Media Library

Speeches

Remarks at The Hurling Club

Buenos Aires, 13th October 2012

Damas y caballeros,

Deseo agradecer a ustedes la muy amable invitación que nos hicieran llegar a Sabina y a mí para visitar el Hurling Club.

Muchas gracias por esta cálida bienvenida.

[Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you for your very kind invitation to Sabina and I to visit the Hurling Club. Thank you for this warm welcome.]

I understand that you are celebrating the 90th anniversary of your Club this year. Congratulations! ¡Felicidades! 90 years ago, a group of hurling enthusiasts banded together to create the Federación Argentina de Hurling. Although the tradition of playing hurling receded during World War II when it was no longer possible to import ash to make the hurls, it is very evident that the community spirit of those initial groups of Argentine-Irish who came together to play the games of their homeland still remains strong in this club and that you all remain proud of both your Argentine and Irish heritage.

As the prospects for hurling receded in the Club, your members gradually turned to field hockey and rugby. Indeed, it is interesting that that the women in the Club led the way in hockey when the Golden Wings team was formed in the early 1930s. On one occasion, six sisters from the Fox family played on the Golden Wings team.

It took the men about a decade to follow. When they started playing hockey in 1943 it seems that some of them thought they were still hurling and that it was permissible to kick the ball. However, within a short period of time the Hurling Club dominated men’s’ hockey in Argentina. Indeed five members of the Club were part of the Argentina national team at the 1948 Olympics in London – with names like Quinn, Scally, Wade and Dolan.

Rugby made its first appearance in the Club in 1942 and Hurling’s first try was scored by Guillermo MacAllister. The subsequent decades were a period of great success for the Club in rugby and in 1980 it made its first tour abroad playing five matches in Ireland and one in England. As a man who lived in Galway for many years, I have mixed emotions about the fact that one of the games that Hurling won during that 1980 tour was against Galwegians Rugby Club.

So the Club has a proud record in sport – in hurling, field hockey and rugby – and that prowess continues to this day. I am delighted to commend one member of your club, Martina Cavallero, who has had the opportunity to represent her country at the highest level when she helped the Argentine hockey team, Las Leonas, win a silver medal in this year’s Olympic Games. I know that her dedication and ability serves as an example to the many young members of this club whom I have had the pleasure of meeting today.

It is clear that the Hurling Club is more than a sports club; it is a focal point for the community here in Buenos Aires. I see many generations of family members enjoying the facilities here today, and I am sure that many of the strongest and longest lasting friendships were created here on the sports pitches and in this hall afterwards, celebrating victory or lamenting defeat!

The important role played by the Hurling Club as a sports and social focal point for your community has been recognised by the Irish Government, and I am pleased that the facilities of this Club have been supported in part by the Emigrant Support Programme of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

I pay tribute to the work of your Club. Sport plays an important role in ensuring a healthy life. Engaging in sport also builds bridges between people, and the making of friendships is very much part of the sporting experience. In participating in sports, you learn to work as part of a team, be active participants,using fully your skills while at the same time respecting the individual contributions of your teammates. In sport, you must be generous enough to offer support when a teammate needs it, and humble enough to accept it when it is in the interests of the overall team.

We can draw helpful lessons from such an experience in other areas of life: we understand that things are better when we journey together, not alone; when we are active participants in our communities and in our society; and when we use our voices and contribute our energies and skills for the betterment of all.

Sport also has the benefit of bringing communities, sometimes removed by many thousands of miles, together. In 2001 and 2009 the GAA Hurling All Stars visited this Club and gave an exhibition of the great game which your club was named after. I understand that there was great enthusiasm to see the very best hurlers in Ireland and that this left a very positive impression in the minds of those who travelled here.

The GAA, in association with your Club, has in the pastorganized skills camps and GAA stars and coaches have travelled here to provide coaching seminars to your young members. While it may not be possible to continue to field full teams for Gaelic games in this club, it is very nonetheless very encouraging that the unique skills of Gaelic games can still be learned by those who wish to maintain their skillful traditions. I hope that this tradition will continue into the future. I say this as someone who comes from a part of the West of Ireland where hurling is very strong.

I also know that the Hurling Club has organized rugby and hockey skills camps in a number of disadvantaged areas of Buenos Aires. I commend these efforts as it is important that strong links continue with the country that gave the Hurling Club its name, but also with those less advantaged communities much closer to home that could benefit from participation in the activities offered by the Club.

I wish you continued success both on and off the field and I commend you on the most impressive club that you have created and which supports such a vibrant community. My sincere thanks to the current President, Charlie Brady, to incoming President Ronnie Quinn and to all the other officers of the Club present here today.

Quisiera concluir expresándoles nuevamente mi agradecimiento, y el de mi esposa Sabina, por estar hoy aquí.

[May I conclude by expressing to you again my thanks, and those of my wife Sabina for joining us here today.]

Thank you, go raibh míle maith agaibh y muchisimas gracias!