When Michael O'Connor, a Galwayman, first set foot on the rugged parcel of land which has become the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, outside Boston, the place was a tangle of trees and unbroken ground. He paid $30,000 for four acres to start with and, straight up, the detractors told him that the GAA had too much land and too much money.
Years later, with the trees on the surrounding plains shedding their golden coats in the autumn sun, the Irish Cultural Centre is one of the jewels in the crown. A championship-standard pitch overlooked by a fine, green-roofed clubhouse just a 20-minute drive from downtown Boston. It's a long way from Southie and the bacon and cabbage riviera, where the Irish first put down roots.
Yesterday Canton was filled with the tough, harsh accents of the Boston Irish, come to see the latest symbol of a thriving immigrant community. The GAA has suffered in places like London and New York in recent times, but has managed to survive and flower in Boston where the association now has 2,000 registered players spread across 24 clubs. The new field will host the North American championships next year.
Admitedly, it was not the greatest exhibition of hurling ever seen, but enjoyable and sprightly none the less. The 1998 All Star selection did just about enough to merit a comfortable win over a weary-looking Cork side.
In the warm and sometimes stifling humidity of Canton, the game unfolded at leisurely pace. Rumours of alcohol having passed the lips of several of the touring party in the days before the game were immediately scotched when the pre-match parade was completed without casualties on either side.
Joe Dooley opened the scoring for the All Star selection, and the game proceeded on a tit-for-tat basis for 10 minutes or so before the All Stars slung over three points from Seanie McMahon, Charlie Carter and Jamesie O'Connor to wedge a three-point lead between themselves and Cork.
The last of the sequence was one of the scores of the day, Tony Browne finding Jamesie O'Connor with a fine ball.
Cork recovered briefly. Stephen O'Byrne was required to make the first of a few fine saves before Neil Ronan and Mickey O'Connell narrowed the gap.
The only goal came in the 16th minute. A wonderful ball from Timmy McCarthy was met with an overhead pull by Ben O'Connor, and for less than a minute Cork enjoyed a one-point lead.
Martin Storey, most sprightly of the forwards on view, immediately rapped over two points in reply, and a sequence of five without response from Cork was underway leaving the All Stars four points ahead at the break.
In the second half, with substitutes wandering in and out like rural deputies at a drowsy Dail debate, the pace never grew too frantic. Alan Browne, as influential an arrival on the field as he was on All-Ireland day, opened the scoring, but another three points from the All Stars virtually ended the game as a contest.
Donal Og Cusack was for a while all that stood between Cork and a sounder beating. Superb saves from Brian Whelahan and Niall Gilligan kept the All Stars goalless even as their claim of territorial possession increased.
In the late stages of the game Cork stirred themselves sufficiently to close the gap for a while. Points from Landers, McCarthy, and O'Connor brought them to within a goal of the All Stars before they subsided, conceding the last four scores of the game.
No talk of blood, sweat and tears, but a pleasant afternoon's hurling nonetheless.
ALL STARS: S O'Byrne; W O'Connor, K Kinahan, M Hanamy; A Daly, S McMahon (0-1), K Martin; O Baker, T Browne; M Duignan (0-1), M Storey (0-5), J O Connor (0-3, one free); Joe Dooley (0-3), B Whelahan, C Carter (0-4). Subs: S Whelahan for Hanamy (32 mins), Johnny Dooley (0-2) for O Baker (36 mins), N Gilligan for T Browne (36 mins), B McEvoy for J Dooley (40 mins).
CORK: D Og Cusack; F Ryan, D O'Sullivan, J Browne; W Sherlock, B Corcoran, S Og O hAilpin; M Landers (0-2) M O'Connor (0-1); N Ronan (0-1), F McCormack, T McCarthy (0-1); S McGrath, J Deane (0-1), B O Connor (1-2). Subs: A Browne (0-2) for J Deane (25 mins), K Morrisson for M O'Connell (26 mins).
Referee: Pat O Connor.
