NYPD green, white and orange
January 02, 2011
The NYPD are one of the most famous GAA clubs outside of Ireland
Without needing to set foot in the land of hope and glory, the American police system is familiar all over the world to those of us reared on a televisual diet of Hill Street Blues, CSI and The Wire. And it's impossible to deny that the New York Police Department, or simply the NYPD, is the most famous force in a country that is synonymous with its law enforcement.
As the true capital of the world, New York deserves a police force that the rest of the planet would aspire to, and the respect which the vast bulk of its citizens show its police officers has always been apparent. If ever there were any doubts on that score, they were dispelled by the events of September 11th, 2001, when the quiet and relentless courage, the brave stoicism, the absolute humanity of the NYPD and its colleagues in the Fire Department set new standards for what it means to be a hero in the modern world. No longer was heroism about superpowers, but about doing everything in your power. Nine years ago, New York's police officers did everything in their power, and 23 of them paid the ultimate price, never to return from the job of rescuing the stricken from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Seamus Doherty, who grew up in Sneem in Co Kerry, his mother's home place, and also spent time in Ballybofey - his father hails from Donegal - joined the NYPD in 1998, three years before the most documented atrocity of modern history. And, he admits, the effects of those sleepless days and nights still ripple through the police department nine years on.
"It's a long time ago," he says, "but it's like yesterday in many ways too. It's hard to believe we're coming up on the 10-year anniversary next year. Everybody spent countless hours down there, doing their part. I'd do it all again if needed, although unfortunately a lot of people are getting sick as a result of working down there, coming down with odd respiratory illnesses and cancers. The terrible memories will always be there and unfortunately it hasn't gone away in any regard."
Seamus Doherty was 18 when he left home - "there was nothing doing in Ireland," he says. His travels brought him to many places, with a spell in Florida followed before he pitched up in the Big Apple and joined the NYPD. "I looked into joining the police in Florida but for me, the dream was always the NYPD," he says.
As an Irishman with a deep-seated attachment to the GAA, he quickly became involved in the NYPD GAA club, as player and PRO for a number of years before he was elected to the role of President in 2009. As a key member of the club, Seamus has taken part in three international Gaelic football police tournaments in recent years, and is looking forward to the challenge of New York staging the tournament for the first time in 2011.
"It takes place every second year and includes ourselves in the NYPD, the Garda, the PSNI and the London Met. The most recent one was in Belfast last year. In 2007 we were in London and in '05 in Dublin. It's a great tournament. The Garda won it the first year, we won it the second year and the Garda won it again last year, so we're looking at regaining the title here in New York in 2011.
"It's a brilliant tournament and a great opportunity for everyone involved. There's been some great friendships made over the years. The football is a big part of it, but so is the social aspect. Everybody has the same background, we're all in the same line of work, so we've an awful lot in common, and we're all football men too."
Presumably, with so many law enforcement officers together in one space, everything passes off peacefully? No errant bouts of on-field fisticuffs? "No, there's never any trouble," he laughs. "We're all very well behaved for the whole weekend."
Seamus is also very aware of the ground-breaking nature of the tournament, given that the police force in Northern Ireland, in the guise of the now defunct RUC, has in the past been diametrically opposed to Gaelic games. "When we played in Belfast last year," says Seamus, "it was the first time in history that any Gaelic football was played at those grounds. It was a historic event and it was great to be a part of that."
As for 2011, when more than 120 law enforcement officers from Ireland and the UK descend on New York for the next edition of the tournament, Seamus says, "We're looking forward to having everyone over. We've hosted plenty of teams before from all over the place, but it's normally just one team at a time, such as the Cloverfield prison guards or different Garda clubs from around Ireland. The 2011 tournament is on a much bigger scale. There will be a minimum of 40 people each coming from Dublin, Belfast and London, so there's a lot of organising to do but it'll be a great occasion."
Between those international tournaments, the NYPD's football team participates in numerous charity matches, benefiting all sorts of worthy causes both related to and apart from the police department.
"We've talked about putting a team into the New York GAA regular season but as yet we haven't done that," he says. "Most of our guys play with other clubs and have done for years, so we just leave the NYPD do its own thing. We're a charity-based organisation. All the matches we hold are for charity, raising money every year for many different causes, from project children, to the cancer societies, to the Police Widows and Orphans Fund.
"Our biggest match of the year is against the Fire Department at Gaelic Park, and for that one we pick a different individual or family in need because an officer has been killed or injured in the line of duty. This year we played for a gentleman by the name of Adam Frasse, who has a wife and two small children and is in a coma that he may never come out of. Last year it was for Terry McGhee, who has been paralysed from the waste down in the line of duty on an overseas assignment. Everything we do is based on giving back to the community."
Looking back to this side of the Atlantic, Seamus pays close attention to the progress of both Kerry and Donegal on the GAA fields of Ireland. "Sneem is my home club, my mother is an O'Sullivan from there, and my father's from Ballybofey, so I've spent a lot of time in both places," he says. "Everyone's always asking me what I'm going to do when Kerry and Donegal meet in the All-Ireland final. Who am I going to shout for? And I tell them I look forward to crossing that bridge when I come to it. That would be a good predicament to be in." Tweet
