Picture (L-R): Director General of the Camogie Association, Joan O'Flynn, Etihad Cabin Crew Leanne McGarry, Colin Fennelly, Kilkenny, GAA President Aogan O'Fearghail, Colm Cavanagh, Tyrone, Etihad Cabin Crew Charlene O'Shea and Beatrice Cosgrove, Area General Manager, Northern Europe, Etihad Airways
More than 1,700 Gaelic footballers, hurlers and camogie players from 10 regions around the globe are bringing Gaelic games home to Ireland for the 2016 Etihad Airways GAA World Games in Dublin this August.
A total of 87 teams from 20 countries will travel to Dublin for a week-long festival of Gaelic games activity between August 7 and 14 at UCD’s Belfield campus, with the finals being played at Croke Park.
Teams from as far away as Australia, South Africa, and Argentina will be present, as well as teams from China, Canada, the Middle East, the US, Europe, and Britain. It is expected that as many as 7,000 people will be involved in the Etihad Airways GAA World Games festival in Dublin between players, team officials, administrators, families and supporters.
The scale of the 2016 Etihad Airways GAA World Games represents a tripling in size of the inaugural GAA World Games which was hosted by Etihad Airways and successfully staged in Abu Dhabi last summer.
It is planned to twin each of the visiting teams with a host club from Dublin, Kildare, and Meath which will enable them to forge new links with Ireland and also gain expert coaching while they are here. It will also increase their support base.
This event is being held in Dublin this August to highlight the phenomenal global expansion of GAA clubs overseas with more than 400 GAA clubs now in existence outside of Ireland.
The finals will then be played at Croke Park on August 11 in football, ladies football, hurling, and camogie with eight finals covering the four codes and with a decider for Irish born and also non-Irish competing teams.
In total 17 Camogie teams will take part from Australasia, Britain, Europe, the Middle East, New York & North America.
