I HAVE OFTEN been asked, ‘why have you never played GAA?’ The answer was relatively simple: I never went to schools that embraced it. Every summer I became the part time fan. With an ‘up the Dubs’ here and ‘come on you boys in blue’ there, it was an all too familiar pattern. The truth is once the All Ireland Finals finished, that was me done for eight months.
However, that recently changed.
When I decided to emigrate to Spain for a more stable work life teaching English, I wondered how long would it take me to settle. Knowing I’d have a solid job in a small town outside Seville before I left in September had me in a positive frame of mind, but I knew I would need to balance work with a social life.
I can’t deny I was nervous in the weeks before departing. I was nervous that I’d be flying back at Christmas and not returning.
I took some comfort through my father, who emigrated himself at a much younger age to find a better life for himself with limited English. He had been there and done that, and had confidence that I was doing the right thing. In a way, it was fitting that it ended up just being the two of us driving to the airport that morning.
I had seen friends before me leave for other countries and manage to settle abroad. Many of them joined sports clubs to have something to do on the side.
“Why not see if they have a GAA club?” a former colleague asked me before I left. The thought never crossed my mind. One search for ‘GAA in Seville’ yielded three words: Éire Óg Seville.
My journey to Éire Óg began as soon as I arrived, just in time for the All Ireland Finals – the height of the club’s social season. I decided to make the first move, and contact them via Facebook. Some correspondence later, I had arranged to meet up with them on the Sunday of the fooball final. It was time I introduced myself.
Handicapped by data roaming restrictions, I armed myself with a screen grab of a route to walk from the train station to the Merchant, a popular Irish pub and meeting point for Éire Óg. “I’ve never kicked a Gaelic football in my life,” I said when I arrived, but I was assured this wouldn’t be a problem and invited along to a training session to have a go for myself.
Since then, I’ve been attending every Sunday morning. It may be only one day a week, but it gives me a social outlet and something to look forward to every weekend, as well as a much-needed fix from the auld sod that many of us Irish emigrants need from time to time.
The club’s current roster contains Irish, English, Welsh, Americans and, of course, local Sevillians. In the past they have fielded a ladies team, but with just the sole female in 2014, an amalgamation of teams from Andalucia for later in the year has been mooted.
Within a few short months, I feel remarkably settled. Before leaving, I knew I had to give myself until Christmas at the very least to decide whether Spain was for me. Thanks in part to Éire Óg, I don’t have any immediate plans to move home.
Uploaded by Oisin Gregorian
Oisin Gregorian is an Irish multimedia journalist currently working as a teacher in Seville, Andalusia. He worked previously a sports writer and production assistant. Follow him on Twitter @Oisgreg.
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