Many rural GAA clubs are at risk of disappearing as children are increasingly born and raised in urban areas, the organisation’s President has warned.
The GAA's National Demographic Committee has revealed that one quarter of all children in Ireland under the age of five live in the catchment areas of just 50 clubs.
On Lunchtime Live, GAA President Jarlath Burns said while Ireland’s population is growing, the growth is not evenly distributed.
“The further west you go, the more you go into areas of deep decline,” he explained.
“Many of the clubs are telling us that they don’t even have 15 players.
“There’s areas of South Kerry, for example, 18 children born across 13 schools this year. Clubs can’t sustain themselves.”
Mr Burns added that given the closure of so many pubs, shops and post offices, for many parishes, the GAA club is the last community facility they have left.
“Even the GAA club is now under pressure in those areas,” he said.
“There’s only a critical mass that is required to keep a GAA club going - particularly in terms of under aged teams.”
Children playing GAA. Picture by: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland.Mr Burns argued that this is not just bad for rural Ireland, but also urban areas who lack the infrastructure to cope with the influx.
“Did we plan to get into this position where one in three people are living within one hour of Dublin?” he said.
“There’s only 18% of GAA clubs that [are located] there.
“This is not just about rural decline, it’s about urban overloads; too many people living in the cities and in the towns and not enough facilities there.”
Mr Burns added that there are a number of things the Government can do to mitigate the situation.
“There should be something in the planning law for developers that says you’re going to have so much green space there for people to play in,” he said.
“We need to start looking again at the possibility of allowing people to build where they were born.
“The situation as it is, children can’t build a house where they were born and they can’t buy a house where they work."
Main image: Ladies Kildare Junior Camogie Championship Final. Picture by: Alamy.com.
