Fashion in the world of GAA is nothing new. For decades, the local GAA match was another reason to don your Sunday’s best; usually because the games followed shortly after Sunday mass. Once the roast dinner was inhaled there was little time to consider a second outfit. A shirt and pants, black shoes — brown if you were so way inclined — and a peaked cap perched to shield against the summer sunshine.
Mammy would throw across her finest scarf and jacket to withstand the sharp breezes, whilst the little ones traded the Sunday shoes for something more suitable for the muddy pitches. At the time, it was the formal attire of the packed stands in Thurles, Pairc Ui Caoimh, Jones’ Road and beyond.
Nowadays, there’s still that spectacular uniformity across the GAA landscape, but with the evolution of modern GAA it has taken on an utterly bizarre twist from the simplicity of the bygone years.
Not too long ago you would’ve been laughed — not to mention pucked — off the field for wearing boots any colour other than black. Even socks pulled up towards the knees would be scoffed at by onlookers. “He’s soft, that lad, socks nearly up to his chest”.
Today, it’s not uncommon to see players in military-grade protective undergarments to fight against the harsh Irish elements, with their hands the only visible piece of skin. Partnered with yellow, green or, God forbid, white boots, throw in the latest trendy helmet, and accessorise your hurley with a funky multi-coloured grip and you’ve a fairly accurate depiction of the modern hurler.
In football, there’s an onslaught of companies vying to provide the best and latest technology in gloves. They’re just gloves, lads.
The non-playing gear developed for players’ downtime has extended into an everyday outfit of choice. Schools, towns and campuses across the country are enveloped in an iRobot mass reproduction of faded haircuts, long-sleeve club jackets and the tightest tracksuits one’s thighs acceptably allow. Finish off your outfit with the latest, most colourful pair of Nike runners and you’re complete — ready to face the day’s tasks, but still kitted out suitably if an impromptu few pucks should arise.
All of this has given rise to a whole host of clothing brands rising to clothe the nation’s young men, where O’Neills once held a stranglehold across the country’s GAA dressing rooms there’s now a plethora of selection from Masita to Bodibro, Azzurri to Bourke’s.
Beyond the realm of Under Armour tights and club zip-tops, the modern GAA man must be able to justify the most dapper of suits and outer wear when called upon. There’s club balls to attend, preferably accompanied with a medals award, and college nights out where the winter gym sessions are truly brought to the fore. The GAA youth of today are not pumping the biceps to extend stamina beyond those 60–70 minute timezones, but to suitably fill the designer shirts and skinny-fit jeans on a Friday or Saturday night.
The less said about the naked ankles and muscle-tightened shirts the better, but the young GAA star must be able to rock the post-match pub wear just as comfortably as his pre-match casual.
The larger-than-life Conor McGregor has endorsed Ireland’s youth of today to embrace their fashionable, well-trimmed bearded sides; giving rise to a generation of beards and man-buns and eccentric suits. But in GAA circles former Kerry footballer Paul Galvin was truly the first to break down the wall and make it acceptable to voice one’s fashion sense.
Back in 2010, the RTÉ documentary Galvanised provided an insight into the player’s juggling of GAA commitments with his, at the time, outlandish fashion interests. Back then it was controversial, many wondered how on Earth those jeans would ever come off, but looking back he paved the road to today’s landscape of well-dressed GAA players. He now has his own brand with Dunne’s Stores and is the earliest example of the well-trimmed, suitably-attired model that graces clubs around the country.
“They’re must more into their clothes.” the All Ireland winner told Today FM last summer. “They’re more interested in how they appear.”
“I think that someday the amateurism and the oppressive nature of the GAA will progress, the thinking will become less conservative.”
Nowadays, players are marketing for suit distributors and the white pair of boots are no longer an alien idea. The GAA are even seeking out clothing brands to partner with, concluding a deal with Littlewoods Ireland before the turn of the year.
You wouldn’t be foolish to disregard RTÉ’s Sunday Game for an episode of Xposé, where Donal Óg Cusack, Brendan Cummins and the game’s latest fashionista Jackie Tyrell grace the panel with their exceptional fashion sense. Gone are the days where Marty Morrissey was once the programme’s premier fashion stalwart.
What was once an oppressed area of GAA, frowned upon by a crowd of neanderthals on the sideline, is now nearly a full blown industry of itself. The modern GAA man is able to express himself on and off the pitch. There’s a pride in looking good nowadays — even if most of them may look alike, as despite the evolution of style there’s still a widespread uniformity on the GAA terraces.
GAA has found it’s fashion voice — and it’s dapper.
