Homecoming scenes in Limerick and Mayo mask a bigger issue
The celebrations this week following the Mayo footballers’ victory and last week after our own hurlers’ win are a reminder that the GAA remains one of the few great volunteer movements left
THERE’S an old saying that many hands make light work.
These days, many organisations would be delighted with even a few extra hands. Be it sporting clubs, festivals or community groups, the problem isn't attracting attendees, it's finding enough people with the time to help keep the show on the road.
There was an interesting conversation during the week about the organisation of a big local event. On the surface, everything is going well. Crowds continue to turn up in healthy numbers and the event remains as popular as ever. Behind the scenes, though, things are proving more difficult. Every year, fewer people are putting their names forward to help organise it. The same volunteers continue to shoulder the burden, and many are beginning to wonder how this event – and other events - will continue to be organised long into the future.
The celebrations this week following the Mayo footballers’ victory and last week after our own hurlers’ win are a reminder that the GAA remains one of the few great volunteer movements left. If you compare it to the World Cup - which brought us great entertainment on various evenings over the summer - the contrast couldn't be greater.
One is driven by vast sums of money. The other still depends on pride, place and volunteers - ordinary people giving extraordinary amounts of their time for little more than the satisfaction of contributing and the hope of having a great day like last Sunday and the Sunday before it.
Sadly, volunteerism has never been under more pressure. It's not because people don't care.
Life has simply become much more busy. The crowds will still turn up. They'll fill the stands and line the streets - as the main image proves - when there's something worth celebrating.
But unless more people find the time to sit around committee tables on miserable winter nights, organise fundraisers, sell tickets and do all the jobs nobody notices, those celebrations won't happen by themselves.