Tonight a new documentary called Home From Home starts tonight on Setanta Sports.
The programme follows GAA clubs overseas in New Zealand, Canada, London and Dubai, within the key prism of post-Celtic Tiger emigration.
Director Andrew Gallimore joined us in studio to tell us about the idea behind the doc and its' making.
"In the last four or five years, there were a lot of stories in the press about this new generation who were leaving the country. I moved to Ireland in the late 90s and emigration was off the agenda. Then for it to start happening again, it was just a really interesting social phenomenon. What this really was an interesting way of looking at emigration through the prism of GAA," he explained.
Gallimore discussed the role the GAA plays in a practical and spiritual sense for Irish emigrants abroad.
The New Zealand club featured in the documentary is Christchurch McKennas - from the same city which was affected by a major earthquake in 2011 - and Gallimore explained how that disaster affected the club, given that up to 30,000 Irish construction workers were involved in the post-quake reconstruction.
Gallimore also contrasted the GAA in Canada, Dubai and London, with Toronto County Board treasurer Eddie Mangan also joining Gallimore and Off The Ball on the line to discuss his club's experience.
While Toronto can now call upon a large number of new players through emigration, Mangan explained how changes in Ireland have a far reaching affect on clubs in Canada and also recalled a time when they could not even field a team during one season due to reduced immigration from Ireland.
But since then, there has been an attempt to attract Canadians to the game according to Mangan.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
