Although overhearing Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh‘s febrile radio commentary at an impressionable age inoculated me against any interest in GAA sports, I can understand the appeal of making the pilgrimage to Croke Park. Jaded by the cash and bling of the Premiership, or alienated by the Burberry-clad smugness of rugger, spectators in search of the endangered amateur spirit can witness (I am told) passion and skill, fuelled by pride rather than money.
However, an e-mail I received yesterday from a friend (a Waterford fan coming to terms with an unexpected defeat by Limerick in the hurling semi-final) highlighted one of the downsides to the GAA’s continuing commitment to its origins:
“I’m was intrigued to see how the GAA regards its patrons’ taste in music, vis-à-vis the half-time entertainment: a girls’ brass band belting out “Kelly the Boy from Killane”, “The Patriot Game” and “A Nation Once Again”. Does the organization think we’ve all been stuck up in the mountains for the last eighty years, drinking poitín, and on the run from Free State forces? (“The Patriot Game” in particular, is a well-dodgy song.)”
For those of unfamiliar with “The Patriot Game,” here’s a few verses:
Come all ye young rebels, and list while I sing,
For the love of one’s country is a terrible thing.
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame,
And it makes us all part of the patriot game.
My name is O’Hanlon, and I’ve just turned sixteen.
My home is in Monaghan, and where I was weaned
I learned all my life cruel England’s to blame,
So now I am part of the patriot game.
This Ireland of ours has too long been half free.
Six counties lie under John Bull’s tyranny.
But still De Valera is greatly to blame
For shirking his part in the Patriot game.
They told me how Connolly was shot in his chair,
His wounds from the fighting all bloody and bare.
His fine body twisted, all battered and lame
They soon made me part of the patriot game.
It’s nearly two years since I wandered away
With the local battalion of the bold IRA,
For I read of our heroes, and wanted the same
To play out my part in the patriot game.
It just makes your eyes brim with emotion, doesn’t it? And I’m sure this level of entertainment would make those handful of players from “the other tradition” (such as Darren Graham ) feel right at home.