The week that’s in it meant Sean Price was a hard man to get. 

When we talk, he’s just off the phone with someone in Philadelphia GAA who was looking for a dozen or so tickets for Gaelic Park tomorrow afternoon.

‘He was saying that he never realised there were so many Rossies in Philly,’ smiles the New York county board chairman, whose 33 years in the Big Apple have barely made a dent in his South Kerry brogue.

They are not just coming from Pennsylvania. 

There will be the usual crowds from San Francisco, Boston and Chicago as well as the 2,500 Roscommon supporters who crossed the Atlantic to make a weekend of it in Manhattan.

‘This is about much more than a football championship game,’ Price says. 

‘It’s the biggest day of our year and is absolutely crucial to us in terms of keeping Gaelic Games and Irish culture alive over here. 

'This is our lifeline over here, has become such an important weekend for the diaspora to feel a connection. It is vital that it keeps going, in some form.’

New York have been part of the Connacht football championship since 1999. They travelled to Ireland for the opening round fixture for the first three years before reverting to the Bronx from 2002.

And it has become an annual celebration of Irish culture and sport. 

This afternoon, for example, they are planning a ‘Watch Party’ in Gaelic Park so the 6,300 spectators can watch the final round at Augusta after today's game against Roscommon — in the hope Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will be in contention.

The future of this fixture is uncertain, though. 

The visit of Roscommon ends the latest five-year cycle agreed with the Connacht Council and rising costs mean there is growing disquiet among counties and officials about heading across the pond.

It’s estimated it costs teams €250,000 to play the annual match, although they do receive €50,000 in a grant from the provincial council. While counties, especially Galway and Mayo, can offset the expense with fund-raising drives during their weekend in Gotham, the jaunt doesn’t come cheap and costs are only likely to rise.

‘We are exploring any and every option to ensure that we continue to have a presence in the championship, because Gaelic Games in New York, and across the United States, needs a day like this, not just for the diaspora but for the young kids that are being coached in Gaelic, hurling and camogie. 

'This shows them what is possible if they keep playing GAA,’ Price points out.

Price and others in New York GAA will sit down with John Prenty and the Connacht Council this weekend to see if they can iron out issues. 

The hosts have been looking at various ways to bring down the travelling costs. 

Out-going GAA President Jarlath Burns, in the city last month for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, is aware of the problems and offered his own solutions, including the possibility of the reigning All-Ireland champions coming to Gaelic Park for the game.

‘Both Jarlath and Derek Kent, who’s coming into office, know how important this day is to us in terms of keeping Gaelic Games alive here, so they are trying to find a solution. 

'Jarlath’s proposal of the All-Ireland champions coming to play in Gaelic Park sounds good in theory. Imagine the kids in New York, getting to see David Clifford and Seanie O’Shea in the flesh?

‘But it wouldn’t be practical, in terms of a championship game. 

It would be very much David vs Giolath, and our players would find it hard to motivate themselves for that as it wouldn’t be competitive,’ Price says.

‘We have prided ourselves on how much more competitive New York have been in the past few years, and it has been slowly building. 

Getting that famous win over Leitrim, pushing Roscommon to a point, we have been competitive in the Tailteann Cup, we won the Lory Meagher last year in hurling. 

So, we want something that would keep that progress going. Playing the Tailteann champions may be more practical.

‘There are other options. There has been talk of rotating provinces, so we play the first championship game in a province every April, which could be looked at. 

'But our preferred option would be to remain in Connacht, we have established ourselves there now, we have been working very closely with Cathal Cregg and their development officers to develop our under-age structures. 

'The most important thing, though, is this day survives.’

Some of the players that will face Roscommon underline the importance of a pathway leading to this day. In 2017, Price brought a (under-14) Féile team over from New York to Cavan and they ended up making history by winning the Division one title. 

Two of that side — goalkeeper Joey Grace and Oisin Mathers — will start tomorrow.

Price reckons there are more than 2,500 juvenile male and female GAA players in New York with Clare’s Cian O’Dea, who will line out against Roscommon, working as one of their two games development officers. 

'They are hoping to appoint a third to further strengthen the grassroots as well as developing an under-age facility in Redmond Park.

‘We are hosting the CYC (Continental Youth Championship) next year which will bring age groups from under six to 18s. 

There’ll be up to 3,000 kids with siblings and parents in New York, travelling from all over America. 

And we are looking to include other parts of World GAA in the CYC next year, looking at maybe inviting teams from Australia or the Middle East over, to give them a shot at playing.

As a county board, New York have always been innovative and tried to think outside the box. They have had to be, just to survive.

And there’s another reason that this day has to remain, because it means that Gaelic Park becomes the focal point for the range of other activities that New York GAA invests in.

Their current 10-year lease on Gaelic Park is up in three years and Price is working on getting a long-term lease off Manhattan University and the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) to ensure that the iconic venue in the Bronx remains the epicentre of Gaelic Games in New York.

‘We would hope maybe to get a 30-year lease. We are working on proving how much value this provides and we have given a presentation to Croke Park about our funding model and our strategy, how we can get this done. 

But this day is central to all of that.’

New York manager Ronan McGinley, brother of former Tyrone star Enda, lamented this week that the ongoing immigration crackdown in the US and the controversy over the ICE agency means young players are more likely to go to Australia than the States now.

There have been issues in the past about the immigrant status of New York players — when their hurlers beat Derry to qualify for the 2006 Ulster final against Antrim, the game eventually had to be staged in Boston amid fears some players wouldn’t be allowed to re-enter the US as they didn’t hold a valid visa.

That’s not the case anymore. ’99.9 percent of our players in New York now are here legally,’ Price says. ‘Of course, the immigration issue is always bubbling away in the background, but it is the same all over the world.

‘Immigration has always been an issue in New York and the US. It is part of life here. We were all immigrants when we came here at one stage. So, we just get on with it. It is what it is.’

And there have been plenty of success stories created from that immigration, such as how Gaelic Games has become an ingrained part of Irish-American life.

The annual trip for Connacht counties to the Bronx and the party that ensues has been a big part of that over the past 24 years. This weekend will serve as another reminder of why it is worth saving.