How to play Gaelic sports: Teacher (and GAA player) John Coyle explains

Thousands of Irish people play gaelic games and hundreds of thousands passionately support them. In fact, the games are so loved by the Irish that the athletes play for free – yes, even the very top players have day jobs and are not paid for their efforts on the pitch! SEDA College teacher John Coyle played Gaelic football for many years with his local GAA team Ballyhaise G.F.C. from county Cavan. He spoke to SEDA News about his experience.

John, first of all could you please tell us where you are from and how did you become a teacher?

I am from a county called Cavan which is situated in the centre North of Ireland. It’s about an hour away from Dublin by car.

I decided to become an English teacher because I had seen the great opportunities that an English language teacher can have. You can travel the world, mix with other cultures and make lots of new friends the world over. My sister taught English in Qatar for 4 years so I was always admiring the great and exciting lifestyle she was having.

I  started teaching at SEDA since April and I am really enjoying the great experience that this school offers. Everyday I am learning something new!

What team did you play Gaelic football for and what were your biggest achievements?

I started playing Gaelic football when I was 10 years old. My club was called Ballyhaise G.F.C., my local GAA team. I played in a lot of positions mostly as a defender or as a forward.

The biggest achievement Ballyhaise G.F.C. had was reaching the county final in 2009, however we lost the game to our local rivals that day. My biggest achievement was winning the Division 6 county league with Ballyhaise G.F.C. two years in a row.

Can you explain the mentality behind Gaelic games? Why do players give the game their best if they don’t get paid?

Since the GAA has been founded as an organisation in 1884 it was based on the idea of a cultural revolution to rival British organised sports in Ireland. Back then British organised sports such as rugby, cricket etc. were for the middle to upper classes with English backgrounds.

The idea behind the GAA was to provide Irish games for the poor lower working classes which was the majority of the population at the time.

Unlike British organised sports, the GAA was at the heart of the local community as every parish, village and town in Ireland had a GAA club for either Gaelic football or hurling. The GAA even organised sporting events for women such as Ladies Gaelic football and camogie (which is the women’s equivalent to hurling). So it is for all these reasons that the GAA caught the attention of Irish people, and since the GAA had low finances and was based on promoting Irish games, the majority of Irish people were more than happy to play for free!

Even to this day that mentality still exists, however a lot of the top GAA players and teams do have a more comfortable lifestyle than before as they do get a better chance of employment that suits their lifestyle. Some players now also have sponsorship deals or have been involved in different advertisement campaigns throughout the years.

Some people may think that GAA players aren’t as physically fit as professional athletes because they’ve all got day jobs. Do you agree with this statement?

No I believe that a lot of GAA players are just as physically fit as professional athletes if not fitter!

County GAA players are a fine example of this. By the word “County” I am talking about the 32 “Counties” of Ireland. For example, the county that I come from is called “County Cavan” and the county that Dublin city is in is called “County Dublin”.

Each of the 32 counties of Ireland play in both a league and a championship competition every year. The championship is the most popular as it is a “knockout” competition that takes place in the summer. Each of the 32 counties of Ireland are divided into 4 provinces known as Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught. My county – County Cavan is situated in the province of Ulster which is in the north of Ireland, while County Dublin is situated in the province of Leinster in the east of Ireland.

Each county in each province play for the “Provincial title” so for example my County of Cavan play in the “Ulster Provincial Championship.” After the “Provincial Championship” the next stage is the “All Ireland Championship” where county teams from each of the 4 provinces compete for a chance to win the “All Ireland” cup or trophy.

The name of the Gaelic football cup/trophy is “The Sam Maguire Cup” while the name of the hurling cup/trophy is “The Liam McCarthy Cup”.

The county GAA players are serious about their fitness and strength. County teams provide their players with top trainers, fitness instructors and strict training regimes so that they can play to the highest level. Also most GAA players do a lot of training at the gym in their own time and have strict diet routines that they must follow if they want to be the best.

Since county GAA players play both with their local club and county their physical fitness is very good and it needs to be at a high level as playing a GAA sport contains a lot of physical action.

How many times per week did you train and what motivated you to do it?

My local club Ballyhaise G.F.C. trained 2 to 3 times a week. At the start of each season we did a lot of running to regain fitness, then for a few weeks we focused on circuit training to build muscle, e.g. weights, press ups, skipping rope etc.

After all this finished, the basic training then focused on ball work such as kicking, shooting, passing, attacking, defending etc.  tactics and skills. Finally after each basic training session we would finish up with a practice match.

What motivated me to do it was the fact that I knew it kept me both mentally and physically fit, this really appealed to me.  

Which teams do you support?

In the hurling I always support Tipperary as I said that is where my mother is from. In Gaelic football of course I support my home county of Cavan, however they have been eliminated from the championship this year.

Where can people learn more about Gaelic sports? Where can you practice these sports?

I would advise students to check out the following GAA websites: gaa.ie and hoganstand.ie to gain some knowledge on this year’s championship.

If students wish to practice the sports of Gaelic football or hurling they should join a local GAA club, maybe even organising a group of friends to go to Phoenix park and practice the sports there would be a fun day out.

I would also advise students to go to the GAA headquarters of Croke Park in Drumcondra, there is a great GAA museum there that explains the history of the GAA in fine detail.  Croke Park is the “holy grail” of all things GAA and many games are held there throughout the summer.

Also if any students happen to visit the Burren in Clare there is a fine GAA museum located not too far from the Burren. It is actually located on the old home-place of Micheal Cusack who was the founding father of the GAA in 1884.

Originally printed in SEDA News.