Parishes become clubs. Clubs become empires. Empires become some people’s who life.
The GAA is like no other. Take a drive anywhere in Ireland and you’ll see it – these tiny, tiny villages, miles and miles of what looks like abandoned countryside and then, boom: a pitch opens up out of nowhere, a clubhouse, a car park, maybe even a stand.
You could be in the most secluded area in Ireland and you’d be forgiven for looking for the local club because you know that the rest of the place is going to be revolving around it.
That’s how it works. Gaelic Games provides the only passion in some people’s lives and it’s a beautiful thing how you can throw yourself so wholly into this… game.
Slaughtneil in Derry is a crazy place.
Between Dungiven and Maghera, there’s the Glenshane mountain that separates north Derry and south Derry. Somewhere along the side of it lies what is currently the most dominant club in Ulster.
You wouldn’t believe someone if they were guiding you there through windy little roads that a pitch was going to ever arrive, never mind a number of them, a stand, a gigantic club house. An empire.
But it’s there, Slaughtneil. It’s there where so many people from across the province have fond memories of the famous teenage disco – how Slaughtneil ended up being the centre of the universe every Friday night, God only knows. But the buses collected them – put on by the club – and the people flocked there week after week. It’s rare you’d meet someone in Derry that doesn’t have a recollection of the Slaughtneil disco.
And the current players smile about it now because they know that those discos had a big part to play in building facilities they now call home.
The club is on the brink of an Ulster treble having already won the camogie and hurling finals and the same team who have won three in a row football titles in Derry (bringing their total tally to four – that’s the scale of what they’re doing) are ready for Kilcoo. What is happening there is unreal and it’s not like it has always been happening.
This is the work, the bloody hard work, of good men and women. A good club but nearly so typical of Ireland.
The GAA Hour chats to Ballyea sensation Tony Kelly and features a raging argument over which road you should take from Clare to Wexford. Subscribe here on iTunes.
