest cities from Chicago to New York all the way to San Francisco and the majority of them jet home saying it was the best experience of their lives.
It can be a tough call to take the plunge, however. Lads have commitments at home and they find it tough to leave them behind. Nothing is tougher left behind, however, than the GAA.
It is a tough call to make for GAA players.
Because not many of them will face a more awkward chat in their life than the first time they let their manager know they’re thinking about going off for the summer.
They want to stay for the good of the club, for their teammates, for their parish. But they also know that the chance to travel is a fleeting one and if you don’t take it now you might never get the opportunity again.
Friends in college are all going. Friends who have gone before would go again at the drop of a hat, and sure they only missed one club game last summer anyway.
Some stay, bound to the GAA. They love the club, a county call-up mightn’t be far away. The senior championship is there for the taking this year.
Some go.
And you can’t blame them for that. The Irish invasion is so strong nowadays that America will feel like home to these explorers.
On top of the presence of loads of other Irish, the American GAA clubs ensure they’re never too far away.
And the GAA scene is only getting stronger and stronger over there, as can be seen by the frightening XV of hurlers who travelled over Stateside last summer.
That’s because of the investment and works being put in by clubs like Tipperary San Francisco. They were the winners of the San Francisco Championship last year, with esteemed players like Wexford’s Paudie Foley and Galway’s Richie in their ranks.
They’ll be looking to do back to back this year in their impressive new piece of kit which was shared on Instagram by former Galway minor hurler and Gort man Gerard O’Donoghue.
The guaranteed Irish symbol is salivating. The whole jersey is a work of art.
The club are no strangers to an astute piece of kit. This was their training top last year.
They’re going the right way about attracting players…
You can view the best of the rest of the American GAA jerseys here.
