In what might actually be an elaborate attempt to troll Jerry Kiernan, GAA President Liam O'Neill has suggested that Gaelic Games could be given Olympic status.
Speaking to the South African GAA contingent who are currently on tour in Ireland, O'Neill said that a World Cup of GAA is the next step for the Organisation's international plan, and that Olympic inclusion would be a natural follow-on from that.
“I’d imagine that if we had an international competition ourselves, that would be a stepping stone to that [Olympic entry], wouldn’t it?” said O’Neill.
“Why not, yeah. The possibilities for growth are exponential when you think of it. Years ago, we’d have been happy with a team in Europe.
“We started off with four teams in Europe in 1999. I think there’s over 70 teams now. Last year, four teams sprang up of their own volition in northern Spain, in Galicia.
“If you consider that they set that up themselves, it’s far more than we had when we started off. In Brittany, teams are starting all the time and in fact Brittany is the only place in the world where Gaelic games are on the second level school curriculum so when you have that support it’s no longer far-fetched.”
It is probably still a bit far-fetched, considering that major international sports such as 15-a-side rugby, cricket and (for a long time) golf are not represented at the Games, despite having considerable player numbers and media coverage on every continent - criteria which the IOC insist upon for a sport to be included.
While Gaelic games are indeed played all over the world, disapora athletes still make up the vast majority of participants, and like many other indigenous sports, the games themselves are rarely considered to be an integral part of the sporting landscape of any country outside Ireland.
The case for GAA inclusion is still worth making, however. For example, it can be convincingly argued that the skills required for hurling, in particular, far outstrip those needed to just run at speed for an extended period of time. Also, it might be a hackneyed target to take aim at, but it must always be pointed out synchronised swimming apparently meets the selection criteria.
[Examiner]
