From Donegal to Tokyo: Jodi Meenan’s GAA journey across continents

Jodi Meenan is used to long flights. He has to be. When you’re a Donegal man who calls Tokyo home, getting back to the Twin Towns takes a bit of planning.  

But when he heard that the GAA’s Annual Congress was set for Donegal this year, there was never any doubt that he’d be making the trip. 

“I couldn’t believe my luck when I heard that Donegal was going to be the host of the Annual Congress this year,” Meenan said when he arrived at the Abbey Hotel for the GAA Annual Congress two weeks ago.

“It was a pleasure to be back in Donegal, coming all the way from Tokyo, I wouldn't have missed it.” 

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Meenan’s story is one of the great odysseys of the Irish abroad, a journey that took him to Japan as a young man 19 years ago for work and saw him slowly but surely become one of the central figures in the GAA’s ever-growing international network.

He’s now Secretary of Asia GAA, a role that brings with it all sorts of challenges, not least the simple fact that Asia, which is under the umbrella of World GAA isn’t a one-size-fits-all operation, especially when it comes to making decisions at the Annual Congress. 

“It can be difficult for us because we are here on behalf of so many people, and what works in Japan might not work for those in America, or Australia, or wherever, so that needs to be taken on board,” he explains.  

“We all have different needs and requirements in World GAA, and what might not be important to people back home, it can be a big issue for us.” 

Meenan himself didn’t arrive in Japan as a dyed-in-the-wool GAA man. In fact, his playing career had been parked long before he ever set foot in the Land of the Rising Sun. 

“As a Donegal man, born and raised here, I actually only played GAA when I was very young and then didn’t play again until I was in my late 20s.  

“I went out to Japan when I was 23, and at that time the Japan GAA club was really competitive in World GAA and was actually really successful, even back then. That’s nearly two decades ago” 

For a while, he stayed away. Japan GAA was a serious outfit, and the thought of going back to a demanding training schedule wasn’t top of his priority list. That all changed when he got a call at 27 to make up numbers at training. 

“That one training turned into me travelling with the team to a competition in Korea for two weeks, and that was it from 2011 to now.” 

From there, the road was mapped out. Meenan went from player to administrator, first as North Asia Officer, then treasurer, then secretary, and even a three-year stint as chairman of Japan GAA. He was at the helm in 2019 when Japan hosted the North Asian Games, running the whole event from start to finish. 

And now, his ambition is to build the game in Japan beyond just one club.  

“To try and increase the international perspective, we have since started a second club in Japan. Japan GAA is a great club and it has a great stronghold on Japanese players but I wanted to expand and bring in international players, and that’s where Tokyo Samurai GAA started,” he said. 

Like any sporting project outside of its natural habitat, numbers fluctuate. 

“When I was chairman, we had roughly 70 players, that then dropped to 20 last year, and now is back up to about 30-plus members, so hopefully across Japan we can build upon that in the two clubs and drive the competition and the interest.” 

Beyond Japan, the GAA in Asia is a sprawling, complicated beast. The connections that tie it together are forged in the white heat of competition, in the shared sweat of tournaments played in temperatures that would make a man yearn for a wet Tuesday night in Ballybofey. 

“All of a sudden, I have friends in Korea, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, all over the continent. You would be amazed by the connections you make through the GAA. There’s no real way to explain it, you have to live it.” 

Live it he does. Seven tournaments a year, culminating in the Asia Gaelic Games, which last year saw 800 players descend for a weekend of football and camaraderie.  

Even GAA Director General Tom Ryan made the trip out and was, according to Meenan, “blown away” by what he saw. 

“There have been members who have come out to see us and what we do, and I’ve never seen someone leave saying they didn’t like what they saw.” 

For Meenan, the flights will keep coming, the work will never be done, and the games will roll on. The games in Japan and Asia seem to be in good hands.