Paris Gaels' Naoise Greene coaching attendees at Fesport Festival at the Cháteau de Vincennes during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
By Cian O'Connell
“I think we are gathering collective momentum” Europe GAA chairperson John Murphy says about Gaelic games' development on the continent.
A coaching and demonstration event was held at Chateau de Vincennes fan zone in Paris during the Olympics with Murphy adamant about the value and importance of the two-day exhibition.
"When you look at the collaboration around an event like this, on the Irish side you have Sports Ireland, who were having a historic Olympics Games, the GAA and the Department of Foreign Affairs, all making time and resources available, and from the French perspective INSEP, France GAA and Paris Gaels doing the same, that is how you build momentum and through enough of these small wins and steps forward, we can build something great," Murphy says.
"I think it was very eye opening for the Irish representatives to see how our sports transcend the Irish passport. What we are promoting is something that is healthy, but resonates with people at a deeply human level, it is about volunteerism, not financial gain."
That is crucial according to Murphy. "In an age of technology, it is important to remember that people are still social creatures and need connection and community, that is what we offer," he adds.
"We want to give a community those Irish aboard regardless if they played in Ireland or not, they have a home in our clubs, for their children an opportunity to connect to their Irish heritage.
A GAA demonstration at Cháteau de Vincennes during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
"On top of the Irish diaspora, there is a group the Department of Foreign Affairs call the Affinity diaspora, these are people that aren't Irish, but find a connection to Ireland. That connection might be through our literature, dance or music, but another significant vehicle can be our sports, maybe the muscle we activated least, I think we need to change that going forward."
Nathan Begoc, France GAA chairperson, is equally optimistic following the Paris Gaelic games demonstration. "Beyond showcasing the games to a French audience, this event was also the occasion to present the hard work that has been done in France in the last 25 years developing Gaelic games," Begoc says.
"With 90 per cent non-Irish players, and a continuous members growth of 10 per cent for the past 15 years, GAA in France, its 31 clubs and 1200 players are more dynamic than ever."
Begoc is hopeful that further development will take place. "With its strong structure, the Federation for Gaelic Games in France (France GAA) is continuously working to develop and strengthen new clubs," Begoc adds. "More and more clubs are developing youth, hurling and handball teams, as well as the main sport played here: football.
"The federation is also working on getting recognised by the French Ministry of Sports. This recognition should help clubs in their local areas to get new partnerships and the federation to grow. Many development projects are underway and will guarantee a bright future for GAA in France."
Connections were formed, with Murphy satisfied that the recent progress has been noted. "The opportunity to sit down with the Tánaiste and present our story was an incredible honour for me, however what was more significant was him talking to members of Paris Gaels and France GAA about their love of our games and seeing children trying out Gaelic Football and Hurling and Camogie for the first time," Murphy says.
Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, TD, and Maud Pradella of Paris Gaels with attendees at Fesport Festival at the Cháteau de Vincennes during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
“When you're active in 25 countries, doing something like this and drawing attention to it will hopefully draw others in to volunteer and garner even more great stories about our games around the continent and globe.
“A lot of people are doing a lot of great work in the background; we need to highlight how essential that is. It is about momentum, when you have 700 million people that you're trying to expose Gaelic Games to, you can always keep going."
Britain GAA, New York GAA, and USGAA have all invested time, energy, and effort in developing homegrown talent. That will be a vital aspect going forward for Europe GAA according to Murphy. “We are starting to see more homegrown players take up our games. We will witness a paradigm shift for the GAA, we will not have 100 years of generations of Irish playing here instead it will jump into the hands of the Europeans much sooner and we are already seeing those acorns appear.
“We still have many challenges in Europe, geographical, facilities wise, capacity and we don't have any full-time people yet. However, I am confident in the community that we have that piece by piece we will overcome these challenges.
"For example, we are working with the French Government to get recognition in France with the support of the Irish Embassy in Paris and the Irish Government, this will be a seismic shift that will unlock so much potential in France and complement all the hard work going in at the grassroots.
"There are many other initiatives we are exploring and engaging with the help of Leinster GAA, Charlie Harrison in the International Department and many others in the GAA a to carve out our path forward."