Pictured left to right are Britain GAA Head of Games Development & Operations, Stephen Lavery; Britain GAA Vice-Chairperson, Michael Collins; Britain GAA Children's Officer, Julie Duffy; GAA President, Jarlath Burns; Britain GAA Chairperson, Sean Hopkins; Britain GAA Secretary, Michael Walker; Britain GAA Treasurer, Frank Dillon; Britain GAA CC Delegate, Noel O'Sullivan.
By John Harrington
Britain GAA yesterday launched a three-year Strategic Plan at the Irish Embassy in London which can be downloaded in full at the bottom of this article.
Some of the key aims include ensuring at least 10 meaningful games a year for players at all levels, growing the game of hurling, championing diversity and inclusion, and developing GAA facilities in a sustainable manner.
“The strategic plan is a combination of a few years of deciding and thinking about what we want and what direction we're going,” says Britain GAA Secretary, Michael Walker.
“A lot of work has gone into it to get the strategy exactly how we want it to be.
“A great group of volunteers have put a lot of effort and time into it, especially the Provincial Council Executive. Two guys in particular, Frank Dillon the former secretary of Britain and Stephen Lavery our Head of Games Development and Operations, have put in immense work behind the scenes.
“It's been a real team effort from everybody and I'm proud of this plan. It's now up to us to implement it.
“There is immense potential in Britain GAA. We have a great schools programme, we're getting into universities, so there's huge potential for future growth and we're very excited about where this Strategic Plan takes us.”
Great development work has been taken by Britain GAA in recent years.
Gone are the days when clubs were largely reliant on Irish migrants. The majority of players in Britain GAA’s 86 clubs are now homegrown and coaches are active in 228 primary and secondary schools.
The launch of Britain GAA's Strategic Plan was hosted by Ambassador Martin Fraser in the Irish Embassy in London.
The Strategic Plan intends to harness the growing energy generated by this more sustainable model of development.
“Once upon a time, the GAA was founded in Britain on players leaving Ireland and finding a club, but now not many transfers come in to Britain these days,” says Walker.
“So, if a club is going to survive it's by being self-sufficient and harnessing their home-grown talent through youth development and making sure you then retain those players.
“Gaelic games are being developed in multicultural diverse cities across the UK with players from all backgrounds from a young age are taking up the sport and enjoying it and carrying it on.
“Everywhere you look it's homegrown. Even the county boards now are home grown. The President and Vice-President of Britain GAA were both born here.
“It's all about sustainability. There are still Irish boys and girls coming over, but sometimes they'll play for a year or two and then they'll go back. Whereas if you develop your own homegrown players then it's a more sustainable model.
“We're doing that well and we can see that everywhere. Throughout the UK in every division the majority of players in most teams are now homegrown.
“That's evident in our provincial championships where you have London and Warwickshire competing on Sunday week in the final and I'd imagine out of the 30 players that walk onto the pitch there might be only two that were born in Ireland. That's all down to player development.
“All seven counties in Britain have home-grown players in their teams. So, it's all very, very positive.”
The boom in the numbers of homegrown players now featuring at senior club level is no happy accident. Britain GAA has put a big emphasis on underage development for a long time which is now bearing full fruit.
“When it comes to coaching and games development it's very important to have the right training,” says Walker.
“We want to make sure our coaches are developed to the right level ,Croke Park and our twinning partner Ulster GAA have been fantastic on that side in terms of helping us.
“Our CDA (Community Development Administrators) programmes have been greatly supported by Charlie Harrison and his team at Croke Park and the Department of Foreign affairs.
“That's so valuable to us. The investment that's been there from Croke Park and the DFA over the last 15 years is coming to fruition now and we're seeing great results at the other end which is fantastic.
“I think it sets an example for the rest of the world, really, on the way to go.”
- Britain GAA’s three-year Strategic Plan can be viewed and downloaded below