The American dream is an escape route being taken by an increasing amount of Irish students every summer.
The J1 experience is the opportunity of a lifetime for those lucky enough to experience it. They explore the American culture, they get a new job, they look after themselves (or not) on the other side of the world to their parents.
For some of them it’s the start of a new life, for others it’s just a once-off occurrence and some of them, well, some of them play a bit of GAA.
Inevitably, when people get older, many of them drift away from the game, be it through work, travel or other reasons. The GAA holds a special place in many Irish hearts, however.
Your affinity to your local club never wanes, your pride in your county is something that you will boast about no matter how far overseas you travel.
It can be tough to settle into the American culture. You mightn’t know many people over there, you might become homesick, you might struggle to get a job, to get accommodation. It’s a whole new world after all.
The GAA is your answer, according to Cian Hogan, Ian O’Donnell, Ross O’Meara and Aaron Hogan, four Irishmen who travelled to America on a J1 in recent years.
Cian Hogan joined up with the Harry Bolands Club in Chicago in the summer of 2013 and says the set-up he encountered wasn’t strikingly different to his home of Lorrha Dorrha GAA club in North Tipperary.
“There’s not that many differences, they’re very similar in many ways,” he tells SportsJOE. “I went to a very traditional hurling club in Harry Bolands in Chicago. The big difference is the climate is way warmer, it takes a couple of games to get used to playing in that sort of heat.”
According to Cian, who represented the Tipperary under-21 hurling team in 2012, involving yourself in a GAA club during your travels to America is the best thing you can do to ease yourself into life in America.
As there always is in a GAA club, the camaraderie, the team spirit and friendship is something that just can’t be matched.
A GAA team has the ability to bond a group of lads like nothing else.
It extends far beyond the field too, and that’s probably one of the most important things about the GAA in America for Irish students. It gives Irish students a chance to settle in, to acclimatise and to feel at home in their new world.
A team wins together, they lose together, they socialise together, some of them live together and some of them become best friends.
“For me, it was a great way to settle in. The club I was with, Harry Bolands, they were brilliant. The training sessions were good craic, you’d meet lads and they might set you up with a bit of work or whatever,” adds Cian.
“There was a house that was full of lads from the club, all Irish lads and we’d meet up there and have the craic. These lads were all from Offaly, Galway and those sorts of counties so them lads were all easy to get along with. It’s just a great way to get to meet new people out there I suppose.
“You’d go along together as a team to all the different tourist attractions in Chicago as a team, which was good because if you were out there on your own, you mightn’t have had the same opportunities,” said Hogan.
Ian O’Donnell is another Irish man who has made the journey to America and the Portroe club man claimed that without the GAA, and the togetherness that is associated with it, settling in would’ve been a lot more difficult.
O’Donnell joined up with the Naomh Padraig hurling club in San Francisco.
“Everybody in the Irish circles looks after each other here. If you’re stuck for work or anything you will be looked after,” he says. It’s very good like that. You will obviously miss home but the people in America with Irish roots
“It’s very good like that. You will obviously miss home but the people in America with Irish roots try and make it as easy as possible for you.
“If you can get involved, do. You’ll meet friends for life and some serious characters. I know people over here that take flights in order to make games. As well as this being involved, the hurling is a link to home which is also very nice, it ensures you wouldn’t get too homesick.”
O’Donnell claims that the home-based American player’s enthusiasm, their will to win and their affinity to their home club rubs off on the Irish. You become friends with them and you want to win with them, you want to win for them.
“The home-based lads make sure you know how important it is to them. it’s their club at the end of the day. You don’t mind putting your all into it either because they look after you very well and it sort of rubs off on you on how serious they take it,” claimed O’Donnell.
Cian Hogan recalls a tradition that emphasises just how much pride these home-based players place in the jersey, and the travelling Irish embrace it.
“I remember before the games we used to be handed a jersey and everyone in the dressing room would clap. It was seen as a huge honour to be presented with a jersey and to play with the club. Harry Boland’s was the oldest GAA club in North America, so they took it really seriously and the teams we were playing against took it really seriously as well. There’d be loads of hard-hits and it was very competitive in the games,” recalled the Tipperary man.
As for the managers at home who are fretting that their star players will come back with a beer belly and a fat arse from all the drinking they’re supposedly doing, Ross O’Meara, who played with the Na Fianna club in San Fransisco, offers peace of mind in that the GAA helps to keep them on the straight and narrow.
“You would think it’s not taken seriously because lads are only there for a few months and they don’t care what happens, but at the end of the day, they put the work in because they want to win. It’s an attitude that is built into our GAA players, to want to win.
“I would recommend others to do it, it’s a great way to make friends. It’s some consolation when you tell your manager that drinking isn’t the only thing you’re doing out there,” said the 21-year-old University of Limerick student.
O’Donnell furthered O’Meara’s claim.
“The club at home would obviously want you hurling with them, but it depends on how your manager views the standard in America. I’ll be arguably training as hard out here with a few hurlers that are intercounty standard. Old fashioned managers will obviously think it’s just a drinking holiday while, actually, it’s not,” said the Portroe man.
Aaron Hogan is another man who has taken the plunge to America and during his time playing with Indiana GAA club, he recalled the American culture of a carnival atmosphere seeping into the games.
It added to his experience.
“There was a carnival atmosphere surrounding the games. The supporters would set up these big gazebos, they’d have barbeques, they’d all be drinking and they’d be going bonkers on the sideline. It made for quite a change from Lorrha GAA club in North Tipperary I’ll tell you that much.”
His teammates looked out for him as if it was his home club.
“You’re looked after very well over there. There’s usually Irish lads in charge of the clubs or running the clubs and they look out for you. One of the lads involved with my club got me a job and some accommodation when I was stuck so I’ll always be grateful for that,” said Hogan.
Cian Hogan sums up the lads’ experiences of the GAA in America perfectly.
“I’d 100% recommend it to any Irish GAA player. Obviously, it’s great craic, there was a brilliant social aspect to it. It’s a great way to get around America, you’d have a few beers with your team-mates. It was just enjoyable. It’s even better when you’re winning, the clubs would treat you well and take you off to different places.”
