All-Ireland hurling hero Henry Shefflin and Dublin football star Ger Brennan will travel to New York next week with the Liam McCarthy and Sam Maguire Cups in hand as part of a promotional campaign being initiated in the U.S. by the Gaelic Players Association.

They will speak at a special “Stars of Erin” event open to the public on Thursday, September 29 at the New York Athletic Club, 180 Central Park South at 59th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan that commences at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The event, which is being chaired by Irish Voice publisher Niall O’Dowd, will also feature GPA chief executive and former Dublin football captain Dessie Farrell and GPA chairperson and Cork hurling star Dónal Óg Cusack.

After helping steer both their counties to glory this month, Shefflin and Brennan will provide exclusive personal accounts of the season just finished.

Shefflin and Brennan are iconic figures in Irish sport. Shefflin collected his record equaling eighth All-Ireland senior hurling medal three weeks ago while Brennan played a huge role for Dublin in their historic victory over Kerry on front of 82,000 spectators in Croke Park last Sunday.

One of the central themes of the event will be the unique contribution made by amateur Gaelic footballers and hurlers to the cultural and social fabric of Ireland.

Performing like professional sports stars, Shefflin, a bank official, and Brennan, a teacher, will paint a picture of life as an elite amateur in the world of Ireland’s indigenous games, performing in front of millions of television viewers on a Sunday before returning to work on the Monday.

The event is being organized by the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) which represents over 2,000 current inter-county GAA players and a growing past-player membership.

The evening is aimed at raising awareness of and developing a network of support for the GPA’s new Player Development Program designed to assist county footballers and hurlers with their off-field lives.

The program commenced last year after the GPA was formally recognized by the GAA as the official players’ representative body, and includes a broad range of supports for amateur players in the areas of health, education, career development and benevolent assistance.

Recognizing the vital contribution made by the leading GAA players to the commercial success and wellbeing of the wider GAA, the GPA is also making the case for long-term support of the program which it believes will help safeguard the future of Gaelic games.

For further information, contact Sean Potts at press@gaelicplayers.com.