No great volume of work available
MEDIA reports of Irish emigrants boosting GAA clubs abroad is misrepresentative, according to the chairman of the Limerick Association in London.
Conn Dee, originally of Murroe, told the Limerick Post:
“I was speaking to someone about this at a funeral recently.
“We’re hearing stories in the media all the time about clubs at home losing players to clubs abroad – if they are, we haven’t seen them”.
Mr Dee, who is a member of Dulwich Harps GAA club in Peckham, South London, said:
“In my experience, those that are here aren’t in the GAA, they don’t exist. I travel to a lot of games and I’ve made my own enquiries about it and others are saying the same”.
His club returned to training in recent weeks after the winter break.
“We had no new faces, they are thin on the ground. Some come over for one game, but we have the same core group all of the time”.
Conn revealed that the Limerick Association receive enquiries from Irish people about moving to London to live and work.
“We haven’t got the same contacts that we once had, and the volume of work just isn’t available.
“There was a time when you could walk off one site and into another across the road, but now the work just isn’t available”.
In his view, the Irish emigrant has changed dramatically since he first arrived in London in 1963.
“When I arrived here I had left the Army and I went straight into a building site.
“A lot of the young people arriving now are highly educated and are looking for work in very technical areas”.
The Limerick Association of London is a social organisation with 90 members.
“We have about 40 people who are active in the Greater London area and we recently organised a St Patrick’s Day Dinner Dance”.
