theman wrote: ↑Wed Aug 05, 2026 9:59 am
Edenderry to be fair have a small GAA population in the town. The demographics of the town also doesn't help as a lot of the population is not from a GAA background. They also have to compete with two soccer clubs - the rugby club doesn't have much of a crossover as far as I know.
Bracknagh and Clonbullogue are probably from the least hurling oriented end of the county, and football will always be number one there, but AFAIK they do provide hurlers to Gracefield at underage and adult level.
The point overall is that a lot of clubs across the county are feeling the effects of reduced interest/playing numbers. I can understand clubs entering teams for championships as there was an interest there, but when it comes to it then, those players can potentially let you down which we are seeing now with the walkovers in lower grades of hurling and football.
I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, but this isn't the first time I've heard this line of thinking from people when it comes to Edenderry (I don't know if you're from the club or not, but the same principle applies) and it absolutely boils me.
The first time I remember really thinking that these lads don't have a clue how privileged they are was when Edenderry (including Ballyfore) lost an underage game, maybe a minor final, I'm not sure, to St. Manchan's. I don't remember the exact year but I know Peter Brady was manager, because he came out after full of anger about four clubs being allowed to join together.
He said this without a hint of irony or self-awareness, despite the fact that on any given year, there's probably about three or four times as many boys born in Edenderry and Ballyfore as there is in Doon/Pullough/Ballycumber/Tubber.
Now I have the world of time for the people involved in the Edenderry club.
They've done great work in terms of facilities down there, they were one of the first clubs to get in a full time GPO, they do what they can to try and push hurling in an area where it isn't a popular sport and where they're a long way removed from all the teams that they would have to play. I see they are pushing rounders at the moment, they have an Irish language night, and above all, the men and women I meet from the club are generally very passionate, committed GAA people. There is so much to like about what that club does and how they go about their business.
But I could not be more forceful on this - the 'GAA population' of the town, is the population of the town. It is the responsibility of the club to do what they can to pitch gaelic games to everyone in their catchment area and to make sure that every child in their community is given every possible chance to try out gaelic football/ladies football and hurling/camogie.
Now I stress here, that Edenderry GAA look to me on the outside like they're doing exactly that. I'm not for a second saying that they're falling short, and of course you're never going to get a group of 20 or 30 lads of non-Irish heritage the whole way through to playing adult football in your club without losing a few along the way.
But the fact remains that a large catchment area is a huge asset, and nobody, inside the club or outside it, should even think that it is instead some sort of ready-made excuse, because within that large catchment area are families who didn't grow up immersed in GAA culture.
I'm particularly animated about this because my son is one of FOUR boys born in the parish in the year he was born, albeit that's a particularly low number, 8-10 is the norm. We have nothing only monster clubs around us (and Galway) so we've no where to go for an amalgamation, we cannot leave ANYONE behind, and as a general rule, we don't. And speaking as a coach, I promise you, we too have our share of kids from families that have no knowledge or understanding of GAA culture. We have kids who have parents of various nationalities, kids that are from families where they've only ever known soccer and soccer culture, we have one or two kids that had to move out of the parish due to family issues, and where a parent of a different child or a coach is doing an hour-long round trip to pick them up and bring them home from training out of Athlone.
And yet tonight, Roscommon Gaels, picking from the county town, couldn't not put out a junior/second team in the championship, so they conceded a walkover to St. Brigid's third team. And they're another club who are often very quick to talk (nonsense) about how it's so much harder to get people to play gaelic games in a town. It's a dereliction of their duty, frankly. And if anyone within Edenderry GAA club buys into this notion that there is such a thing as a "GAA population", then they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the GAA is.
