Squareball, GAA t shirts, irish tshirts, GAA gear

There isn’t hardly a week goes by or county final played where the efforts of faceless groundsmen – the men (and women) who cut the grass, mark the lines and fertilise the whole place into the bargain are lauded. These humble people, along with the saints who wash the playing gear, are frequently hailed as the true embodiment of the ethos of the GAA.

“Ah, oul Mickey? Sure he cut the grass at St Patrick’s Park for 49 years. By Jaze he started out with a pair of hand shears, clipped the surface for two weeks before every big game.”

“And the wife Maisie, sure she washed the shirts for thirty seven years, even she found a players Y-Fronts among the bag she’d still give them a rinse whether she recognised them or not. These people are the heart and soul and fabric of d’association.”

You can understand why protestants and the likes of coaches and players get a  bit fed up having these activities rammed down their throat at every opportunity. One fella who declined to be named said:

“I’m getting fed up with all this shite about grass cutting and lining the pitch. We train three nights a week come hail rain or shine. Yer man rides about on his lawnmower lovin’ it as if he’s f***in Valentino Rossi with his silly bobble hat and wellies and then he has the cheek to tell us we can’t train on the pitch, his arse is his elbow.”

Now however, to add insult to injury, that well-known body, the Irish Institute of Sports Surfaces (IISS) www.irishsportsurf.ie has unveiled a new awards scheme to recognise and reward the high standards of groundsmanship achieved by Ireland’s volunteer GAA groundsmen. The Oscars of the turf if you like.

The Playing Surface of the Year Awards have been created in association with the Leinster Council of the GAA and specialist grass seed breeder Barenbrug by the IISS, a newly-formed body dedicated to promoting and implementing the professional development of people who maintain and manage sports surfaces in Ireland.

It is not known if that particularly grumpy Englishman that tends the Croke Park surface will be on the judging panel but by Jaze he’s dour and not much craic when it comes to his pitch.

Falling into the usual trap of hailing the messianic work of irascible and curmudgeonly groundsmen everywhere, IISS Managing Director Donal Kearney positively gushed:

“The Club Playing Surface of the Year Awards have been created to highlight the hard work of the GAA volunteers whose dedication and endeavours have long gone unnoticed – until now. We hope that the awards will encourage others to get involved in the maintenance of GAA surfaces and raise standards of sportsturf care even higher.”

The winning club will get a load of free Barenbrug grass seed, a bag of horse manure, a peaked cap, new wellies and a piece of cord for the trousers. What next?

GAA volunteers interested in entering can find out more at www.irishsportsturf.ie before the closing date of September 5th. Judging will take place later in September before the winners are announced in November.