“We’re pulling in I’d say between 40 and 45 Cambodians at the minute at training nights,” club chairman and Cork native Ronan Sheehan tells The42.
And given the obstacles in place, the work of Cairde Khmer – a club founded in 2017 – has been remarkable.
“The women’s team, they come from absolutely zero sporting background. Organised sports for women here is really in its infancy.”Nonetheless, they band together at weekly training sessions. The nearest GAA clubs are in Bangkok, Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. But with a Cairde Khmer branch also in the nearby Siem Reap, they manage to organise regular in-house games.
“That’s no mean feat. You’re talking about teams coming from 13, 14 countries, and all these teams are predominantly Irish. We’re a bit of an anomaly in terms of the fact we’ve got so many locals playing for us. It generally doesn’t happen. “So we’ve always run on the basis that they will always play for free. We will always support them to get to these tournaments. We brought 16 this year to the Asian Gaelic Games in Kuala Lumpur which was massive for us.”
Transporting an entire panel from Cambodia to Owenbeg in Derry doesn’t come cheap. In fact, the total bill will come in between €65,000-€70,000.Nations Analysis Get Murray Kinsella’s exclusive analysis of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign this spring“Yeah. Every time we mention that number, there’s been a collective whistling of air through teeth!” laughs Sheehan, when drawing that exact response from this writer.“Our players have no hope of getting out of Cambodia to the regional tournaments.
“It’s almost like trying to get All-Ireland tickets — but it’s not a ticket, it’s €70,000! We’re chasing every avenue we can. We’re pretty confident we can do it. We’ve done a fair amount. We’ve brought that figure down from €65,000 to €38,000.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
9 games live on TV and streaming in this week's GAA schedulePlenty for GAA fans to enjoy this week.
Read more »
GAA star at centre of scam 'hasn't worked in years' as lavish lifestyle emerges“He might have dabbled in some unsuccessful businesses but the truth is he never actually did a day’s work, as we know it, in his life.'
Read more »
Martin warns against political games over protocol dealThe Tánaiste has said that 'challenging' negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol are continuing, and the EU is in solution mode to try to solve the issues in the interests of Northern Ireland.
Read more »
Ireland boxers face Olympic Games dilemma as row over qualification criteria deepensInternational Boxing Association to allow entries from boycotting nations for World Championships
Read more »
Jon Rahm back on top of world rankings after Genesis Invitational triumphTiger Woods finds it tougher on Sunday, says next appearance will likely be at the Masters in April
Read more »
Darwin Nunez has key role to play for Liverpool; Jon Rahm goes top of world rankingsThe Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with The Irish Times sports team
Read more »