Irish News Ulster GAA Conference celebrates Clubs and Volunteers in the 125th Anniversary Year

The Irish News will once again act as Conference Partner in Ulster GAA’s flagship non-games event which is focused at supporting club, volunteer and community development right across Ulster’s nine Counties. The Ulster Council now supports over 250,000 volunteers working in 580 constituent GAA clubs and approximately 600 constituent educational units across the Province. The theme of this year’s conference is “Stronger Clubs, better Communities, the legacy of the GAA’s 125th Anniversary Year”
 
The event is the third of its kind following the outstanding success of the 2007 and 2008 Conferences. The conference will include a range of workshops, keynotes and discussion forums facilitated by leading GAA officials. Keynote speakers attending will be GAA President, Christy Cooney, Ulster GAA President Tom Daly and former GAA President and Community Leader Peter Quinn. This year the master of ceremonies is BBC Championship presenter Austin O’Callaghan.
 
There will be seven conference workshops this year, they include:
 
1. Physical Development in the GAA Club
 
2. Structured Giving- Self Fund-raising in the Club
 
3. Child Protection in the GAA
 
4. Enhancing Scor and Club Cultural Activities
 
5. ICT in the GAA Club
 
6. The GAA Development Plan
 
7. Communicating the GAA message at Club level
 
8. Lobbying Local Government for GAA Provision
 
The Conference will also see the launch of a new Confederation of Ulster Council’s which will formally link the Ulster GAA with Ulster Councils for Ladies Gaelic Football, Camogie, Handball and Rounders in order to promote a holistic approach the development of Gaelic Games Community.
 
Ulster GAA President Tom Daly highlighted the significance of the conference “The success of our last two conferences highlighted the need for this event on annual basis as the Ulster Council is committed to supporting clubs in all areas of their development, the Community Development Staff support both the Clubs, Counties and Ulster Council in doing  that. I am looking forward to seeing many of our club officials present at the conference and I confident that all present will benefit from the day. I would also highlight the important role of our conference partner the Irish News, I am grateful for their ongoing support in a range of matters and I am grateful for their continued outstanding coverage of Gaelic Games’.
 
Irish News editor Noel Doran said,:
‘This is a significant initiative at a number of levels, and the agenda strongly reflects the progressive nature of the GAA in Ulster. The level of support which the last two conferences received was truly impressive, as was the commitment and enthusiasm of all the participants. The Irish News is delighted to endorse the event, and we look forward to another successful day on November 14.’
Should you have any queries regarding this event, please contact Maura Kelly on 077877 97578 or maura.kelly.ulster@gaa.ie