GAAGO is to sponsor next weekend’s North American County Board Championships in Boston.
The event will bring together 2,500 players from across the USA and as far afield as The Cayman Islands for the largest gathering of gaelic games players outside of Ireland.
It is tapping into a prime market for GAAGO, the digital service launched in the spring by RTE Digital and the GAA to broadcast online coverage of the All Ireland Championships around the world throughout the height of summer.
Promotional
Promotional teams will be on the ground at the Irish Cultural Centre in Boston over the Labor Day Weekend from the 29th to the 31st August.
The high profile sponsorship comes hot on the heels of Fexco extending it’s long term relation with Asian Gaelic Games festival taking place in Kuala Lumpur in October.
That Championship will bring together 800 players from 65 teams across 28 countries.
Expansion
The overseas expansion of gaelic games has been fuelled once again by higher levels of emigration since 2007, but is developing strong enough roots and organisation to appeal well beyond the exiles to bring in players attracted by the speed and skill and willing to try other sports.
“Our objective is to continue to grow and promote the games here in the United States,” said John Cunningham, one of the leading figures behind the North American County Board.
“That is especially the case in terms of the recruitment and development of American-born players, and we envision that the availability of the GAAGO service will be hugely beneficial to those efforts in the years ahead.”
“Not only will GAAGO’s involvement help immensely in raising the profile of this year’s tournament, but their presence at the Championships over the Labor Day weekend will add even more gravitas to an increasingly important and popular event on the international GAA calendar.”
Popular
“Gaelic Games in the US has never been as popular, with growth in the number of clubs, teams and players,” added Donal Moriarty, Product Leader of GAAGO.
“The increasing involvement and participation of people without an Irish background is also an indication of the appeal and attraction of both football and hurling.”
It promises to be a huge cultural crossover weekend with the Croke Park Classic between Penn State and University of Central Florida taking place in Dublin and being beamed across America on ESPN and the GAA’s biggest event, in numbers at least, taking place on the other side of the Atlantic.
The scale and potential of this crossover might not be recognised by some commentators in the wake of the All Ireland Football Replay being staged in Limerick on Saturday to accommodate the College football. Their contention that the increasing commercial success of the GAA was in some ways a negative looks rather small minded in light of the advances being made here and around the world.
Join us over the coming days as we look behind the scenes at the making of the Croke Park Classic and the global spotlight it is shining on Ireland.
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