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I never understand the big interest in this country in English and Scottish soccer, ok I can understand the Celtic thing a bit because of all the immigration from Donegal to Glasgow going back generations, I find it embarrassing if say you're in having lunch in a pub and the English premiership is being shown like it's the national sport here, the British tourists come to see the wild Atlantic way and to experience some Irish culture, instead they get the same stuff they see at home, I remember being in a pub in Letterkenny, the national league final was on that day, the had the English premiership games on all the big screens, the barman finally put the National league final on for me on a wee 14" tv behind the bar, and this pub has republican/nationalist stuff plastered all over the walls, yeah right.
Some parts of east/northeast Donegal are very anti GAA.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2739 - 31/08/2017 21:41:03
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "I never understand the big interest in this country in English and Scottish soccer, ok I can understand the Celtic thing a bit because of all the immigration from Donegal to Glasgow going back generations, I find it embarrassing if say you're in having lunch in a pub and the English premiership is being shown like it's the national sport here, the British tourists come to see the wild Atlantic way and to experience some Irish culture, instead they get the same stuff they see at home, I remember being in a pub in Letterkenny, the national league final was on that day, the had the English premiership games on all the big screens, the barman finally put the National league final on for me on a wee 14" tv behind the bar, and this pub has republican/nationalist stuff plastered all over the walls, yeah right.
Some parts of east/northeast Donegal are very anti GAA." It all puzzles me how a county like Donegal can have a large swathe of area which is anti gaa and yet can win 2 all irelands in a 20 year period where as we here in Kildare are football mad the length and breath of the county yet we have little to no success.
11jm11 (Kildare) - Posts: 365 - 31/08/2017 21:57:42
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "I never understand the big interest in this country in English and Scottish soccer, ok I can understand the Celtic thing a bit because of all the immigration from Donegal to Glasgow going back generations, I find it embarrassing if say you're in having lunch in a pub and the English premiership is being shown like it's the national sport here, the British tourists come to see the wild Atlantic way and to experience some Irish culture, instead they get the same stuff they see at home, I remember being in a pub in Letterkenny, the national league final was on that day, the had the English premiership games on all the big screens, the barman finally put the National league final on for me on a wee 14" tv behind the bar, and this pub has republican/nationalist stuff plastered all over the walls, yeah right.
Some parts of east/northeast Donegal are very anti GAA." Couldn't agree more. Embarrassing.
hurlinspuds (Cork) - Posts: 1494 - 31/08/2017 22:08:07
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Who is Roddy Doyle?
riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 31/08/2017 22:22:01
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Replying To 11jm11: "It all puzzles me how a county like Donegal can have a large swathe of area which is anti gaa and yet can win 2 all irelands in a 20 year period where as we here in Kildare are football mad the length and breath of the county yet we have little to no success." I suppose it's a big county,I can watch lots of sports and enjoy them, I can't figure why they hate the GAA so much just, the GAA clubs are the life blood of a lot of small communities,
I think the see the big games and Croker and figure someone is lining their pockets from it, the Grab All Association they call us,
Don't know the population of Kildare but ye must have as many if not more people down there, maybe it's just the metal that's bred into our boys in the hills of Donegal!! the Gaoth Dobhair men like Neil Mc Gee seem to be built of different stuff anyway.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2739 - 31/08/2017 22:32:47
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Replying To riverboys: "Who is Roddy Doyle?" You're joking Riverboy?
The Snapper, The Van, The Commitments trilogy writer. Wrote many adult and kids books. Prize winning author. The Second Half-Roy Keane, co-written by him.
Laois76 (Laois) - Posts: 1270 - 31/08/2017 22:49:55
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Replying To gormdubhgorm: "I find Roddy Doyle's comments surprising as his family went to the local GAA club plenty of times. I am sure it is taken out of context to sell a podcast.
There is some merit to what the OP says. The fact is most Dublin GAA supporters have country roots who got them into the game. Be it 1st\2nd\3rd generation culchie.
Many Dublin clubs were founded by culchies. One of the main reasons the GAA is strong in Dublin is because of thier culchie forefathers.
People who Roddy Doyle is talking about do exist. But you will find more often then not it is because there is no culchie in thier bloodline. Or it has been so long ago that they have forgotten there is any culchie in thier ancestry.
Doyle is right in what he is saying. But he is exaggerating it. And does not state the real reason.
The half interested/ not interested Dublin GAA 'fan' who laughs at 'the gah' and says we for a British soccer team has no close culchie relations.
If he\she had they would be dragged to all sorts of GAA matches at a young age and told to shout for some team down the sticks." I don't think that having 'culchie' parents is necessarily a requirement to be a GAA supporter or member in Dublin. It may well be a connection for people in 'new' commuter areas as they spring up or become built up, such as Lucan or Palmerstown 20-30 years ago or Adamstown and Clonee in recent years, where new residents from various parts of the country would naturally gravitate to what is familiar to them, ie the GAA. however there are lots of clubs , especially those outside the city in Fingal for example, where the membership in, and the organisation of the clubs in almost 100% down to locals, and by that I'd mean families with a long history in these areas, not just recent arrivals .
The strong dislike of the GAA around Dublin is however common enough among people of Roddy Doyle's age group from the days when, as is often quoted to me by a GAH hating work colleague, the brothers in the school would clatter any lads that wanted to play soccer instead of GAA. As a result of this the only time they got to play soccer was after school, and as a result he always associated GAA as just another subject to hate, simplistic I know, but a very real reason why a lot of people of that generation never wanted anything to do with the GAA once their school days were finished.
AHP (Dublin) - Posts: 323 - 31/08/2017 22:54:34
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I was in Thailand many moons ago with a few Galway lads. We met a Dublin fella in a pub in Koa San Road. He was waxing lyrical about a Thai kick boxing tournament he went to see and how great it was that they had their own culture that they were so into. We asked him if he went to Croke Park much. The conversation changed.
I'm living here in Australia and play soccer and football . The English lads in the soccer team, they coach at the local club, go to see the clubs top team play, go to see the A-League and follow Huddersfield or Wolves. Then on nights out you'd meet Irish lads in the pub who are experts in football. Do they coach? No, do they follow a local team, no., do they play, no..their total knowledge of the game is from watching the premiership. Does anyone respect their opinion?
Many English and Scottish lads ask the same question "why don't you follow your local team like we do?".
Yet these Irish guys think they're more cultured than GAA people.
GalwayDownUnder (Galway) - Posts: 63 - 01/09/2017 00:32:51
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "I never understand the big interest in this country in English and Scottish soccer, ok I can understand the Celtic thing a bit because of all the immigration from Donegal to Glasgow going back generations, I find it embarrassing if say you're in having lunch in a pub and the English premiership is being shown like it's the national sport here, the British tourists come to see the wild Atlantic way and to experience some Irish culture, instead they get the same stuff they see at home, I remember being in a pub in Letterkenny, the national league final was on that day, the had the English premiership games on all the big screens, the barman finally put the National league final on for me on a wee 14" tv behind the bar, and this pub has republican/nationalist stuff plastered all over the walls, yeah right.
Some parts of east/northeast Donegal are very anti GAA." With you on that 100%. I just grew out of that nonsense around the age of 12.
keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 01/09/2017 01:55:21
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Replying To Hardtimes: "Maybe there is some context missing to what he said but it sounds a pretty sad thing to say. The GAA is just a stop gap for soccer supporters during the summer? But the Irish soccer season is in full flow at the moment is it not? So surely supporters have plenty of soccer games to attend. If he's suggesting that soccer in this country is a non participated or attended sport then would that not make soccer the real fraud." Excellent post.
keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 01/09/2017 01:58:38
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The guy is totally out of touch with reality. Cannot see why people still don't understand how big a part the GAA play in Irish society. And I hate the way this post had to turn into something about the Dubs. It's about Roddy. Huge GAA support in Dublin they are a credit to the game.
So is he trying to tell me that soccer has some kind of more meaningful impact on Irish society. Sure agree that soccer is the world game and GAA can never compete with that, but there is still room there for the greatest amateur organisation on the planet. Give some credit where credit is due. There aren't many professional organisations in the world that have the facilities that the GAA have. There aren't any sports played at the level of professionalism that the GAA is played where the players are from the clubs and counties that they play for. If he cannot see how great that is then to me there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he thinks. We might aswell join the UK again and bury Gaelic games, the Irish language, Irish culture right now. Nothing wrong with having our own identity.
ColinWex (Wexford) - Posts: 901 - 01/09/2017 04:58:38
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "I suppose it's a big county,I can watch lots of sports and enjoy them, I can't figure why they hate the GAA so much just, the GAA clubs are the life blood of a lot of small communities,
I think the see the big games and Croker and figure someone is lining their pockets from it, the Grab All Association they call us,
Don't know the population of Kildare but ye must have as many if not more people down there, maybe it's just the metal that's bred into our boys in the hills of Donegal!! the Gaoth Dobhair men like Neil Mc Gee seem to be built of different stuff anyway." Guarantee GAA pumps a lot more money into grass roots and building good facilities for clubs and county than any other sporting organisation in Ireland (and beyond).
ColinWex (Wexford) - Posts: 901 - 01/09/2017 05:02:11
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Interesting and informative responses from a number of posters here.
Firstly, you will find the outdated and inaccurate views espoused by the likes of Doyle across the country, though probably to a lesser extent outside big towns and cities. I find a lot of people who hold such views are either of the generation who grew up in the era of The Ban, or perhaps their children, obviously influenced by parental disdain for 'the Gah'. And in a way, I understand why people of that age group would have negative feelings towards gaelic games, given the pointless and petty persecution of soccer and rugby types by the vigilance committees at that time.
What is less explicable is why some of these attitudes endure today. I personally think the media landscape has a lot to do with it: The Irish Times tolerates GAA to the extent that it doesn't interfere with its rugby coverage ( the excellent Keith Duggan aside); INM have spawned such renowned GAA lovers as Ian O'Doherty, George Byrne and Declan Lynch; while Hot Press have published what can only be considered caricatures by the likes of Olaf Tyaransen. The Sunday Times is a British stable which allocates a relatively small portion of its sports coverage to Gaelic Games, while the Sunday Business Post doesn't have a sports section. So we're left with the excellent Irish Examiner among the national broadsheets, and possibly the Star for the tabloids.
In terms of broadcast media, RTE only cover the All-Ireland senior championship, while Sky is not free-to-air. If it weren't for TG4 we'd be properly snookered in terms of coverage.
The likes of Doyle thus get oxygen in the mainstream media that the likes of a soccer hater would never be afforded.
Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 01/09/2017 05:37:42
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Replying To OLLIE: "It's the same thing in Drogheda. Drogheda was always a soccer town. Growing up it was all about Liverpool and Man Utd. A Limerick man who is living up here years told me he had no interest in the foreign sport till he moved up here. But funny enough if you go a couple of miles out the road to rural area's like Collon, Tullyallen, Monasterboice, Ballymakenny, Termonfeckin, Baltray and Clogherhead it's all GAA mad." Having lived in Drawda for several years, would agree with you Ollie. There are a few GAA clubs around the town (Newtown Blues, Nicks, Oliver Plunketts? Wolfe Tones I suppose, though they're in Co. Meath) but these are dwarfed by about twenty soccer clubs, plus the hugely popular summer league.
Having worked in a hostelry fairly close to your heart, someone would always have to ask for any gaelic matches to be put on (usually a visitor to the area) whereas any and all PL games would be on all the big screens (though I gather that the owners have tried to shoo-away the soccer crowd since the renovation? Odd given that they run a soccer club...)
Engaging my local friends about GAA was always a waste of time unless they hailed from Co. Meath, and even then, talk inevitably returned to the 1996 All-Ireland series. PL and Champions League were the major sports topic of conversation, LOI when Drogheda United were going well.
Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 01/09/2017 05:54:52
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Replying To Killarney.87: "I can never understand fans of one sport in Ireland running down another. I find it strange to be honest. I wouldn't be big Into a sport like Hockey but I'd prefer to see kids playing it than sitting at home in front of the tv getting fat.
As for Roddy's comments, I can see where he is coming from. The GAA summer attendances a far greater than what you see during the national leagues and that is a shame because Division 1 of the leagues is way more competitive that your average provincial championship or quarter final between a division 1 team and a team outside division 1." Totally agree with you on the sport front, I love soccer, GAA and rugby (in that order) and I don't understand how for some there's a conflict with any of that.
MedwayIrish (Wexford) - Posts: 2324 - 01/09/2017 07:46:19
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Replying To realdub: "Roddy Doyle should stick to writing unfunny books" On the whole I agree with you with the exception of The Van. I enjoyed the book and film of that I guess because of the Italia 90 nostalgia.
Of course, everyone is entitled to support whoever they wish but I do find Chelsea an odd choice for an Irishman to make.........if you know what I mean.
MedwayIrish (Wexford) - Posts: 2324 - 01/09/2017 07:53:03
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Replying To Administrator: "This was posted as a new thread but as the subject matter is the same it has been incorporated here.
essmac
Posts: 307
Tyrone 31/08/2017 16:58
Roddy Doyle's GAA "knowledge"
"I always feel that GAA is really football supporters getting through the summer".
Rodders thinks the GAA is about inter-county championships in Croke Park. Oh dear. Writers are supposed to be observant and curious about what's going on around them. How does a supposedly-intelligent bloke have zero insight into how clubs are the heart-beat of communities the length and breadth of the country? How do you counter small-minded, ill-informed stuff like this?
I encountered real hatred of the GAA in Dublin. This sniggering contempt ("bog-ball" /"stick-fighting" /muck-savages" etc) was always from the ground-ball losers. The Rugby people either are indifferent or politely interested; but they're at least mannerly. But in my 15 years living in Dublin, I encountered quite a few soccer fans who openly hated the GAA.
The interesting thing was that this was never from LOI fans - the real cultural hatred, in my experience, came from the sad-sacks who, pathetically, say "we" when talking about the likes of MANU (NYSE) stock price US$16.60.
This sort of un-civilised nonsense is why you'll never hear me say a bad word about the Mighty Dubs. Fair play to Jim Gavin and the squad for what they're doing for GAA in the Pale." Elements in Dublin also refer to Munster Rugby in similar vein. Ross O'Carroll Kelly's monologue on how Leinster had to 'disinfect' the Heineken Cup, when they won it, after it had spent twelve months in the south, is a classic example of this.
Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4317 - 01/09/2017 07:54:00
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I only read Roddy Doyle in between good books
Redhandsam (Tyrone) - Posts: 93 - 01/09/2017 08:41:21
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Doyle is selling his new book. I'm not buying it or paying €5+ per month to hear exactly what he said. But the book is probably entertaining enough. Seems to be the popular thing when flogging a book, album, TV show to create a bit of controversy to generate some interest. Maybe he should have called it LOL.
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GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7337 - 01/09/2017 09:54:44
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A lot more empty stadiums at League of Ireland matches, FAI cup games and some Internationals aren't exactly a sell out ( when ROI play smaller nations)
The soccer fraternity here do not support league of ireland teams but would gladly sit in a pub to watch cross channel soccer.
StirringIt (Cavan) - Posts: 374 - 01/09/2017 09:56:30
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