The GAA

My protestant grandparents are now turning in their graves, and based on my performance last Saturday, my Catholic grandparents are probably doing the same.
If the news hasn't yet filtered back to Ireland, let me be the first to confirm that it is true. Johnny Campbell played bogball on Saturday, all day!
I stupidly said, in conversation a few months ago, being a friendly "up for anything" kind of guy: "GAA? Sure, I'll play, just let me know when it's on and sign me up". Well, I got signed up and Saturday was the day.
Digicel organised a one day GAA football blitz down in the Rugby Club, with 10 teams, and nearly 150 people playing. A good summary of the day is that the winning team did not have a single Irish person playing for them. Needless to say, I wasn't on that winning team!
It all started the weekend before last. Myself and Jill were having a quiet weekend. We'd been out for dinner on Friday night in Copper Falls (thanks Rob, Brian, and Cha for the voucher!) and were having a lazy day at the beach on Saturday. I had been signed up to play for the Digicel GAA team, as we were doing a bit of business with them, and one of their many Irish staff suggested I sign up. Our first practice was on Saturday last. I was on the beach (getting quite burnt as it happens) when I received a call from the lads wondering where I was. Training? Must have slipped my mind.
On Monday morning I was informed that I had to turn up for the Thursday training instead. No problem, put it in the calendar, anything for a bit of craic. Sure its a mixed team, how hard can it be? Very hard, that's how hard!
We (Baraud) signed up two Irish lads to work on our temp team this week, so I persuaded them to come down and join us for training. We ended up doing laps, practicing passes, kicks, you name it. Then we played a match until it got dark. One of the girls broke her bloody foot in the so called "practice" game! By the end of the session, it was pitch black, and I was shattered. I checked my watch back in the car. Only an hour had passed since our arrival!
recuperation came in the form of a barbecue over at Elaine & Jim's that night (Jim's a butcher so loads of top notch meat).
Friday brought the end to a hectic week in work. We recruited 7 accountants to join the temp team in one month, a ridiculously high amount of the one type of background to get jobs for, so I was glad when the day drew to a close with all of them finally placed (including the 2 new Irish lads). I was wrecked. Jill went out with work to Margaritaville with her work crowd, whilst I stayed in, watched a video, and was asleep by 11:30.
Saturday morning I was up at 8 to walk the dogs, in work briefly at 9:30, then picked Paul and John, the new Irish guys, up on the way to the Rugby grounds for the GAA Blitz.
We arrived just after 10 and the first game was in full swing. Early signs of a dull day had disappeared, and the sun was splitting the sky as the temperature rose past 34 degrees.
Our first match was at 10:40. 9 players on each team, 4 women, and 5 men. Women scores counted as double. 10 minutes a side. I started on the bench. Enough said.
Within 5 minutes I was on the pitch with our first "victim" of the day, Dave, having to come off and get sick (he went home soonafter to nurse his hangover). We battled to a 4-0 lead with two mins to go when one of their girls snuck in two points (counting for 4), one after the other.
A draw!
With the sweat dripping, I made my way inside to the club to watch the Leinster- Toulouse game kick off. Got to see the first half before our next game kicked off.
Our early promise (well we didn't lose our first match, so that's promising!) soon vanished as we were faced with a team consisting of four women who played in the GAA league all of last year. We were finished. (Mind you no goals or points were scored by anyone I was marking!)
That first loss required a beer to cheer us up. Jill soon arrived, nursing a bad hangover, with the two dogs in toe.
Daisy was well put out with the crowds, meanwhile Toby was loving it!. Daisy eventually settled. We kind of knew she was comfortable when the commentator asked over the mic for the dog to be removed from the pitch, as Daisy lined up in front of one of the players on the pitch who was trying to take a free. She was determined to beat Toby to that ball!
Toby meanwhile wandered off, watching the second half of the rugby beside two lads for 10 minutes before Jill eventually found him asleep up on the benches in the changing rooms!
Round 3 was soon upon me. A slaughtering. If only they had of started me in that game, it all could have been so different!
By the time the heats were over, we were third from the bottom of ten teams.
Next competition: the boat race! 10 players lined up on the pitch from each team. The challenge: first players downs a bottle of beer, turns it upside down on his head, and the next player in line goes. Finally something we won! The Digicel team came first by miles, and I wasn't benched for this one!
The day got hotter, the dogs more tired, and Jill more hungover (lucky me for not going out the previous night!). I knew things were getting messy when I was asked to keep score and time for the final. Too busy yapping, missed a few points. Sure who's counting?
We went home to shower and came back in, but the day was over for us, we should have never gone home. This player was retired by 10 o'clock. The GAA season starts in January. My name is down. What can I say? A glutton for punishment (and slagging).
Sunday was another beautiful day, but we took it easy, sat around the house for a while after walking the dogs on the beach, I went to the gym, Jill to the pool.
As the day was looking like being another boring Sunday, Jill took a call from Steph from work who invited us down to the beach where her and her husband Lee had moored their boat and were having a barbecue on the sand. The dogs and a cooler of beer and food was packed into the CRV, and on we went to the beach. A very nice way to watch the sun set, diving off the boat, eating BBQ on the shore, throwing stones for the dogs and chilling out drinking a cool beer. The life!
Speaking of which: as its dark here at 6:15 or so now, I have a new alternative to walking the dogs in the evening. Get back from work, over to the pool with a stereo and a beer. Dive into the water with a tennis ball, and throw it from the water around the enclosed pool area for the dogs to run and catch. I swim, drink beer, listen to music, whilst they chase each other for the ball for a half an hour. Sure beats walking them!
Anyway, that's enough typing for one week, more at the weekend.
Hope all is well home. It's my little sis Fi's birthday tomorrow, her first away from home, and I'll miss her for it. Will be seeing her in a month though, in NYC.
I've finally created an account on YouTube, so we'll start posting videos soon.
rafter