“They’re even coming from Gdansk… to see the film.”
The GAA has gone global in every sense of the word.
Irish people have spread around the planet, games have been taught, clubs have been set-up and generations have grown into a GAA culture, Irish or otherwise.
They’re teaching it on the PE curriculum in some American schools and anyone lucky enough to witness a celebration like the Asian Games will understand just how seismic the shift has been from an organisation founded in Hayes Hotel in Thurles in 1884 to the worldwide epidemic it is now.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqRop4uDwEe/?utm_source=ig_embed
Last year, the places people were tuning in from to watch the All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Tyrone would’ve warmed your heart.
Some of them up in the tiny hours of night to watch the six-point win and a four-in-a-row berth, families gathered around televisions and laptops from Jordan to Dubai to Hong Kong.
And, on September 1st of this year, it was even bigger.
On that Sunday of the drawn game between Dublin and Kerry, GAAGO was accessed from 170 different countries for the All-Ireland football final.
There are only 195 countries in the world and over 87 per cent of them have someone somewhere logging in to GAAGO to watch Ireland’s national game on its biggest stage. On a worldwide stage.
From America.
Up the Dubs from Texas! #GAAGO pic.twitter.com/CDeEhbhmEA
— Drew Lewis (@drewloganlewis) September 1, 2019
To England.
Streaming the final in Bristol, NH #gaago pic.twitter.com/GUVr1KdkVN
— Queen Maeve 👑 (@tirnamae) September 1, 2019
To the Atlantic Ocean.
Watching the All Ireland in the air…. supporting Kerry on #gaago pic.twitter.com/9xQyF0JfxG
— Tom Lawlor (@tom_lawlorp) September 1, 2019
To Argentina.
#gaago watching the final in Argentina. Pedro O'Reilly (6) very excited with the match!!! pic.twitter.com/Se1cYQ3iTR
— Santi O (@oreillysanti) September 1, 2019
To Australia.
https://twitter.com/legendIrishOzzy/status/1168142429163118592
To the Philippines.
Supporting the dubs from The Phillipines 🇵🇭🇮🇪 🔵 #gaago pic.twitter.com/2leOIowXHQ
— Eoghan Drumgoole (@eoghandrumgoole) September 1, 2019
And on and on and on and on and on.
It’s going to be a busier time this weekend.
WATCH: Liverpool BOTTLED the title race 🤬 | Who will win the Premier League?
