After five years out of the senior grade, the Tyrone Gaelic Football club in New York returned to the top table at the end of 2008. Hogan Stand spoke to club secretary and proud Tyrone man Seamus McNabb. It's fair to say that the vast majority of GAA clubs overseas experienced a downturn during the turn-of-the-century boom years of the world in general, and Celtic Tiger Ireland in particular. But that could be about to change. With unemployment in the mother country tipping 11 per cent for the first time in a decade and a half, emigration has become a phenomenon once again on the rise. While few of the sons and daughters of Erin make the big leap wholly voluntarily, the situation has undoubtedly bolstered the roster numbers at GAA clubs in the United States and further afield. Seamus McNabb, a native of Dromore in County Tyrone, settled in New York in the early 1990s after a spell in London. Having played a prominent back-stage role in the ongoing success of the Big Apple's Tyrone GAA club over the past decade, he is well placed to comment on the renewed global dispersal of young Irish men and women. "Over the last few years, we've managed to retain our players," he says. "We had a panel of 32 lads for the Junior Championship last year, and we've noticed a little bit of emigration again after a quiet few years of reversal in trends. Prior to 2008, a lot of New York clubs were losing players and unfortunately a few folded because they just didn't have the numbers to continue, not to mention be competitive in the various divisions they played in. "But for the last year or two we've noticed an influx of a few new faces, especially lads coming out for the summer and deciding to stay once they get settled, make new friends and contacts and get themselves established in steady work. "This year already we've had a lot of emails and phone calls from fellas looking to come out. I suppose that's a symptom of the current economic climate. Things have slowed up a lot in all corners of the world, but it seems to be worse at home. A lot of lads were heading for Australia and the like but it isn't too good there anymore either. Things in New York aren't great, certainly nowhere near what they were a year or two ago, but it's a lot better than it is in some places. The experts predict that it'll probably be the end of next year before it really starts to improve but I suppose it could be a lot worse." In addition to the émigrés, a small portion of the Tyrone panel which lifted the New York Junior Football Championship in '08 were born and bred in America, a love of Gaelic games infused in them by Irish forefathers. But while the GAA is a growing sport all over the world, Seamus admits the task of convincing promising youngsters to stay within the sport to adulthood is a tough one. "Most of the lads we have in the club," he says, "are either here undocumented or on various visa programs but we also have about half a dozen lads who are American-born. It has started to improve on that front, with a lot of emphasis from the New York Senior and Minor Boards on promoting the games at underage level. But it's hard. They're competing with a lot of American sports and generally what you see is that kids get to the age of 16 to 18 and you lose them when they go to college, where they could be on soccer, American football or basketball scholarships. There is ongoing discussion about getting Gaelic football in the curriculum in a few of the schools in the Irish enclaves of the city. However, that is easier said than done and it will take a lot of hard work and years of commitment from the New York Board as well as help from Croke Park to make any kind of serious inroads on that front." The management team at the Tyrone club has generally consisted of county insiders for the past few years. With last year's manager Fergus Daly and selector Liam Gillespie both returning home to Ireland earlier this year, combined with the departure of outgoing chairman Ryan Canavan on a year-long trip around the world, the club is left with a huge void to fill. Says Seamus: "The thing could not have been worse given that we are back in the senior grade this year after a five-year absence. That being said, we are fortunate in that we have a number of young dedicated lads involved in the club such as Rory Keenan (trainer/manager), Garry Donnelly (chairman), Sean Hall (treasurer), Neil Gallagher (vice-chairman), Mark Devlin (PRO), club delegates Aidan and Peader Donnelly and resourceful selectors in Martin Hamill, Barry McElduff and Paul O'Hagan to name but a few of the key club members." Tyrone were almost unique among New York clubs for the past few seasons - whereas many others have playing squads drafted from far and wide in Ireland, the players have been made almost exclusively in Tyrone: of the 32 players on the panel last year, 31 came from Tyrone with Downman Marty Hughes the only blow-in, so the Junior Championship victory was clearly founded on a tight-knit spirit borne out of that shared background. The club has also managed to build on the Junior-winning panel, largely due to our northern rivals Derry folding this year due to lack of numbers. The addition of Darren Doherty, Joe Bell, Paul Mulhern, Conor Downey, Aidan Power, Darren Petite and Stevie Keating has provided them with a solid home base and boosted the team for the 2009 season. The club held a gala dinner dance in New York in December 2008 which became a double celebration, honouring both the Junior Championship victory and the All-Ireland Senior Football success of their countymen. Joining the club in New York for the occasion were Brian Dooher and Mickey Harte, respectively the Tyrone county captain and manager and two men whose legends continue to grow with the passing years. "There were about 500 people in attendance," recalls Seamus, "and with the two lads joining us after such a great year at home, it turned into a good night alright!" With a new manager in the shape of Rory Keenan, and the task of a senior football campaign ahead of them, 2009 promises to be another big year for the Tyrone club. However, Seamus is taking nothing for granted. "The club has been in existence for 60 years, it's been 26 years since we last won a senior title and the last decade has been a particularly difficult period for us with the survival of the club being a big achievement on its own at times. Due to reverse emigration trends after the millennium, we had dwindling numbers and we forced to amalgamate our senior and junior teams and eventually got relegated down to the junior grade. We spent the last few years focusing on rebuilding a strong home base team as opposed to relying on the influx of students in the summertime. This has paid dividends and we finally made the eagerly awaiting breakthrough last year. "We owe our very survival and current success in no small way to our many Tyrone-born sponsors and supporters over the not so successful years, Fay Devlin, Noel Woods, Finbar O'Neill, Patsy Clarke, Eilish Loghran, Emmett Woods, John Daly, Sal Donaghy, Pat Donaghy, Kieran Slevin, Noel McCaul and Dermot McGonnell to mention a few who have played their part and done more than their fair share in keeping the club in existence. "This year is bound to be difficult but we'll be hoping to hold our own. We have a great bunch of lads, with a base team of around 25 as well as summer sanctions in the form of Gary Reilly, Packie McMullan, Seamus Skeffington, Eamon Lyons and Johnny Murtagh. "Having tasted Junior success last year, Reilly, McMullan and Skeffington, all from Killeeshil in Co Tyrone, are back for the summer this year to add a New York Senior medal to their long list of achievements. The addition of Cork under-21 star Lyons and Crossmaglen's Johnny Murtagh gives the team considerable strength and depth. "So far things are going well with convincing wins over Donegal, Cavan and the 2008 senior champions Kerry and that's not just testament to the efforts of the current bunch of lads but also to the solid foundations that Daly, Gillespie and Canavan laid prior to their departure a few months ago. Hopefully we can do them proud and add a sixth senior title to the club's list of honours." Tweet

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