GAA COMMENTATOR MARTY Morrissey has opened up about his experience of developing a love for the GAA while growing up in New York, in an RTÉ documentary about the 2017 All-Ireland hurling final.
‘All-Ireland Day: The Hurling Final’ offers viewers a different perspective of the game, where Galway ended 29 years of hurt against Waterford to claim the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
It considers what goes into organising the event to ensure it runs smoothly, and includes contributions from a number of key figures.
Morrissey, who was the Sunday Game commentator for the final, talks candidly about his early memories of the GAA scene in New York and how the sport enabled him to make friends when he later moved back to Ireland with his parents.
“My mother and father moved to New York in the 1950′s to try and make a living,” he explains.
What made our week was every Sunday going to Gaelic Park. It is where I got my passion for the GAA and what the GAA means.
“I was there in New York until I was almost 11 years of age until we bought the pub in Quilty (Co. Clare). It was different because the I was the Yank coming home from the States and probably had a bit of a twang. So, I needed to settle in.
“The GAA became for me, a way to make friends.”
He added:
My earliest memories of All-Ireland finals was actually in the Bronx and my father trying to find Mícheál O’Hehir on the radio. I’ve this image of him going out onto the fire escape and hearing Michéal O’Heir as loud as possible at the time.
“I’m sure the Americans and Portuguese and the Jamaicans who were around our building site were thinking, ‘what is your man doing out on the fire escape listening to a transistor?’
“But that was the picture, that was the scene and my lasting memory of All-Ireland finals.”
Morrissey also reminisced about his days attending St Flannan’s College where he played football and hurling.
He was awarded a trial with the Clare senior hurlers, where an unfortunate pairing with one of Galway’s greatest ever hurlers marked the beginning and the end of his inter-county career.
“They put me in corner forward. And who was waiting for me in the corner? Sylvie Linnane. So, I never got a trial from the Clare hurlers after that. Sylvie finished my inter-county career in the hurling world.”
In addition to an interview with Morrissey, the documentary also features referee Fergal Horgan who was tasked with officiating the crunch tie.
Horgan was mic’d up during the action and the recordings illustrate how well he performed on the day.
Galway legend, and two-time All-Ireland winner Éanna Ryan also appears in the episode along with his son Joshua who was a team mascot for the final. Ryan pays tribute to teammate Tony Keady who passed away suddenly in August.
All-Ireland Day: The Hurling Final, produced by Loosehorse. will be aired on RTÉ One this evening Bank Holiday Monday at 9.30pm.
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Ruddock Leavy Heaslip O Brien Van der Flier Murphy Fardy Conan Deegan Leinster back row strength is unreal If carlsberg did backrows they would probably not be as good as Leinsters
Rare to see two players joining straight from school in Aungier and O’Sullivan.
I just don’t know how Leinster are going to keep all these backrows happy but I hope they do.
The talent level being brought through is amazing.
@Gustave H: the great thing is the talent is flowing to the first team and beyond so they must know the way to keep them all happy.
@Gustave H: Let Ulster sign them to let them get game time.
@Christiaan Theron: I don’t think it’s a case of letting them. They want to stay and fight for their place.
From what I heard Ulster went in heavily for Jack Conan and he’d no interest.
@Gustave H: True. There’s one or two that would want to do a serious bit of thinking though. It’s admirable wanting to earn the starting spot here, but playing week in week out and in Champions Cup games in Ravenhill would stand to them more than a few Pro12 games during the Six Nations. It’s a short career, and waiting in line didn’t work out for Ryan or Madigan.
Some of these kids should go on loan to Ulster and London Irish
@Aidan O: They don’t want to.
@Lf: Shows how ambitious they are. Every player knows they have to play regular on the 23 for a province to get capped.
@Christiaan Theron: You’re right Christian, it does show how ambitious they are. Instead of moving to another lesser side backing yourself to get into a team packed full of talent that’s more likely to challenge for trophies shows serious ambition and confidence.
@Christiaan Theron: Heaslip, O’Brien, Leavy, Murphy, Van der Flier, Conan and Ruddock. All Irish internationals
@Oval Digest: You mean like Marty Moore and Ian Madigan now presently lost to the Irish national side.
@Christiaan Theron: did James Ryan not get capped for Ireland before playing for Leinster?
@Christiaan Theron: Haha those support my point! Both stayed and were in the Irish squad, when they left they were found out a bit and left out.
Why would you want to head to Ulster or London Irish if you were an ambitious, talented player from Leinster?
If anything, it would show a lack of ambition to move.
@Christiaan Theron: Ulster should try developing their own players instead of relying on Saffers and other provinces.