As the festivities of the 125th anniversary of the Association are winding down, it was amazing to discover that one of the Founders of the GAA is buried here in my home province of British Columbia in Canada. Joseph P O' Ryan was born in Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary in April 1857 and having qualified as a Solicitor he practised in Callan and Thurles. He would have known Maurice Davin well and that friendship was possibly the reason he attended the founding meeting of the GAA in 1884. In 1899 Ryan emigrated to Canada where he settled in Cranbrook and became immersed in local life ñ the Board of Trade, the Mining Industry and as a Police Magistrate as well as becoming a prominent journalist. He died in March 1918 and it is good that Canada has such a strong connection to one of the best amateur sporting organisations in the world through O' Ryan and in the GAA clubs found in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. -- John O'Flynn RunaÌ - Canadian County Board www.canada.gaa.ie Tweet

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