The new GAA season has opened at Gaelic Park in the Bronx and three cheers for that. Three cheers indeed for the return of Gaelic games wherever they are played in North America.
Those games, for as long as they have been codified, have been played, and indeed revered, by the American Irish. In recent times, however, the relative absence of immigration has been a restrictive factor on the growth of the GAA in the U.S. Nevertheless, and this has been most encouraging, there has been great effort applied to introducing the games to a new generation of players born in the fifty states. To all who give so much of their time and energy to this cause we say, well done and keep up the good work.
Back in Gaelic Park, meanwhile, the arrival of a new spring and a new season is, for many who live in the tri-state area and indeed beyond it, an act of renewal and, indeed of faith.
We have faith in the essence of the games that Ireland has given to the world. We have faith in the visual excitement that they provide for those who turn out to see them. And we have faith that the opening of this new season is but a harbinger of even better days ahead for our community, for those who play, for those who support, and even for those who only take occasional interest. Enjoy the season everyone.
