‘Like one wee family’: Clann Éireann’s GAA for All team celebrates All‑Stars jersey win

CLANN Éireann are worthy winners of The Irish News’ Ulster All-Stars competition, winning a brand-new set of jerseys for their GAA for All team as part of a celebration of inclusion within Gaelic Games.

The Lurgan based club will receive a full set of 30 Irish News Ulster All-Stars jerseys, providing a welcome boost for a programme that continues to grow across the province.

The initiative highlights the continued expansion of GAA for All, which aims to ensure that Gaelic Games are accessible to everyone, regardless of ability.

“We’re blown away to win it and the kids are very excited,” said Stephanie Moore of the Clann Éireann club.

“The team means so much to them and being able to go out and play and wear the Clann Éireann badge, they’re blown away with it.

“You see all their friendship groups forming and they’ve all become best friends.

“There’s obvious different diagnoses and different age groups as well but they all look out for each other and they’re like one wee family, they’ve all really bonded.”

Clann Éireann started their GAA for All club back in June 2024. Moore, along with Aine Beatty, put their heads together and decided to get the venture off the ground.

“Aine Beatty runs the Downs and Proud charity so I got her on board, I was already coaching ladies football within the club, so with my coaching experience and her experience of running the charity, that really helped us at the start.

“Shane and Paul from Ulster GAA were really, really supportive at the time and other clubs within the area as well, that’s what kind of inspired me at the start.

“We try to do it in blocks with small breaks in between those blocks, maybe blocks of six (weeks). Once we got up and running, in November of that year, we were offered a dedicated slot in our Youth Club.

“So every Friday night, we are in the Youth Club. It was difficult to do that every week and then football on the Saturday because a lot of our coaches are the same, we have a good number of coaches.

“Running both can be tricky so that’s why we try to keep it to blocks at the minute so that compliments the Youth Club as well.”

There are 24 participants in Clann Éireann’s GAA for All, with a range of kids and young people. “Every session, we’d maybe get 15 or 16 at them which is really good and we can give more one-to-one care,” Moore explained.

“We’ve been doing it for two years now so everyone knows what to expect.

“They’re coming down, they’re getting involved a lot quicker and their Gaelic skills, just to watch them, it’s a treat to see how far they have come and how much they enjoy it.

“We do try and do other sports as well. We’ve done handball a few times, we’re looking at doing hurling, we have the equipment there so we’re going to start that too.”

While the kids get plenty out of it every week, the organisers and coaches love their involvement too.

“You just see how much they enjoy it and if they’re enjoying it, you know you’re making a difference,” she added.

“The parents have really bonded and you can see they enjoy that time too.

“They sit separately and have some fun, they all have that bond as well where they can talk through things with each other, it’s like a wee support network.

“It’s brought people into the club that maybe wanted to volunteer and some people have found this to be the perfect avenue in the club to make a difference to the players themselves and their families.”