- The award winning GAA Healthy Clubs Project (HCP) aims to transform clubs into hubs for health in their communities
- In April over 300 club volunteers will attend 4 Provincial GAA Healthy Club training events
- Over the next 18 months participating clubs will deliver programmes that support members physical, emotional, and social wellbeing
- With almost the same number of GAA clubs as GPs across Ireland, the HCP offers a new setting in which to deliver health promotion and interventions1
GAA clubs in every county are this month embarking on a journey to explore how they can best support the health and wellbeing of their members and communities as the latest phase of the Healthy Club project gets underway.
Supported by Healthy Ireland, the HSE, the National Office for Suicide Prevention and Irish Life, the award-winning project aims to transform clubs into hubs for health in their communities. Over 300 volunteers from the 150 participating clubs will gather provincially this month to receive Healthy Club Officer training as they start their 18-month journey.
Almost 220 clubs applied to participate in the project, which first launched in 2013 with just 18 clubs participating. Asked about their motivation, many saw their club as best placed to tackle some of the challenges facing their communities. Primary issued noted include sedentary lifestyles amongst young and old, mental health and suicide, social isolation, engaging new Irish populations, and a desire to better support healthy eating. They are determined to be part of the solution.
The GAA already makes a significant contribution to the health of the population through the promotion and provision of Gaelic Games. Over the coming 18 months, the Healthy Clubs will seek to expand their positive influence beyond the playing field, and will implement policies, partnerships, and programmes designed to support the physical, emotional, and social wellbeing of their communities.
Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, John Horan, commended all the clubs that applied for the Healthy Club Project and wished those selected every success on their journey.
He said: “The GAA Healthy Club project has been a hugh success to date and I’m delighted that it is moving onto its next phase, expanding and enhancing our positive reach in communities across the island.
“We believe we make a contribution to society through the medium of our games helping to keep people fit and healthy and all of this activity adds to that providing people with a healthy outlet that has benefits far removed from the playing fields. I wish all concerned every success.”
The GAA aims to make the Healthy Club project available to all interested clubs in 2020. To support this national scale-up, the coming two years will see considerable focus placed on increasing the capacity of the voluntary Health & Wellbeing Committees that operate at county level of the Association.
Waterford IT’s independent evaluation revealed that the Healthy Club project is showing significant and lasting improvements to the health of communities across Ireland2. Through the HCP over 12,000 people have benefitted from physical activity programmes and 50% of Healthy Clubs are now smoke-free zones. One thousand people have engaged with mental health and emotional wellbeing programmes and over half (55%) of Healthy Clubs delivered healthy eating programmes engaging hundreds of teenage boys and girls.
Kate O Flaherty, Head of the Health and Wellbeing Programme in the Department of Health says “The enthusiasm of so many clubs seeking to get involved in the Healthy Club Project demonstrates the success to date and the willingness of clubs to play their part in promoting health and wellbeing. The GAA Club, as the hub in many communities across Ireland is well placed to support the Healthy Ireland agenda in delivering positive health messages at local level.”
Speaking on the partnership, Irish Life CEO, David Harney says “I am absolutely delighted that Irish Life are partnering the Healthy Clubs project for a further four years. We are all aware of the importance of a healthy nation, with the GAA being in the heart of every community in the land, they are well positioned to help deliver this goal. Irish Life is very much aligned with the aims of the Healthy Club project providing opportunities to develop physical, social, emotional and psychological health.”
There are numerous benefits to clubs that take part in the GAA HCP including exclusive access to Healthy Club resources, the potential to increase membership and broaden the volunteer base, better community engagement with club activities, improvements in health promoting activities, increased goodwill, and accessing new funding avenues.
For more information, visit: www.gaa.ie/community
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In attendance at the GAA Healthy Clubs Recognition Event, supported by Irish Life, which saw 58 GAA clubs recognised as the first official ‘Healthy Clubs’ on the island of Ireland are, from left, Aoibhe Lalor age 7, Méabh McDonald, age 4, Conor McDonald, age 6, and Alannah Lalor, age 5, all from the St Colmcilles Healthy Club in Meath. The GAA’s Healthy Clubs Project hopes to transform GAA clubs nationally into hubs for community health and wellbeing. As part of the programme, each club is trained to deliver advice and information programmes on a variety of different topics including, physical activity; emotional wellbeing; healthy eating; community development, to name but a few. For more information, visit: www.gaa.ie/community. Croke Park, Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
