Thousands of children are taking part in a major GAA competition in London this weekend.
The ongoing All-Britain competition has attracted more than 3,300 children to the English capital, including children from a variety of backgrounds in addition to those of Irish descent.
The number of players taking part in the competition has more than doubled since 2017, when around 1,500 children took part, according to Stephen Lavery, Head of Games Development and Strategy for Britain GAA.
Demand for this year's competition is so great that Britain GAA has added a second ground to host the competition alongside London GAA's grounds in Ruislip, West London. Tír Chonaill's in Greenford is also hosting the competition in 2023.
A total of 330 teams are competing over the weekend, coming from areas as far away as Scotland, Wales, Lancashire, and Yorkshire.
The majority of players competing are of Irish descent, although a significant number of players (30%) are from a different ethnic background.
Pat Winston, secretary of the London GAA youth board, told RTÉ News that children who are not of Irish descent are picking up Gaelic games because they do not have any other organized sport to play during the summer.
Winston said the only other alternative that children in summer is cricket, which he described as an elitist sport played only by independent schools.
He told RTÉ that British children are informed about GAA by primary school teachers who are first or second-generation Irish and said the GAA had a chance to expand in Britain.
Several children who are not of Irish descent told RTÉ News about what attracted them to the GAA.
Jefferson, from St Mary's in Beckenham, is of Nigerian descent and spoke of how he loved GAA for its "intensity".
Janelle, meanwhile, who is from the same school but of Jamaican and Zambian descent, said she enjoyed playing GAA because it was a "mixture" of lots of different sports.
Comments