Gaelic4Girls
Gaelic4Girls is an initiative aimed at young girls living in disadvantaged or urban areas where Ladies Gaelic Football is non-existent.
The initiaive was piloted as a joint venture by Ladies Gaelic Football Association and Dublin City Council, to provide an opportunity for young girls, classified as at risk, to play Ladies Gaelic Football. The initiative was delivered in Crumlin in March 2006. 80 young girls, aged 9-13 years, participated in the 6 week programme consisting of a circuit of skill games. The programme culminated in a blitz evening when the girls paraded their newly learned skills for their parents.
The initiative has now become a National Programme for the Association. and is resulting in new players taking up our sport all over the country, and also many new clubs are emerging from the assigned areas. Through Ladies Gaelic Football these young people can develop athletic and social skills in a safe and nurturing environment.
In 2010 as part of the Association’s Urbanisation Project, 4 Urban Programme Officers (UPOs) were appointed; Cliodhna O’Connor, Lisa Cafferky, Eliza Downey and Tara Ryan. The UPOs are responsible for the implementation of two of the Association’s most successful initiatives in large urban areas to promote growth of clubs and players within that area. The Gaelic4Girls initiative is used to create a club or strengthen an existing club within the area by creating an opportunity to play Ladies Football and serve as a player recruitment tool. The Gaelic4Mothers initiative which is delivered inconjunction with the Gaelic4Girls initiative is used to create a sense of community within the new club and to identify and recruit some possible volunteers to administer or coach within the club.
