Connacht SFC First Round/New York v Sligo: Gavin Cummiskeyon the difficulties facing the New York footballers

"There are good footballers in this town that won't play in case their names appear somewhere. We don't need all those kind of problems. That's why we couldn't go home with the hurling team last year."

- New York county board chairman Séamus Dooley

It should be headline news: the absence of the Ulster championship runners-up from this year's draw. Thing is, the demise of New York hurling hardly raises an eyebrow on this side of the Atlantic. Out of sight . . .

Tomorrow night is in all likelihood the New York footballers' only moment in the spotlight. Even if they manage to catch Sligo cold at the redeveloped Gaelic Park, the bones of the team will be unable to make the trip to Roscommon for the Connacht semi-final June 17th.

This was the problem last year when a decent New York team beat Derry by six points but, owing to visa problems, could not contest the hurling final in Belfast.

To Croke Park's credit, they rescheduled the fixture, albeit in Boston on the undercard of the interprovincial final at Canton Field the following October.

"If we had got home with that hurling team last year I have no doubt we would have won the Ulster senior championship," says Dooley. "When we did get to play the game in Boston we hadn't played since May. How can you keep a county team together from May until October and expect to win an Ulster final? We had a good team but seven of them have gone back home and another two headed off to Australia."

Immigrant reform is a hot topic Stateside. It helps that potential presidential candidates want to woo the Irish vote.

"There are guys here who don't get the chance to go home for funerals or weddings," says Dooley. "It's a sad situation. Now is the time to put the pressure on for work visas or some kind of green card.

"As chairman of the association I have been to Washington at least six times. I have met congressmen and senators. John Duddy is one of our main promoters (for every fight the Derry middleweight enters the ring with a "Legalize the Irish.org" T-shirt). Everywhere we were he has been with us.

"We had 5,000 people march on Washington . . . Of that 5,000 I'd say maybe 1,000 were legal. We can't say that. We have to be very careful here. They have checked up on a few lads."

There lies the problem. All it takes is an ambitious administrator to target the playing fields one Sunday morning.

"I remember the time, not so long ago, when business people had no problem hiring any Irish guy or girl as a bartender or waiter but now it's nearly not a done thing because you never know who is going to walk in and check your ID or credentials," says Dooley.

Since 9/11 the laws have been tightened. Even the steady stream of J1 students has dried up - the quizzing at the embassy in Ballsbridge seeing many opt for the brighter pastures of South East Asia or Canada.

The winners of the Nicky Rackard Cup will travel over later this year.

"We'll have a team for them, don't worry about that," says Dooley.

For this weekend at least, it's about a game of football. The temperature will soar into the mid-80s on the east coast. Sligo will be hoping they can handle the heat.

Dooley, who hasn't lost the Monaghan accent despite 30 years away, promises competitive fare: "The two Mitchell brothers, James and Matthew, would have played all underage levels in Offaly. Matthew is seen as both a hurler and footballer. Kenny O'Connor from Kerry is a minor and under-21. Ciarán Power is a full back from Waterford. The rest would be average senior club footballers."

There will be a decent crowd for the first game to be played at Gaelic Park since its $3-million facelift.

"In New York we still have about 40 clubs but a lot of them have dropped to junior level. Take my own club, Monaghan. We were senior since 1932 and only dropped down to junior level this year. We had to after about eight of our lads went back.

"We have a good minor structure, a good minor board. It's very hard to get them after under-18 because they usually play their own sports then. A lot of them go off to college and get involved in baseball, American football and hockey. A few hang in but . . . hopefully the new Gaelic Park can attract more Irish Americans."

Lean times.