Feile success: Termon hosted Mungret GAA girls from Limericak in a successful weekend for Donegal GAA. Now funding to a pilot project has ended.
THERE is consternation in GAA circles in County Donegal today with the news that funding has been stopped and four jobs lost at the ‘GAA For All’ Project.
On a weekend when clubs in the county hosted GAA teams from around the country for the Feile Under-14 tournament – which gave a massive boost to the local economy – Donegal Daily has learned of the cuts.
Four coaches lost their jobs on Friday. Their positions had been funded by Peace III as a pilot project, but funding has now ended.
The coaches had taken gaelic games into schools around the Letterkenny and district area in the year since the project was launched by GAA chairman Liam O’Neill in Donegal.
Mr O’Neill is in Derry and Donegal this weekend, the finals of the tournament are being held in Celtic Park today.
“It’s a real shame and quite ironic that on a weekend when Donegal clubs played host to the Feile that the brilliant work of the GAA For All project has ended,” said one senior club coach.
“We could see the work being done in the schools when our players came to training with the clubs and it brought a lot of new young people into the sport.”
A Letterkenny and district schools competition saw almost 400 children taking part as the project also reached out to the Protestant community and new nationals communities.
Special needs schools and children also took part.
The four coaches took their project into 41 national schools during the past year, with each school getting at least two and half hours of coaching per week.
“With all the money the GAA has pumped into the sport, especially in Dublin, it would be a shame to see the end of GAA For All,” said another club manager.
“Hopefully something will be done in time to get it up and running again.”
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