Series overview
Together they will use their shared passion for the GAA and attempt to build a team from the men currently servicing sentences in Mountjoy’s Progression Unit. Philly and Rory are hoping that their life experience and determination will rub off on some of the men. Over 12 weeks they teach the men essential life skills such as leadership, teamwork and co-operation; self-belief and the value of hard work all through the prism of becoming a well-oiled GAA team.
Twice a week Philly and Rory will take the prisoners under their wing and not only teach them the essentials of becoming a team but also mentor them through whatever problems they may face on the outside. Drawing on their own life experiences, Rory and Philly believe they can instil self-esteem and determination in the group to make the team competitive. But with limited access to the players and without proper areas to train the team, it won’t be easy. The hardest job of all is to get the players to start believing in themselves.
Throughout the twelve weeks, Philly and Rory will also look at the wider societal issues around crime and drug addiction; including the devastating consequences for innocent victims of crime, while exploring the root causes of crime that see young men from certain communities overrepresented in prison. This series offers the opportunity to challenge attitudes towards offenders and our prison system. Above all, it’s a series about second chances, acknowledging the trauma and hurt caused to victims while offering the prisoners a chance at redemption in an unlikely way.
At the end of the twelve weeks is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Croke Park where this team of prisoners will compete in a game on the hallowed turn of GAA headquarters. Win or lose Philly and Rory hope the skills the prisoners have learned and the experience they had along the way will show them there is an opportunity for life away from crime, that they have proven they are worth a second chance and that these prisoners can achieve positive things if they set their mind to it.
Episode 1, series 1 overview
Ten prisoners have been selected to join Mountjoy Prisons, first-ever Gaelic football team. In just 12 week’s time, they will run out under floodlights to Croke Park to play the biggest local derby of them all, a game against Mountjoy’s Prison officers. It’s a big ask. For most of the team, it will be the first time they have ever played Gaelic football. As Philly and Rory get to work coaching the team they both get a sense of what life is really like in prison. Governor Eddie Mullins doesn’t pull his punches as he explains to the lads just how dangerous life in prison can be. As the team continue to train for their first warm-up match it’s clear the lads lack the discipline and resolve required to become a competitive team. Philly in particular is getting frustrated. Four weeks into the programme the lads, who have been dubbed the ‘Mean Machines’ by Rory, will play their first game on the tarmac prison yard in Mountjoy… but it won’t be against just any team, it’s some of Philly’s old Dublin teammates who have over 50 All-Ireland medals between them. It’s time to sink or swim.
