The fast-growing GAA club without a pitch to call its own
Ranelagh Gaels are one of the fastest-growing clubs in Ireland but remain a nomadic outfit scattered across various Dublin pitches, none of which belong to them
The Club Conundrum
Eastern Gaels: Co Meath hopefuls await decision from county board on club status
Proposers submit sharp rise in population underscores application, but St Colmcille’s of Piltown opposed to establishment
Westport GAA: Reworking structures enabled club’s spectacular revival
‘There’s a lot of moving parts and you have to work hard to get every section working in tandem together’
Steelstown Brian Ógs: Carving out a new niche in Derry city
‘Sometimes the feeling for Gaelic football in Derry city is underappreciated – especially its appeal to the girls’
Ballygunner: The club that made the journey from rural to suburban
‘We were actually in the county of Waterford but by the 1980s, the boundary of the city had expanded’
The GAA Club Conundrum: How to ensure no one is left behind
Parish rules, strict planning laws on house-building and urbanisation among issues threatening rural clubs
Mapping out a future for GAA clubs in a changing sports landscape
As populations shift from rural areas, a GIS can help clubs pre-empt future problems and plan for various scenarios
Na Rossa: ‘A lot of lads are moving to Australia again. It’s frightening to see’
Donegal club need to stop the emigration drip draining more players from the area and hold on long enough for younger footballers to come through
Rural GAA: ‘I see ex-players congratulating their kids on playing for Dublin minors. That’s lost potential’
Kiltane: Fighting a brave rearguard action despite population decline
Valentia Young Islanders: Green shoots gives a positive start to the year
‘We decided at the meeting we are going to venture out on our own again’
Walsh Island: A dispiriting roll call for a disappearing generation
‘Loads of lads between 40 and 50 have moved away from the area and farther up the commuter belt’
Cooley Kickhams: Playing numbers are good but finances need help
‘I’m sitting down these nights and going, ‘How am I going to get these fellas football?’
All challenges are different for GAA clubs - in Na Fianna, we crave space
Sympathy towards Dublin super-clubs might be in short supply, but first-world problems don’t go away just because you call them that
The future for GAA clubs: Changing demographics leave rural and urban clubs with major challenges
Over the next three days we look at the challenges facing clubs in both rural and urban Ireland in the face of a rapidly evolving society
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