GAA ‘age-friendly’ venue access for fans

Image: GAA

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Age Friendly Ireland – the national organization delivering the Government vision of an Age Friendly Ireland – recently announced a new partnership to enhance the GAA experience for the older members and the supporters.

‘GAA’ stated that in collaboration with the Age Friendly Programme Managers the GAA will invite a number of their county grounds across the four provinces to participate in an accessibility improvement program with a focus on accessible parking, toilets, viewing areas, and improved mobility throughout the stadiums including safe and easy access and exit.

Dublin (Ireland)-based the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organization focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, Gaelic handball, and the GAA rounders.

The principal aim of the Age Friendly Programme is to give the older people a strong voice in decision-making on housing, health, spatial planning, and all aspects.

In 2022, the 82,300-capacity Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, became the world’s first Age Friendly Stadium following a four-stage process aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Global Network for Age Friendly Cities and Communities. The 25,030-capacity Kingspan Breffni Park in Cavan (Ireland) has also been recognized for its accessible facilities and the age-friendly initiatives led by the Cavan GAA Health and Wellbeing Committee.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) which coordinates responses to the international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.

The Cavan GAA Health and Wellbeing Committee is a group within the Cavan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) that focuses on promoting the health and well-being of its members and the wider community. Its primary goal is to enhance the well-being of the GAA members and the communities through its various activities and initiatives with a mission to make the association a healthier place for everyone.

‘GAA’ further stated that the Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service will offer technical expertise, resources, staffing support, and communications to embed an age-friendly ethos across GAA operations. Rooted in community values the partnership will also seek to enhance volunteering opportunities that deliver strong social benefits for the older persons.

Commenting as an older supporter and Age Friendly Meath Ambassador, Meath football (Gaelic football in the County of Meath, Ireland) legend Sean Boylan said, “For generations the older GAA fans have filled the stands, followed their counties across the country and passed their love of the games down through the families and the communities. I have no doubt that this partnership will provide an improved experience for the older patrons and ensure that the vital social networks that the Gaelic games provide the older members of our communities are sustained.”

The partnership will also seek to capture some of the incredible work undertaken by the many GAA clubs and the counties in serving the needs of their older members be that through the likes of the Irish Life Healthy Clubs program, the GAA Social Initiative and more. Clubs such as Westmeath’s Rosemount GAA were last year awarded first prize at the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards for their Social Initiative’s success in offering activities and events for the older persons “specifically designed to enrich their lives and respect the important contribution they have made and continue to make to community life”.

Remarked Jarlath Burns, GAA President, “We know in the GAA that we are standing on the shoulders of those who came before us. We have so much to learn from our older generations and they have so much to contribute to our great association. I believe this partnership will support our counties in making our grounds more age-friendly and will shine a light on the incredible efforts our volunteers make to ensure we live up to our mission of ensuring as many people as possible participate in Gaelic games and culture for as long as possible.”

Speaking on the partnership the Meath County Council Chief Executive Kieran Kehoe said, “I am absolutely delighted with the deepening of this partnership between the GAA and the Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service, one that will enhance the fantastic work already done by both of these organizations to make the GAA network more accessible, inclusive and supportive for our aging population.”

The participating GAA County Boards will benefit from an age-friendly audit of their county grounds delivered by Age Friendly Ireland. They will also be supported in consulting with the older people and people with disabilities to assess current accessibility and identify improvements that can be made.

In relation to positive aging Meath’s Age Friendly Ireland Ambassador, the former Football Manager Sean Boylan, said: “Just keep telling me what I CAN do.”

As the first country in the world to adopt the Age Friendly initiative under the WHO Ireland continues to lead in addressing the opportunities and challenges of an aging population.

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