Gaelic games, a god and history
Royal visit goes over the bar with Croke Park trip and a puck
PRINCE Harry may have declined to puck a sliotar on his visit to Croke Park yesterday but he hailed Galway’s Joe Canning as a ‘God’ after watching him let one fly over the bar.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were joined on the hallowed turf by Tánaiste Simon Coveney, junior sport minister Brendan Griffin and GAA president John Horan and his wife Paula.
During their historic visit to the home of Gaelic games the royal newlyweds were treated to a skills exhibition by Donegal footballer Michael Murphy and hurling legend Canning, along with school teams from up and down the country.
Prince Harry and Meghan looked on as All-Ireland winner Canning lined up a puck at the posts. ‘No pressure here,’ joked Mr Coveney, and Canning struck. ‘Wide!’ exclaimed Canning in dismay.
His second shot sailed through the posts, and the several hundred people scattered around the stands applauded loudly.
‘You’re a bit of a god, aren’t you?’ joked Prince Harry.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Canning cooly played down the interaction: ‘He said something like that all right, but I think he was just having a bit of a laugh with me.’
Asked about Harry’s decision not to take on a shot himself, Canning said: ‘No, he didn’t want to do it anyway. I was thinking he might, but he’ll stick to the soccer I’d say tonight.’
In the centre of the pitch, a swarm of children and parents from the GAA’s Fun & Run programme for children with special needs gathered around the couple, offering hugs galore to Meghan.
The couple spent some time chatting to the group. Meghan struck up a conversation with Sarah Cregg who plays wheelchair hurling with the Connacht team, and was impressed to learn that she plays on the men’s team. ‘Good for you, Sarah,’ she said.
The visit had a special significance given the historical events the stadium has witnessed.
The GAA was founded in 1884 amid a surge of nationalist fervour aimed at promoting hurling and gaelic football in preference to English or ‘foreign’ games.
In 1918, in the run-up to the War of Independence, the organisation was even included in a list of organisations banned by the British government.
In 2011, Queen Elizabeth paid a historic visit to the ground where 14 civilians were killed by British forces at a Dublin v Tipperary match on Bloody Sunday in November 1920.
Donegal footballer Michael Murphy described the visit as a ‘great symbol of how far the game has moved on here on the island. It’s brilliant to have them here.’
As they departed the stadium, Prince Harry described the experience as ‘a really refreshing event’.
‘You’re a bit of a god,’ Harry said to Joe Canning