'Pride of place': GAA clubs and the community around them

Opinion: the identity, traditions and heritage around GAA clubs often allows the local community feel a true sense of belonging

The French word terroir regularly crops up in the world of food studies. Originally a wine term, it usually refers to the complex interplay between the natural elements of soil, aspect and climate that influence any viticultural site. According to many foodies, this is what gives a food or drink its sense of place.

But the word can evoke something much more fundamental. Amy Trubek, author of The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir, insists that culture, in the form of a group's identity, traditions and heritage in relation to place, must also be part of any consideration of terroir.

The impact of the recent pandemic has shown us that the concept can also apply outside the food world and that institutions like the GAA regularly demonstrate their sense of terroir. This has been especially noticeable recently. Because of Covid, many children and adults have had the experience of staring at pristine pitches behind locked gates festooned with yellow and black covid warning signs.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Countrywide, report on how GAA clubs in Finland, Oman and Australia are getting back to business after the pandemic

Thankfully, we have moved beyond these difficulties (for now). Many of our GAA club strongholds owe their recovery and success to the hard work of a small cohort of dedicated men and women. Terroir people might be an apt moniker for such a