St Aidan's GAA hoping for hurling to flourish

Hurling was a huge part of the recent Summer Camp at Magilligan.

placeholder image — Hurling was a huge part of the recent Summer Camp at Magilligan.

One of the main voices behind St Aidan’s application was William O’Doherty, a passionate GAA man who was inspired by the rapid growth of camogie within the club after just a couple of short years

One of Jarlath Burns's key objectives during his tenure as GAA president was to grow the game of hurling outside of its traditional heartlands in Munster and Leinster.

Whilst a seemingly impossible task to many, work has already been done with the creation of the Hurling Development Committee (HDC), spearheaded by Willie Maher – the national head of hurling.

A milestone in the HDC’s short lifespan thus far has been the creation of 45 new hurling units across Ireland with three Derry clubs: Faughanvale, St Malachy’s Castledawson, and St Aidan’s in Magilligan on Derry’s north coast.

The clubs were selected following an in-depth application process that began in March, with successful applicants made aware in May. The new hurling units were supplied with gear starter packs as well as an administration structure with regular communication with Ulster and Croke Park.

One of the main voices behind the application in St Aidan’s was William O’Doherty, a passionate GAA man who was inspired by the rapid growth of camogie within the club after just a couple of short years.

“It was really the camogie that started in the club a few years ago that sparked my interest. That started from the ground up and went through its process, and it's grown to the point where it's going really well, and the coaches have developed well even though some of them may have never played it before.”

“As a father with two daughters, it was wonderful to see that journey, how far they’ve come and how rewarding it is. It's off the back of that that we said, "Why can't we do this for the boys as well?"

The club has seen good numbers take part in its open hurling sessions. Many children have been afforded the opportunity to play the game for the first time, with plans in place to have segregated age groups from next year. Moving forward, the club will have regular updates for Croke Park and Ulster Council regarding its progress.

St. Aidan's Magilligan are one of three new hurling units in Derry, created by the Hurling Development Committee.

“There were certain terms with it. We had to have an agreement between the club and the GAA. There has to be a certain amount of correspondence. Naturally we had to go through our coaching courses as well.”

“It is a good thing because people need to drive it, and it needs support. It won't just take care of itself. We have a good group of coaches within the club between hurling, football and camogie. They all work positively together and were quite progressive and open-minded in our way of thinking.”

Ulster being a Gaelic football-dominated province is not lost on William, with many not interested in seeing hurling take root in some areas. However, being able to offer the game is something that he sees as purely of benefit to the club, and he hopes that others will follow the example being set by the new hurling units.

“The way I and the club see it, the more you can offer, the better for anyone entering the club. You have to be open-minded and not just pigeonhole yourself as one club for one thing. I think those days are gone if you want to progress.”

“I think it’s a huge positive. When you look at the number of clubs that only have football in Derry, it's totally unbalanced. It needs to go the other direction. That might take time, but there's no reason that it can't or that we can't work together. No sport should be playing off another; it should be all-inclusive in my eyes.”

Hands up if you love hurling!

William is also hoping to disprove the myth that one must need to be of hurling stock in order to be able to coach or play the game. Having done neither before now, he sees the journey ahead of him and the club as one that will be a learning curve for all but worth it in the end.

“Regardless of whether there’s a background of hurling or not, it doesn’t matter. That can help, of course, but it shouldn’t be a stumbling block to stop it from happening within a club. We are a club dedicated to GAA people, but we want to see this happen because it’s a sport that everyone loves to watch. Even just having hurling in the club is a positive thing; we're going to try our hardest to keep it going for the long-term betterment of the club.

“It’s the start of a journey; it won’t be easy, but we’ll just take it a day at a time and see how it goes and hope for good things in the future.”