GAA continues to experience global growth

Growing numbers of young people leaving these shores and the emergence of non-Irish players is contributing to the increasing surge of GAA abroad in the past number of years.

Over the last 10 years, there has been an almost 100% rise in the number of GAA clubs operating outside of Ireland, with more than 500 now in existence across the international units.

With around 64,000 people, many of them aged between 25 and 30, having left the country by April this year alone, such is the rate of growth in global GAA participation that the association recently unveiled its first-ever World GAA strategic plan, led by former All Star and GAA international manager Charlie Harrisson.

A key part of this plan centres around four pillars; coaching and games, health and wellbeing, PR and communications, and officer training. It also signals the expectation that the GAA will increase developing emerging and dormant clubs

Currently, USGAA, New York GAA and Europe GAA provide the bulk of global clubs, with Australasia GAA (60), Asia GAA (28) and Canada GAA (27) also reporting good numbers.

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Interestingly, at the World Games in Derry last summer, 75% of the actual participants were non-Irish born.

The next landmark event for World GAA is the O'Neills Continental Youth Championships at the end of July.

A staggering 2,000 underage players from over 200 teams across 18 cities in the US and Canada will take part in the CYC in Canton, south of Boston.

The CYC is the largest youth Gaelic Games tournament outside