Emigration and the GAA in Offaly

[Biffo Army]

Just curious how the clubs in Offaly are being affected by the exodus of young men to Australia and beyond.....

Seems like every young person is intent on beating the recession and heading Down Under!

[Rynaghs Biffo]

I'm afraid to tell my good friends on this site, and the shark crew, that yours truly has fallen into the Australia trap.

but with the best GAA forum online, I'm sure I will be well informed!!

[Lone Shark]

Jaysus - hadn't heard that at all. Sorry if it was a forced decision, but either way, best of luck with it. If I was a young buck like yourself I'm sure I'd be considering something similar right now.



I think it varies by area very much. There is a sprinkling around West Offaly (as you can see above) however it hasn't reached epidemic proportions yet. Having said that, I've seen towns around Ireland where emigration is on the agenda of at least half the young people in the town.

The sad thing is that, as a friend of mine from Cork said one night, it's not like there isn't anything that needs doing. If anything there's more work to be done now than there ever was. But just when the task gets toughest, that's when we push everyone towards leaving. A little bit of thinking outside the box would really be no harm for this country sometimes.

[Archangel]

There's been quite a few gone from around my parts, one a team member, and two would have been occasional members.
More worryingly for us is the retirement of a couple of players for various reasons, plus a possible long term suspension could leave us with a very tight squad for the year, as I don't think we have any underage players stepping up. Tough times for the small clubs.

[TheManFromFerbane]

I'm afraid to tell my good friends on this site, and the shark crew, that yours truly has fallen into the Australia trap.

Jesus I hadn't heard that either! Best of luck with it, come back with some new skills and a nice tan!

[turk]

I'm afraid to tell my good friends on this site, and the shark crew, that yours truly has fallen into the Australia trap.

but with the best GAA forum online, I'm sure I will be well informed!!

Best of luck RB

[Bord na Mona man]

Best of luck in Oz RB.
At various Australian sporting events, Make sure to pop up on telly as the man in the crowd wearing the Offaly jersey !

[Phoenix]

Best of Luck Rynagh's Biffo. Don`t forget to bring the new jersey so you can show your colours when you`re watching Offaly`s dual forces during the Irish summer.

[joe bloggs]

Best of Luck Rynagh's Biffo. Don`t forget to bring the new jersey so you can show your colours when you`re watching Offaly`s dual forces during the Irish summer.

And you can take the shirt of my back too. I hope the rynaghs hurling colours will be alright but i think i might have stretched the fabric a bit.
seriously though there is a good Gaa scene in the big cities down under so it will be just like home ( plenty of moaning about refs and trainers!)

[Bord na Mona man]

The sad thing is that, as a friend of mine from Cork said one night, it's not like there isn't anything that needs doing. If anything there's more work to be done now than there ever was. But just when the task gets toughest, that's when we push everyone towards leaving. A little bit of thinking outside the box would really be no harm for this country sometimes.

This is true.
The Government could carry out infrastructure costs at a much reduced cost if they actually pressed ahead with them now.
The price of land has dropped significantly, which would reduce the big payoffs that were required for CPOs at the height of the boom.
There are a raft of highly qualified people in the construction industry available to work.
The bids you would get on tenders would be far lower too as companies would be happy to do business rather than be stuck doing frig all.

The worst time to invest in infrastructure is when there is a boom.
You overpay and by the time you get it done, you have already missed the boat.

We should be planning for the next upswing, whenever it might be. Have the services and infrastructure in place to take full advantage. Also try and learn the lessons of what went wrong from the last 10 years too.

Hopefully it isn't long before anyone who leaves has the option of coming back. That is if they aren't enjoying the beer, the women, the sun, the barbeques and the surfing too much.