We live in a beautiful country.
The GAA gets a lot of bad press.
It seems like every other week the game is dead and the soul is lost and we’d all be better off just packing up and heading to America for the summer.
Somewhere along the way, we’ve all lost that pure innocence we started out with when the GAA was just about kicking a ball, enjoying yourself, building something with your friends and family.
Sometimes, it gets too much and we lose sight of that.
Pressure and doom forced on club GAA players is a joke – no wonder young lads are quitting, writes @ConanDoherty https://t.co/QG8WZzvPCd
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 17, 2016
It takes a step backwards for some clarity. It requires a shot of a GAA pitch along the coast to help you take stock and it involves action from a grassroots match to make you see the real beauty of the games and how they were supposed to be.
Well, thanks to Paul Carroll, a photographer from Cork, that beauty has been captured forever and it has been captured in every county in Ireland.
For seven years, Carroll has been traipsing around the island and photographing some of the finest GAA landmarks this country has to offer.
31,000 miles he has scaled in search of the finest and most unique shots so they can be compiled into a book, Gaelic Fields.
“We Irish can take for granted the amazing locations and beauty in every county on the island. We tend to romanticise and enjoy Ireland more when we are away,” Carroll said.
“The club is a local support system which accommodates all social levels in both urban and rural areas. During the 7 year period it took to create Gaelic Fields, clubs have withstood a recession and the mass emigration of many of its young players. It’s a vibrant and important grassroots movement.”
And it’s all captured in the Cork man’s book which is released in November (you can pre-order here).
It already looks like a must-have.
On the latest episode of the GAA Hour Hurling Show Wooly and the lads reflect on a monumental weekend of action. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.
