It’s a cold but sunny wintry day and a group of men in their 60s and 70s are playing football on a small outdoor pitch in the Dublin suburb of Cabra.
But this is not the ordinary football played by millions across the world. These men are playing what is called walking football, an adapted form of soccer which is hugely popular in the UK, Spain and Portugal and now has about 50 groups of players across Ireland.
“I never stopped playing football. I played in the over-35s. Then, I played five-a-side and just when I was finding it a bit fast, I discovered walking football,” says Paul Cumiskey.
“Look around,” he says. “the lads are buzzing before we even get out on the pitch. If you had the same group of fellas in the pub, they’d be talking about their ailments but here they are having a bit of banter.”
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He’s right. The mood between this group of North Dubliners – the majority of whom are retired – is uplifting to witness.
“It’s about getting out. Meeting new people, having a game and a cup of tea afterwards. It’s as strenuous as it needs to be,” says Sean King, who is also a member of Plunkett Men’s Shed, where the initiative for this walking football group began. The men pay €5 each time they play to cover the rent on the grounds and the refreshments.
“It’s non-contact, low-impact and there’s no running with the ball,” says Steve Harrison, who organises the games in the grounds of the aptly named Inspire Fitness Centre.
Rules are in place to avoid torn hamstrings and back problems among players who can no longer keep up with the pace of regular football but don’t want to let go of the sport of their younger years.
Tackling can only happen in front of a player to avoid the potential risks of a side or rear tackle to a player whose vision might be deteriorating or whose reactions might not be as fast as they used to be. Heading the ball is also forbidden.
Walking football started in Britain in the early 2010s and quickly took off. There are now about 1,000 clubs with 60,000 players across the UK.
Some of the Irish walking football groups were formed after contact with the UK-based Republic of Ireland Walking Football Association, whose members are mainly Irish people living in the UK.
It’s popular in Spain and Portugal too where some Irish ex-pats join in. Paddy Shanahan is one such player. He and his wife retired to Tavira on the eastern Algarve during the Covid pandemic.
“We run five sessions a week between Olhao and Tavira. There are English, Scandinavians, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Irish players. It’s a handy way to meet new people. Nobody cares what people did for a living, what’s important is the position you play on the pitch,” says Shanahan.
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He also enjoys tournaments with other clubs and nearby Albufeira hosts some of the biggest walking football tournaments in the world.
“I was never a big football fan. In fact, I’m an avid Munster rugby supporter but playing walking football has given me a new lease of life,” says Shanahan.
John Spillane, who plays with Amblers Athletics, a Limerick-based walking football club, says that he loves the team element of the sport.
“A lot of fellas want to meet people, have a game and go away afterwards. But others get fed up playing with the same people and want to play in a tournament. It’s a bigger social engagement. You get to meet lots of people and make great friends,” he explains.
“One of my friends explained to me that he got a better cardio workout from walking football than walking the roads. If you get the health and social benefits out of it, there are no losers,” he adds.
The rising number of walking football groups in Ireland in the past five or six years led to the formation of a steering group in 2024.
“We set this up with the Irish Men’s Sheds Association, the Football Association of Ireland with funding from Healthy Ireland and Sports Ireland,” explains Peter MacNulty, the lead coach for walking football in Age & Opportunity.
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MacNulty, who plays walking football with the Dublin Striders in Monkstown, says that charity plans to roll out new groups for people who want to do some form of exercise during their recovery from an illness.
“Age & Opportunity has been running activity programmes – walking groups, exercise classes – for years but it was very difficult to reach out to older men,” he says. Walking football has resonated with many of them, however.
“Guys love being part of a group dynamic – the slagging and banter that goes with it. Once they start playing, it becomes a big part of their lives. Football becomes the catalyst for rekindling old friendships and making new ones,” says MacNulty.
He says that the key is to start gently and slowly.
“While the vast majority of players played soccer, rugby, GAA football or hurling at some level, they mightn’t have kicked a ball in 30 years. Some can be a bit reticent about the act of kicking a ball but within three weeks, they are flying it – their confidence and muscle memory kicks in,” MacNulty says.
Back in Cabra, the “lads” are having their half-time break. Some of the players are former cancer or heart surgery patients. Richie Dennehy, a retired solicitor suffered two strokes – one 14 years ago and another seven years ago.
“I feel like I’m a very lucky man to be alive. I started playing during lockdown when aqua aerobics were stopped because of Covid,” he says.
And, yes there are some women who enjoy the sport too.
Christine O’Donovan, who played women’s soccer when she was younger got hooked after she went along to watch a group playing in Cork.
“I had no intention of doing it but then I saw it as an opportunity to kick a ball around again. After six weeks, I kept going and now I’m back walking more regularly too,” she says.
After initially playing with the men’s group – “once you play by the rules, mixed groups are fine” – she is now part of a women’s group playing on Friday nights in Cork city.
And, by the way, if football is not your game of choice, you can always try your hand at walking netball, walking rugby, walking hockey and walking cricket – other adapted sports which are growing in popularity too.
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