On Monday the GAA launched National Go Games Week in Croke Park which takes place throughout the week in celebration of children taking part in Gaelic games and marks the start of the 2015 playing season.
600 boys and girls from Gaeltacht communities participated in a blitz in Croke Park to mark the launch of the initiative, with blitzes to be staged in every county throughout the week with thousands of children taking part – emphasing the Go Games spirit ‘Every Child Gets a Go’ (Deis Imeartha ag Gach Duine).
The theme of this year’s event is a celebration of Irish culture among children – through our games and our language. This initiative is being run with support from Connacht GAA, Scéim Oiliúna Peile agus Iománaíochta Gaeltachta na Gaillimhe and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Speaking at the launch, National Child Games Development Coordinator Pat Culhane said: “This is a wonderful week for children across the country – children in every county have the opportunity to play football, hurling, camogie or rounders, and as well as that they can celebrate our language and culture when they are playing the Assocation’s games.”
The GAA has recently updated and developed a number of educational resources for Primary School Teachers. The PE Céim ar Aghaidh is teaching resource book designed to assist with the delivery of the PE Curriculum. It is the latest addition to the suite of cross-curricular resources produced by the GAA. This will also be launched at this event.
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Joe McHugh T.D, was in attendance at the launch, along with inter-county stars Liam Rushe (Dublin hurling), Fintán Ó Curraoin (Galway football), Áine Fanning (Dublin Camogie) and Sinéad Finnegan (Dublin Ladies Football).
