GAELIC GAMES President McAleese and the GAA launch Social Initiative Scheme

GAA President Nickey Brennan yesterday joined Uachtarلn na hةireann Mary McAleese at Croke Park to officially launch the association's Social Initiative project.

In the company of more than 200 invited guests, the GAA President outlined his hopes for a pilot scheme designed to enhance the social inter-action of older males in Irish society.

The idea for the scheme was floated at a forum hosted by President McAleese and her husband Martin in Autumn of 2007 when older men from a variety of backgrounds were invited to ءras an Uachtarلin to explore reasons why this section of society appeared to be absent from events organised for older people around the country.

Yesterday 160 men from the four provinces were guests of the GAA at Croke Park at an occasion organised to kick-start an initiative that will see seven further events staged between now and March 2010.

President McAleese praised the role of the GAA in organising the scheme.

She said: "The GAA are doing a truly wonderful job I have to say. They immediately ran with this initiative feeling very strongly that these were their people. The people who are at that age probably stood at matches or indeed had played at matches."

"With the GAA's national reach and with the strong, close association with the community at so many levels right throughout Ireland, they are a perfect organisation to carry the responsibility for this kind of engagement and so they've given it 120%."

Nickey Brennnan said: "We are delighted as an association to be involved in a scheme such as this and we acknowledge the role played by President McAleese and her husband Martin in highlighting this issue."

"We were more than happy to get involved and to use our ready made network of clubs in an effort to examine what can be done to help these valued members of our society to become more actively involved in local communities."

"Today is only the start and all going well, it could be the foundation stone for an initiative that we believe could have a positive impact in helping society to re-evaluate the importance of these men who contributed handsomely to our country in so many ways for so long and who continue to do so to this day."

For more information contact:

Moira Graham, Social Initiative Co-ordinator
GAA Communications Manager, Alan Milton 01-8363222