I was at a 21st birthday party last night.
From an outsiders perspective, it wasn’t any different to any other 21st, there was food, young people awkwardly mingling and plenty of pictures taken.
It followed the same routine pretty much, no one would go on the dance floor until the mammys invaded it and the party kicked off.
All the standard tunes were playing from Dancing Queen right up to Y.M.CA and it was a great night, the party was on in my local GAA club.
As all fine Whitehall Colmcille men do we found ourselves in McGowan’s of Phibsboro and danced the night away, we may have stolen an old trophy from the trophy cabinet and pretended it was a big night out celebrating our victory.
As 21st birthday parties go it was right up there with the best of them but that wasn’t because of the songs or the food (which were both great) it was down to the people I spent the night with.
I started playing GAA when I was five or six with Whitehall Colmcille, like any young lad I threatened to quit a few times but mam always made me keep playing and she was right to.
The craic is always mighty and you’d never be short of a lad to go for a kick or a pint with because of it.
My team growing up was always close-knit, everyone always got on really well and, unlike most teams in our club, we all kept playing for the club after minor and the lads always kept the group friendship strong.
So, when our teammate said he was having his party in the local clubhouse we made sure there wasn’t a man missing, it was the same for everyone’s 18ths too.
We got the lad a watch with Class of 96 engraved on the back of it, the year we were all born and the group photos were aplenty. The memories will be cherished.
When the ceremonial birthday speech came around the mother of the birthday boy had a few words to say, she thanked everyone for coming but gave a special shout out to the Class of 96 for being there through thick and thin for the guts of 21 years.
And that’s when it hit me, I’d spent two nights a week every week with these lads shouldering them, hitting them and getting battered by them but you never remember this training session or that training session but there’s plenty of memories from generally hanging out that I can recount.
And that’s why the headline says you’re a fool if you think GAA is about hurling and football, that’s what brings us together but from personal experience, it’s about the community and friendship and everything that comes from it.
Hopefully, I’ll have another 15 years playing GAA if the body holds up but I know that I’ll have the friends I made because of it for life.
