10-07-2025
There's a GAA club in Rome -- and they just gave the Pope a jersey
With the All-Ireland reaching its crescendo over the next few weeks, it's always fun to have a look at just how international the GAA has gotten.
With New York and London being able to play in the divisions, it's not unusual to have clubs pop up in the most random of places; from Uganda to Singapore. However, the fact that some bustling metropolis' have a GAA team is still a bit jarring — especially if you're one of the only ones in the entire country.
Founded in 2012, Rome Hibernia GAA is only one of two GAA clubs in all of Italy (for completion's sake, the other is in Milan), and has grown exponentially in the Italian capital, reaching our shores when their stunning Italia GAA jerseys ahead of an upcoming tournament went viral on TikTok. Pic: Rome Hibernia GAA/Instagram
Speaking to the club's hurling director Gianni Goretti explained that despite being born in Florence, he fell in love with the sport when he came over to Ireland to do a PhD, playing gaelic football for Na Fíanna in Glasnevin before transitioning to hurling when he met his girlfriend from Kilkenny.
'I just found out about hurling, pucking around with her family when I'd go to Kilkenny,' he explained. 'And then during COVID we moved to her parents' village [and] every afternoon I'd just be pucking around with her father (All-Ireland winning midfielder, the late Lester Ryan).
'We then moved to Italy in 2020, spent a couple of years in Tuscany before heading to Rome, where we found out there was a GAA club.' The club are set to bring a number of players to a Euro Games tournament in France — representing Italy as one of only two clubs in the nation. Pic: Instagram
While some countries with a larger Irish diaspora have clubs that are a dime a dozen, Rome seems to be a more random spot to find the sport — with Gianni telling us that it's only one of two clubs in all of Italy. And while most would expect an international GAA club to comprise mostly of Irish players, they have a surprising number of homegrown talent.
'When we joined, it was only football,' Gianni explained. 'We're half Irish and half Italian/international… it's still mainly football, but since the end of last year, we've tried to start a bit of hurling. The Irish players prefer hurling to football [but] I was playing football due to the lack of [hurling] equipment. So slowly, we're starting to get the fundamentals for hurling — a few helmets, a few sliotars, and it's easier to have the Irish guys because they know how to play it over the Italians.'
'We take it relatively easy,' he added. 'Many people that used to play soccer or basketball want to play something but maybe don't want to get too into sports again, so we train once or twice a week. There's a big social aspect to the club too; we're a good place for Irish people to meet up, and we're usually the first point of contact for Irish people starting out in Italy. They'll come training, and then we'll go to the Irish pub and watch a few matches on the weekends.'
Despite being around for over a decade, Gianni told that they've had two big moments happen to them recently this year — namely their new Italy kits, which they'll be wearing at the Euro Games later this month, and as well as finding a new member in the newly elected Pope Leo XIV. Yes, really.
'We co-hosted the Jubilee of Sport in Rome earlier this month, and we had a reception with an Irish Bishop, and met the Pope — we managed to give him a jersey,' Gianni said. 'That was class — we even gave him a bespoke hurl as well.'
As for what's next for the club, Gianni said that with most of the Italian GAA team being made up of Rome Hibernia players, they're heading to France for an international tournament — and have managed to bring in three teams that'll be heading to the tournament.
'Usually these European competitions are divided between teams that can play Irish players and that can't play Irish players,' he explained. 'We're bringing two main teams, one with only Italians and one with a mix of Italian and Irish. And then we'll bring our ladies team as well.'
Since he's a hurling fan, of course we had to ask who he fancied for the All-Ireland final on Sunday (July 13) — and if you're a Tipperary/2 Johnnies fan, this is the part where you should probably stop reading.
'I have to say Cork,' Gianni said. 'I wouldn't be forgiven for saying Tipp. In a way it's a hard call to make, but I have friends from Cork and I love Cork. It's my favourite of all the Irish accents as well!'
Rome Hibernia GAA can be found on Instagram and Facebook.
