Based in the desert but Hynes staying loyal to camogie roots

WHEN Michael Cusack and company founded the GAA 136 years ago, they could never have envisaged that one day GAA clubs would spring up right around the globe, in places thousands beyond thousands of miles away.

Yet, they have, not just in traditional Irish destinations in North America, but in the other continents as well. Now, an Irish person can travel almost anywhere in the world and not lose touch with their sporting roots, as has been the case for Craughwell camogie player, Lisa Hynes.

Just last week, the 25-year-old was honoured as the Sharjah Gaels Senior Camogie Player of the Year in the United Arab Emirates. Her selection – voted on by her fellow players – was on the back of a season that ran from September 2019 to March 2020.

Living and teaching in Dubai these past two years, Hynes is delighted to be able to combine her passions for travel and sport. For Hynes, who is due to return to Ireland in a fortnight after the school year concludes, her time in the UAE is living the dream.

“I’m always excited about coming home but, when I am over here, I wouldn’t say I am homesick or anything,” she says. “There is so much going on out here, you wouldn’t have time to get homesick. So, while I do get excited about going home, I wouldn’t say I miss it.”

As Hynes chats about her lifestyle in Dubai, it’s easy to see why. The weather is always nice, there are opportunities to travel to other exotic places during school breaks, and the weekends, quite often, take on a life of their own. Sport plays a huge part in that.

Unlike in Ireland where leagues and championships run over prolonged periods, in the UAE the competitions are one-day blitzes. “The season over here runs from September until March, with various tournaments throughout the year,” explains Hynes.

“So, this season, we played four or five tournaments throughout the year but the last one was called off due to the coronavirus. That was the Championship in Abu Dhabi; but, at least we got to play all the others.”

For non-traditional GAA hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, where one of the Gaelic football tournaments is held, the numbers playing and attending are staggering. In Sharjah Gaels club alone, they boast senior and intermediate hurling; senior, intermediate and junior Gaelic football; senior and intermediate camogie; and, no less, than six ladies football teams.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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