A MEMORABLE VISIT

e New York Fire Brigade GAA team made a welcome return to Dublin last October to take on the Dublin Fire Brigade GAA team and enjoy the hospitality of their hosts.

ough the match is the obvious highlight of the trip, it is just one element of the ongoing relationship between both sides, and has since its inception in 2002 been praised for enhancing the bond that has been formed between the two departments.

at rst match at Gaelic Park was followed by DFB trips to New York in 2004, 2006 and 2008, then again in 2019, with FDNY visiting Dublin in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2016. e 2019 game was covered in Firecall that year, but FDNY GAA manager Battalion Chief Eddie Boles of Battalion 17 in the South Bronx is quick to talk up the history of the tie and praise the original organisers.

Origins

“It all started with that match in Gaelic Park in 2022, which took place as the pre-match for an All-Ireland tie between New York and Sligo,” he tells me. “It was a big day because the place was sold out, so it was great exposure for both teams and both clubs.

“A er 9/11, we were in our own bubble because we were dealing with the a ermath of what transpired that day and what happened a erwards. We were committed to search and rescue, then recovery. We were either in the rehouse, digging at Ground Zero, or going to countless funerals on our days o for months a erwards because we lost 343 re ghters that day.

“ e president of our club at the time, Billy Nolan, was born in Dublin and raised in New York, and he was contacted by DFB, and then contacted us, so we got a team together and it turned out to be a very competitive match, with only two points between us. We went to Dublin for a rematch in 2003, and from there, it has just grown and grown.

“We are very close with the Dublin team now. e relationships and the camaraderie we have built from the start has been incredible. ey are like a second family to us, an extension of our Gaelic Football family here.”

Welcome

e FDNY team had planned to make a trip over to play in 2021, but unfortunately COVID-19 put paid to that, so the 2022 match was eagerly anticipated by both sides, with the visitors also arranging a trip to play a NIFRS team a er they rst got involved in 2005.

DFB team member Dean Kelly of C Watch Kilbarrack tells me that some DFB members went to greet the FDNY team at Dublin Airport on their arrival before they headed north to play NIFRS rst.

“I know they really wanted to come over in 2021 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the relationship that started with us all those years ago,” he says, “but them coming over this year was a big deal for us, so we had scrolls done up by the Lord Mayor to be handed out a er the game. We also had a welcome party for them at the Church Bar with a few presentations and a catch up, then played the game before more socialising a erwards, so it was great. e bond gets stronger every time, and the relationship between both sides just keeps growing.”

Chief Boles also mentions the signi cance of visiting to play in 2022.

“Our last trip in 2016 coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, so we were proud to use that connection,” he says, “and even though we couldn’t come in 2021 for the 9/11 anniversary, it worked out well because that was the 20th anniversary of the rst game we played against each other, so it was a nice motivation to have.”

When I ask him what the hospitality was like on this trip, he jokes: “Oh it sucked! But no, seriously, it was outstanding. Every time we come over DFB go above and beyond to help us and entertain us: probably a bit too much because it shows on the pitch! I go over regularly – at least twice a year – and will be over in a few weeks, and we always get together. I generally get together with someone from DFB, mostly Tadgh Fallon, and the hospitality is always outstanding and they take very good care of us. Next time, I think we’ll play DFB rst though, then NIFRS, because on this trip we went to the North rst and drew a really good game, and we were a little beat up and worn out.”

Match

As for the match itself, the tie to decide who won the Lord Mayor’s Cup took place at Whitehall Colmcille’s grounds because Croke Park was being re-laid and the Club Championships meant Parnell Park wasn’t available, and was described as ‘very competitive’ by both sides.

Following a moment to pay respects to the victims of the Creeslough tragedy, the game got underway, with DFB eventually taking control and running out 3-17 to 3-7 winners.

FF/P Kelly says the DFB team were a little rusty because “it was our rst time getting together in a couple of years”, but that the quality of the team and panel shone through, but he was taken aback at how competitive the FDNY team were.

“ ey had a great mix of youth and experience, all of them well able to play, and they gave us a very good, tough game that was closer than the score would suggest. I was surprised at how good they were, a very young team with plenty of potential, so we look forward to going over to New York to play them again, because it will be a game they won’t want to lose, and a determination to win the Cup from us.”

“ ey did beat us by a few points, but it was an entertaining game,” Chief Boles tells me. “It wasn’t as close as previous matches but it was as always very competitive. e quality is always there, but Dublin has a real quality side that would be able to compete on senior club level in Dublin. e three full backs and half-backs all play senior football for top clubs, and they are sprinkled with quality and experience throughout. We aren’t up to that quality, but we have sheer competitiveness of who we are and that drives us on.

“ ere were some moments that went against us - our top player who plays senior football in New York was injured - but we still gave it a go and still battled. e wind didn’t help either!”

For him, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his team made the match competitive. Playing regularly in the GAA Leagues in New York, and training once a week, they are always match-ready, but they also have that in-built talent to play GAA.

“People sometimes ask how come we have a Gaelic Football team in New York, but many of us, if not all of us, are rst generation Irish,” he tells me. “Most of us had fathers who came over and didn’t know baseball or basketball or any of those sports, so they showed us their sport and got us involved with the local clubs over here. Most of us started playing when we were very young and played through Juniors, Minors and Senior football in New York, so it isn’t something we just picked up. It is in the blood!”

Chief Boles tells me that the match against NIFRS was also very enjoyable, and that they were eager to exact revenge for a last-second loss when the team from the North visited them earlier in 2022.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says. “We were level, but the buzzer sounded just as the ball went over the posts from a NIFRS shot, and we lost by a point. e last kick of the game! It was a good game though, and when we went to play them in October we drew, but were robbed because we had a goal disallowed that should have been a goal, but that’s another story…”

Charity

Apart from the football and the strengthening of the bond between the re services, Chief Boles says there is another very important aspect of these trips across the Atlantic.

“All three clubs – FDNY, DFB and NIFRS – have been raising money to donate to Burns Centres throughout this relationship,” he tells me. “When DFB come over they always give a donation to the New York Fire ghters Burns Centre, and when we go over to Dublin we donate to the Children’s Burns Centre in Crumlin, and in Northern Ireland the Burns Centre for Children at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

“So, there is always benevolence involved, and we go over not only to play and build on our bond as re ghters in di erent departments, but to also build on that component of raising money and donating it to the Burns Centres, which are dear to our hearts. at aspect is really important to us.

“Some of the older guys came over on a golf trip in 2021, and we met up with some DFB people in Tara Street station and presented cheques of $25,000 to each of the Burns Centres, and we did the same thing on this trip in 2022.

“Similarly, when we went to

Northern Ireland, we went to the James Connolly Labour Centre on the Falls Road, and a er a very nice reception for us, we presented them with a cheque in honour of the 343 re ghters we lost in 9/11, as well as the more than 300 re ghters we have lost since because of 9/11-related illness. at money was raised in coordination with the New York Friends of Ireland. e Chairs, Terry O’Sullivan, the International President of the Labourers Union, and James Callahan, President of the Engineers Union, are both very well known in Irish labour circles in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and together with John Samuelsen of the Transport Workers Union were instrumental in raising money to build the James Connolly Irish Centre in Belfast.

“ at is a very important part of why we make these trips, not just for the sport, and the camaraderie between our departments, but also to give donations to the Burns Centres and other charities.”

Rematch

An invite has already been issued by FDNY to DFB to visit New York later this year, and both sides are keen to make it happen.

“ ere will be a determination from them to win the Cup back,” FF/P Kelly tells me, saying that he hopes DFB can get some more game time under their belts beforehand with games against NIFRS and An Garda Síochána to start with.

“We don’t know when exactly the rematch will be, because we haven’t heard anything de nite yet,” says Chief Boles, “but every time we get together it is always great, so we are looking forward to them coming over and we can win the trophy from them!”

Before nishing the call, he again underlines the importance of this ongoing relationship and thank DFB GAA for helping to make it so special.

“We are really grateful to Dublin Fire Brigade for reaching out to us in 2002,” he says. “We were in a really di cult time and they brought a little spark back to us when they visited. ey started something great that has grown into something wonderful.

“We have two departments that give it a go on the pitch, we build the camaraderie a er the match, and there is benevolence involved too in raising money for Burns Centres and other charities in our respective countries, so it is all good.

“DFB come over here, we go over there, whether it is with the team or in smaller groups or by ourselves, we have that camaraderie and friendship that we know we can meet up with anyone. We always make time to see each other. It really is an extension of the brotherhood we enjoy in each of our departments, and we are joined in this brotherhood across the ocean.”