This article was specially written by Ulster GAA for the Community Relations Council.
Ulster GAA recently completed Club Engagement Programmes within the council areas of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, and Mid Ulster.
The programme is focused on community safety and engages external organisations such as Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, White Ribbon, PSNI and the Gambling with Lives charity, facilitating training for young GAA members in their club setting. A range of themes and topics are covered supporting physical and mental wellbeing, including CPR specific training, Road Safety awareness, Consent and ‘One Punch Can Kill’.
These engagement sessions have proven very popular, with the participants and coaches gaining valuable lessons and training to guide them in their lives, both on and off the GAA field.
The work with Gambling with Lives charity and the White Ribbon ‘Consent’ initiatives encourages relevant and essential conversations on real issues affecting families and communities. Through this work the programme highlights the importance of understanding you are not on your own and that we all have a community to help, guide and support in many ways. The CPR training has helped to increase awareness of cardiac arrest and how to react in an emergency, which could ultimately save lives.
The newest programme which has been delivered this year is ‘One Punch Can Kill’. These sessions provided participants with information and real ‘home truths,’ to help stop the increasing phenomenon of how one strike can seriously hurt or kill someone. These sessions educate young people that not only are there serious implications for the victim and their families, but for the perpetrator too.
All these programmes and information sessions have been delivered alongside some bespoke coaching where development officers deliver skills-focused pitch sessions. This has proven very effective in getting young members to attend and engage fully in the programme. The feedback has been extremely positive.
Clubs have been given the tools to educate their members and improve their standards, and not merely in ‘sports’ terms. The area of addressing Community Safety and Sectarianism is a theme that runs through the programme and helps to address the T:BUC priority area of “Our Safe Community.” There are more clubs signed up to receive this programme in the coming months and it is hoped that all participants will find the engagements useful, accessible and enjoyable.
Further Information
The Community Relations Council supports Ulster GAA through its Core Funding Scheme.