04/26/24
June 06, 2006
Shock win causes immigration issues: as New York beat Derry in hurling (GAA) last month. But now they are unwilling to travel to Ireland in order to face their next opponents because of possible visa problems.
Awesome article and great link. Wish I had something else to add Same here. Thanks for the link.
posted by yerfatma at 04:42 PM on June 06, 2006
Nice post Fence. They don't seriously expect the hurling final to be relocated to New York though do they?
posted by squealy at 05:59 PM on June 06, 2006
Well New York do, they've offered to pay for the Antrim team to fly over, but I don't think Antrim will go. Not on the scheduled date anyways. They are in other competitions around the same time, and I'm sure that if they did go the Antrim players would treat it as a holiday and possibly lose :)
posted by Fence at 03:46 AM on June 07, 2006
Might there possibly an immigration issue here? I used to know some hurlers, and a few of them were, shall we say, not 100% legitimately in the country. They worked under the table and stuck with hurling and gaelic football and the like to fend off homesickness as much as anything. (You see that a lot with different groups, and not just in New York. People fresh off the boat, legal or not, start out their new lives here by hanging with other expats and going with comfortable habits while they learn the ways of the new land. See also: Aussie rules football, bocce, cricket, etc.) Without going into the politics of that end of things, might the fact that they're protecting one or two not-quite-legal members explain why the team might not be all that thrilled about crossing an international border?
posted by chicobangs at 10:49 AM on June 07, 2006
Chicobangs that is the reason. Of course, they aren't coming out and saying it because it isn't good PR. but the fact is that New York hurling have been known to encourage players to come to America and play even if their visas aren't fully in order.
posted by Fence at 10:22 AM on June 08, 2006
Awesome article and great link. Wish I had something else to add :) Does make me wonder if beisbol in Miami helped my dad's people get adjusted to life in the US.