Native Galician Gaelic games coaches taking part in a coach education day as part of the Erasmus+ exchange which is a GAA National Games Development project supported by Leinster GAA and Gaelic Games Europe.
By John Harrington
New ground was broken in World GAA earlier this month when three Gaelic games Coach Educators – Jamie Queeney, Jenny Rispin, and Paddy O’Connor – travelled to Galicia in Spain to participate in an Erasmus+ exchange initiative.
The National Games Development project supported by Leinster GAA and Gaelic Games Europe sought to share knowledge and upskill coaches and teachers in a part of the world where Gaelic games has put down roots and is now growing vigorously.
Over the last three years, around 10,000 children have been coached how to play Gaelic football in Galician schools in the north of Spain and numbers participating at club level have also followed a steady upward trajectory.
Leinster GAA Learning and Development Manager, Jamie Queeney, had heard stories about the great things happening there, but seeing it up close still took him aback.
“I was hugely impressed by the enthusiasm of everyone involved in Gaelic games in Galicia and I only see it growing and growing over there,” said Queeney.
“I really got a sense there that this is part of their identity now because of that Celtic connection they have with Ireland and we all have with one another. They feel like this is something they need to be doing.
“They were telling me that what they're after is that community feel that the GAA gives. I could be in Rathangan or Dundalk and GAA people would say those exact words to you. That's what the Galicians have really bought into.
“They're not just playing the games for the sake of playing them, it's about community for them and they'll meet up after games and a lot of it is based around food over there as part of their culture and they have barbecues and all of that when they come together.
“There's definitely that community feel that they're trying to buy into. I think it's just underpinned by that Celtic connection. That came across very strongly to me.”
Leinster GAA coach developers, Paddy O'Connor, Jamie Queeney, and Jenny Rispin watch on during a coaching session in Galicia.
Sharing knowledge was a big part of Queeney, O’Connor, and Rispin’s brief. They weren’t there just to educate, but to hopefully learn from how Galicia are organically growing Gaelic games in their part of the world.
"There were a few strands to it,” says Queeney. “They’re actively coaching in 20 primary schools in the Galicia region. All done by volunteers, teachers and different people living over there. All Galicians, no Irish.
“So we visited some primary schools to see what they were actually doing. They have some wonderful after school Gaelic football training that they do and they do it as part of their PE as well.
“We observed the coaches there and gave them feedback and then we got stuck in ourselves and gave them some ideas and got active with coaching ourselves. That was mainly what we were doing during the day and then we would go to attend some of the club sessions that they would have afterwards.
“We were in places like Ourense and Vigo and places like this. The Galicians have obviously gotten a number of clubs but the clubs come together and pick the best players to represent the Galician team as well.
“So we attended one of those sessions with the men's team and another with the ladies team. We observed the coaches and given them feedback on the session and took part in some of it ourselves.
“The last thing we did on the Saturday was an Introduction to Coaching Gaelic games course. In Leinster we have been running a coach developer course over the last number of months and one of the trainees on the course, Juan Luiz Fernandez, is actually from Galicia so it worked nicely that we were able to observe him delivering part of the Introduction to Gaelic games course which is a requirement for him in order to get certified as part of the coach developer course.
“He was able to deliver part of the course in Galician obviously to 15 or 16 coaches there and we gave him feedback and then delivered part of the course and got him to observe us and all of that sort of stuff.”
Native Galician Gaelic games coaches taking part in a coach education day as part of the Erasmus+ exchange which is a GAA National Games Development project supported by Leinster GAA and Gaelic Games Europe.
Queeney was especially impressed by the success of the Gaelico Escolas project in Galicia whereby GAA clubs promote the growth of Gaelic games by focusing on schools.
The idea is that you have a captive audience for the sport in a school setting that enables you to target large numbers and then make the playing of the sport sustainable by upskilling the teachers so they can organise the games themselves after being shown the ropes by the club coaches who visit the school.
There are currently 12 GAA clubs in Galica with the numbers of those participating growing all the time, and the hope is that the Gaelic Escolas project will supercharge that growth.
“That's one of the key learnings that we took away that the school is the hub for their youth training,” says Queeney.
“They were saying to us that it means because they're travelling large enough distances to get to clubs that when they do it in the schools they don't have to have training sessions in the evening as well because they're getting their training done straight after school which I thought was a really good model we could possibly look at over here.
“We've obviously got the problem of parents having to bring their children to multiple sports throughout the week and if we could take one of them away and do it as part of our schools or after schools programme I think that would help a lot.
“That Gaelico Escolas programme is a really interesting programme.”
The Gaelico Escolas Project has coached thousands of Galician children how to play football in the last three years.
When Michael Cusack founded the GAA in 1884 he later wrote that Gaelic games quickly swept the country like a ‘prairie fire’.
Queeney couldn’t help but feel when he saw the enthusiasm for Gaelic games in Galicia he’d been afforded a snapshot of what Ireland might have looked like in the early days of the Association.
“This is what I believe the GAA was like 140 years ago when it was founded,” he says. “When people got together in different areas after discovering the game and decided to set up a club.
“I would see Galicia as being something very similar to that from a structural point of view. They know the game and with technology now they can watch All-Ireland Finals and different games in a heartbeat. The know the games but they probably don’t have the understanding of how the structural side of things work and they're discovering that at the minute and that's something we're trying to help them with.
“I think the really positive thing for me is they have good people. If you don't have people driving this on in your clubs and regions then the thing won't grow legs. But they seem to have that at the minute.
“They're all very young too and they're all doing everything. They're all players, coaches, and on different committees. As it goes over the next five or ten years people will retire from playing and I those people by then will have enough experience to really drive it from a structural and administrative point of view.
“I think they're in a great place. I'm just really struck by how progressive they are and the passion they have for the games. It's really wonderful to see, they're just so enthusiastic.”
Native Galician Gaelic games coaches taking part in a coach education day as part of the Erasmus+ exchange which is a GAA National Games Development project supported by Leinster GAA and Gaelic Games Europe.
The first World GAA Erasmus+ exchange initiative was such a success that Queeney is confident others will soon quickly follow on its heels.
“We've already identified with John Murphy, the Gaelic games Europe chairperson, a few areas that we're hoping to do this again in over the course of the next year or two,” he says
“Places like Brittany in France which I haven't been to but which I understand is very similar to Galicia in terms of their Celtic connection and things like that. We'll ideally look at regions or hubs across Europe where we could try to implement this.
“I think this was a very good step. I'm very happy with how it went. We were really impressed with what we found when over there and we've learned some things too for the next time we roll this out. I'm very positive as to how it might develop in the future.
For GAA International manager, Charlie Harrison, the potential for these programmes to further grow Gaelic games outside of Ireland is significant.
"We are incredibly grateful to Leargas for making this Erasmus+ exchange possible and to our partners at Galicia GAA, Gaelic Games Europe and Leinster GAA for their collaboration,” says Harrison.
“Sending three coach educators to Galicia has been a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge, upskill teachers, and build stronger international connections.
“This exchange not only enhances the quality of coaching and education for Gaelic games in Galicia but also enables us to bring back invaluable insights that will benefit World GAA. We look forward to continuing this important work and to fostering further opportunities for growth and development across Europe."