There are many different kind of GAA clubs. The common cause between them all is their shared sense of community. A GAA club should always represent a community, be its focal point, and provide outlets and refuge to local people. In a rural area, this is often taken to a new extreme. Often, the GAA club is the community.
In our latest episode of our "Born To Play" series with Sports Direct, we visit Listry GAA club in East-Kerry, one of the smallest clubs in the county.
Listry is one of the smallest clubs in Kerry, and indeed the country. Peter Keane, the Kerry senior manager who steps up to the big job this year after leading the Kerry minors to the last three All-Ireland titles, is one man heavily involved with the club, becoming involved when his children joined the club at a young age.
It's natural, I suppose, for parents to get involved when their children join a club, and I'm no differnt. I got involved here when my oldest guy, Peadar, started playing and we started landing here in the morning, on a Sunday morning and spending an hour or two with them kicking and all the other guys. It just developed from that up through the different ages.
As a small club, success isn't always measured in wins and losses, as Keane points out.
Do you know it mightn't necessarily be success that's your fondest memory. Sometimes it's developing a young player or keeping a player playing who might otherwise have given up, and just staying after him and getting him involved. Like, success is very relative no matter where you're coming from.
