February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Amid much fanfare last December, the New York GAA launched their ambitious plans for a new home. Before a wide-ranging cross-section of the New York Irish community at the Irish Consulate, New York Gaelic Sports Corporation’s president, Monty Maloney, presented the Association’s plan.
The mood at the consulate was bright as speaker after speaker painted a picture of a Gaelic Sports facility that New York Gaels could be proud to call their own.
New York City Park’s Commissioner Adrian Benape described the GAA’s plan as the “lynchpin of the overall redevelopment of Randall’s Island,” which he dubbed a “Central Park for the 21st century.”
The New York GAA’s original January deadline has come and gone, but the city’s extension, to early September, would seem to give the plan new impetus. That the Association, however, has yet to announce the signing of a single contributor in the three months since the December launch. And though this might be seen as a cause for concern, Monty Maloney is having none of it.
Maloney said last week that he has “no doubts about Randall’s Island, absolutely none.” Never one to mince words, Maloney challenged doubters in the New York Irish community “get involved.”
When he was asked what he would say to New York Gaels who have doubts about the New York GAA’s ambitious plans for a new home, Maloney was typically blunt. “The doubters can call us up and give us some money,” he said.
To that end, the Randall’s Island Sports Corporation will be hosting a group of New York’s leading Irish businessmen at a late April fundraiser in Manhattan. Sean Kelly, president of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland, is scheduled to attend the April 21 gathering at the Manhattan Club.
The New York GAA contingent is undoubtedly optimistic that an appearance by the head of the home organization can loosen some purse strings and set them on the road to their new home.