How vital is Gaelic football to the Irish-British community in 2023? Just ask Manchester player Tommy Hanvey.
“They can come down here and connect with their Irishness,” says Hanvey, who plays for one of Manchester’s four clubs, Oisin GAA.
The club is one of 82 Gaelic football associations across the UK, showing the scale of the game outside of Ireland, despite the falling numbers making the trip across the Irish sea.
More than 10 million people have migrated from Ireland since 1800, building communities across the US, Australia, and with its closest neighbour, Britain.
Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland by attendance and, as Irish people migrated to Britain and across the world, they took their love of Gaelic games with them.
But numbers are falling.
ONS figures released just before Christmas showed a decline of 20% in migration from Ireland to England and Wales in the decade to 2021.
Amid a seemingly declining tradition, Oisin GAA continues to provide some home comforts for a thriving community of Irish-Mancunians, offering men’s, women’s and youth matches.
Player Declan O’Hagan said: “It gives us a home away from home.”
And the players at this Manchester club are hoping they will help play a small part in keeping the Irish-British legacy alive…
The players at this Manchester club are hoping they will help play a small part in keeping the Irish-British legacy alive.
