ABSTRACT
By drawing upon ethnographic research conducted with members of Londons Irish community, this chapter seeks to complement this existing research and contribute towards a greater understanding of the role that the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and its sporting events play for the Irish in London. Sorohan provides a detailed analysis of the development of a distinctive Irish community in London during the 1970s, focusing upon the experiences of London-born second- and third-generation Irish. Playing Gaelic football, Hurling or Camogie, and representing the club on the playing field was considered by several second-generation Irish participants as an explicit way to express an Irish identity, demonstrating that people from London can be Irish too. Martin, a second-generation Irish man recalls making a conscious decision to wear his London GAA county Jersey when visiting family in Ireland, to show them Im Irish and Im from London.
