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It is rare that an experiment of nearly 40 years can trace its roots in a single event It is even rarer that the genesis of this one can go back to an advertisement in a newspaper in 1982
But this is how the ‘Irish experience’, AFL’s enduring interest in GAA’s top young talent, came to fruition
And tomorrow morning another chapter could be written in this story when Dingle’s Mark O’Connor and Portlaoise’s Zach Tuohy try to emulate Tadhg Kennelly’s feat and win an AFL Grand Final The Irish pair are part of Geelong’s squad facing Richmond in the decision maker
The ‘Irish experience’ is an brainchild of Ron Barassi, a famous player and coach at Melbourne club Barassi has bet that recruiting new talent from previously untapped resources was the way back to the top for his team and he put out a newspaper ad in May this year
« The idea has never been tried in Australia before, » Barassi told The Evening Press in 1982, « But we are going through a period of no success and this could be the answer to our problems »
Barassi had first-hand knowledge of GAA, having toured Ireland with the ‘Galahs’ in 1967 And the call went out for the county miners, who were over six feet tall and wished travel to Australia to make yourself known A post office box address in Phibsboro, on behalf of Barassi, was included.In July of the same year, the ‘Irish press’ reported that 400 young players, from all counties across the country, had applied
The late Sean Wight of Listowel, Co Kerry was the first man to come out He was followed a few months later by Paul Earley of Roscommon, whose trip Down Under had been delayed by the death of his father
Wight and Early were the first wave to seize their chance for a career in the Down Under And since then, the best young talents here have followed in their footsteps
A total of 63 players have made Down Under deals in an attempt to make the quantum leap from amateur Gaelic football to professional Australian rules
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These 63 have had all the experiences they can have Some got home in a matter of months and a few made it to the top, taking top honors in the game
Early next year, Dingle’s Deividas Uosis will become the 64th player, 39 years after Earley broke new ground and became the first Irishman in Barassi’s experiment to play Aussie Rules
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« There was an ad looking for underage footballers in the county who wanted to participate in a tryout to play the Aussie Rules, » Earley recalls
« Now I didn’t know anything about Australian rules The only connection I had with Australia was that my sister Denise lived there and still lives there, she’s been there for 45 years now She was the only acquaintance that I had there
« So I applied and had to go to a trial led by Brother Tom McDonnell I think he was a principal at St David’s (Artane)
« Brother Mac was his name, a lovely lovely man I couldn’t attend the trial my dad was quite sick So they organized a trial by myself, if you will I don’t remember s ‘there was a video of it but it was in Dublin
« And there were a few boys from school that Brother Mac had brought in to kick me the ball. And on the back of that I got a call from the Melbourne CEO asking if I would be interested in going out «
The magnitude of Earley’s leap into the unknown and his vintage was laid bare weeks after his arrival
« I knew very little I got an Aussie Rules soccer ball from Brother Mac and back then they used to kick what they called a kick torpedo, which is like the spiral punt in rugby
« I had been there for a few weeks and trained outside the club The club captain was away He and the vice captain had played for the State, Victoria, in a game And they had just come back and they came and introduced themselves to me and we started to kick the ball a bit and I threw the torpedo
« But I hit it the wrong way, instead of the tip of the ball being where it should be I did it backwards I remember the guys cracking their sides laughing C ‘was the extent of my knowledge at the time «
Yet the recruiting of Earley and Wight has launched something that is both a source of pride and concern for the GAA
Pride that we think enough of our best young talents for a professional sport on the other side of the world to be interested Fear that this interest could tear the life of clubs and counties
Earley played the last game of his second season there There was a contract extension on the table but he came home over Christmas and decided he wanted to play with Roscommon more than he wanted play with Melbourne
Wight took over and played 150 times Jim Stynes from Dublin, who arrived a few years later, went to 264 games and in 1991 won the game’s highest individual honor, the Brownlow Medal
This couple succumbed to cancer less than a year apart, but their legacy lives on.The success of these early Irish recruits has sustained Australians’ interest in Irish talent, albeit just over half have never played a senior game
“The success of Jim and Sean in particular sustained their interest,” Earley said. “Because Sean has also played so many games, the success of these two guys in particular would have meant that a lot of other clubs have said : ‘Okay, that can work’
« And I think that caused some other clubs to get involved I think if these guys hadn’t been successful they could have died a death And then you had Tadhg Kennelly afterwards who had also achieved a great success «
There was a record number of Irish players – 17 – on AFL club books earlier this year Anyone Breaking the Codes has achieved something significant, the magnitude of which is probably not fully appreciated here But even among this there are some remarkable feats
Zach Tuohy has beaten 200 games this season Mayo’s Pearce Hanley recently lifted the curtain on a 12-year stint in the AFL Not only did they jump into a whole different career in a different sport, but they lasted well for the average career span, which the AFL places at around six seasons Their achievements are extraordinary
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Zach Tuohy, Australian Football League, Irish Experience, Gaelic Athletic Association, Ireland, Australia, Mark O’Connor, Geelong Football Club, AFL Grand Final
World News – AU – Donnchadh Boyle: ‘The Irish experience’ still lasts in Australia ‘
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
