THEY’VE waited most of 2021 to get started. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Henry Joy’s and Mary Ann’s hurling and camogie club.
The newest member of the GAA family in Antrim have been in limbo over the last few months.
While the camogie association ratified Mary Ann’s earlier this year, the hurling branch of the club needs to be ratified by the Antrim county board, something which has yet to happen.
For insurance purposes, the hurlers cannot play any games until they are officially recognised by the GAA.
The club had hoped that the process would be completed by now, but their application has stalled, much to the frustration of Gaels in North Belfast.
They have received letters of support from politicians including local MP John Finucane and Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon as well as Cllr Fiona Ferguson (People Before Profit).
Calls for the club to be ratified earlier in the summer fell on deaf ears, but it is now seems like they’ll get the green light at next month’s county board meeting on Monday, September 6.
The club’s vice-chair Séana Brown says the delay has caused much frustration in the club, but hopes they can hit the ground running next month.
“It has baffled everyone at the club. There didn’t seem to be any reason for holding ratification up,” said Brown.
“I think they (the Antrim county board) things they had asked of us were over and above what they had asked of any other club, but everything they asked of us, we provided.
“Everything was in place and sent across. Now, we have been told that we’ve been ratified “in principle” and there is a meeting of the county executive on September 6 and hopefully it goes ahead on that date.
“The camogie team has been ratified and they’ve had a series of games and that’s been great. It is trying to keep the momentum going with the hurlers.
“We’ve 40 guys turning up for training twice a week and they go to any event we run. They just want to play matches.
“This has been going on for seven or eight months now – the boys are just itching to get out and play.”
The new club has put inclusivity to the forefront
There are over a dozen GAA clubs in West Belfast, the vast majority of which are dual clubs.
In North Belfast. Henry Joy’s are aiming to fill a void in the lower Antrim Road area of the city.
Focusing on the areas likes Newington, the New Lodge and Carrick Hill, Henry Joy’s hurling club and Mary Ann’s camogie club are hoping establish Gaelic Games in a part of the city that’s traditionally been seen as something of soccer stronghold.
“When I came on board, originally as a parent just looking to help out,” explained Brown.
“My kids all played Gaelic football for Pearse’s and there are loads of soccer teams in the area, but not a lot of clubs cater for hurling in North Belfast.
“There seems to be a real emphasis on soccer in the North Belfast area.
“You had the park in North Queen Street lying idle. So we came up with a juvenile development plan and we sent it to the Antrim county board as well and we wanted to get the teams out during the summer.
“My daughter plays on the Mary Ann’s camogie team and they were ratified quickly – they’ve had challenge games with various clubs. We just assumed it would be the same for the hurlers.
“The GAA Cúl Camps were taking place and we wanted to host ours. We couldn’t do anything because, without ratification, we can’t get insurance from the GAA.”
Getting ratified isn’t the only pressing item on the agenda for Henry Joy’s and Mary Ann’s – they’ve yet to confirm a permanent home.
Playing facilities in North Belfast for all sports are few and fair between with ground-sharing a common theme.
Cliftonville currently share their home pitch at Solitude with Newington FC while, across the road, Cliftonville Playing Fields (The Cricky) is shared by Ardoyne Kickhams and Patrick Pearse’s.
For the last number of seasons, it has also been used by Crumlin Star FC, but the NAFL Premier Division side are set to move to their new home at Marrowbone Park next year.
Brown is hopeful that the club will be able to confirm a home pitch once the hurlers have been ratified.
“We are using council-owned facilities in North Queen Street and the community centre in Carrick Hill for training,” stated Brown.
“If we get ratified, we can then get the teams out on to the likes of The Cricky and get proper training sessions.
“Hopefully we can keep it local. There are there are soccer pitches all over North Belfast, but very few facilities for Gaels.
“Hopefully, we can get one night of training at The Cricky and we can use the park in North Queen Street and also Alexandra Park. The men’s team are currently training at Mallusk. It is a bit far out for our other teams.”
Their time on the pitch might be limited at present, but that hasn’t stopped the club from engaging with the community in other ways.
The ethos of the GAA aims to promote Gaelic Games and Irish culture and inclusivity is at the heart of what Henry Joy hurling and Mary Ann’s camogie club are trying to achieve.
Since the club’s inception back in February, they’ve reached out to ethnic minority groups in the area and have held taster events in North Queen Street.
They are activity engaging with various community groups including the Belfast Asian Woman’s Academy, Belfast Islamic Centre and Africa House NI.
The Mary Anne camógs have been ratified and already been in action
“We’ve had a lot of positive engagement with ethnic minority groups in the area,” said the club’s vice-chair.
“Unfortunately, there was an attack on a young man while he was walking through the Waterworks – he is a refugee and he hadn’t a lot of friends and didn’t know too many people in the area. He is now part of our hurling team and he is training twice a week and loves it. He is looking forward to playing his first match.
“We are trying to welcome those who feel a little displaced. We are picking up the ethos of the GAA and we are just keen to get going.”
As well as helping ethnic minority groups feel a part of the local community, the club want to make mental health awareness a priority from the get-go.
“The mental health issues and suicide rates in the area have been well-documented, even before Covid-19,” added Brown.
“Post pandemic, we didn’t’ wait for a government initiative, we aren’t doing this for a box-ticking exercise.
“We’ve weekly walks for club members as well. If anyone is feeling a bit down on it, they can come out and have a chat with something.
“We are trying to do different activities to keep people involved. We don’t want this to be a flash-in-pan and that is our approach to everything, including mental health. We want to bring as many people on board as possible – we want to be an inclusive club, not just in terms of ethnic minorities, but everyone in the community.
“We are hosting our own Féile from Friday, September 22 through to Sunday, September 24. We’ve a BBQ, bouncy castle, we’ve live music at St Malachy’s and we’ve a talk on Henry Joy McCracken.
“We are also going to go down, as a club, to the All-Ireland Camogie finals on the Sunday. It is just to try and keep things going.
“We went down a few weeks ago to do a clean-up at the North Queen Street Park. We got speaking to some of the kids who were just hanging around the park. Most of them had never lifted a hurl before and know very little about the GAA and now they are coming to our training sessions.
“There is a real positive vibe around the club at the moment and we hope we can keep that spirit going.”
