Munster Hurling Championship Set For Take Off
Tipperary are looking to follow on from a strong league campaign by retaining the Munster Senior Hurling Cup, but Limerick, Cork, Clare and Waterford are aiming to topple the Premier in what promises to be a excellent championship. Mallow GAA Complex was the venue for the launch of the 2013 campaign where players and management from all teams assessing their chances.
Munster Football Championship Launch 2013
Players and management from every county in the province look ahead to the 2013 Munster Football Championship where Cork will start out as favourites to retain their title.
GAA Insure the Future with Liberty Insurance Partnership
Liberty Insurance have announced a major new partnership with the GAA and the Camogie Association, which will see the brand sponsor both the GAA Hurling All Ireland Senior Championship and the Camogie Championships (Senior, Intermediate and Junior).
In a ground breaking move, this is the first time that the same sponsor has supported both of Ireland’s oldest games.
As part of what is an initial five year agreement, Liberty Insurance will also be involved in other programmes including coaching, Camogie development, and the delivery of responsible driving initiatives.
Uachtaráin Cumann Luthchleas Gael Liam O’Neill said the new agreement was a hugely positive move for the association. “We are delighted to confirm this partnership with Liberty Insurance, a brand with its own rich tradition and one that is firmly embedded in Irish life.
We are especially pleased that for the first time one of our main sponsors will also be directly supporting the game of Camogie, which further underlines our intention to bring all of our codes closer together. As an organisation we look forward to working together over the course of the next five years to further enhance the profile of two of the best field sports anywhere.”
Kellogg’s Cúl Camps snap back into action
Gaelic games continue to top the poll as the most popular sports played by Irish children, with seventy seven per cent playing either football (44%) or hurling/camogie (33%), according to a survey commissioned by Kellogg’s to celebrate the launch of the 2013 Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps.
Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps provide boys and girls — between the ages of 6 and 13 — with an action-packed and fun-filled week of activity which revolves around maximising enjoyment and learning the skills of Gaelic Games.
The camps are structured so that a different aspect of the game is worked on each day and children can put into practice what they have learned. Over one thousand camps will take place in communities all over Ireland during July and August with 2,100 voluntary coaches giving over 30,000 hours of coaching to young children.
Speaking at the launch, Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps Champion, Padraic Joyce said: “I am delighted to get involved with the Cúl Camps programme this year, while there were no such camps in my day, I have mentored and coached at camps in my own club, Killererin, and I have seen how the children’s skills can dramatically improve with expert coaching delivered in a safe and fun atmosphere.
Cats Host Tipp in Classic League Final
Nowlan Park will be a novel venue for the 2013 Allianz Hurling League Final but with Kilkenny facing Tipperary, there’s nothing unique about the teams challenging for the title having won 34 leagues between them. Stars JJ Delaney and Brendan Maher have been giving their thoughts ahead of the clash.
Galway and Cork battle for U21 crown
The Cadbury GAA U21 Football Championship reaches a fascinating conclusion this weekend as perennial challengers Cork and Galway meet in the final. Competing captains Damien Cahalane (Cork) and Fiontán Ó Curraoin (Galway) have been assessing their teams chances ahead of the game.
Minor stars ready to light up summer 2013
Minor GAA stars Barry Heffernan (Tipperary hurler), Éanna Burke (Galway hurler), Lorcán Molloy (Dublin footballer), James McEntee (Meath footballer) and Ruairi McGlone (Tyrone footballer) linked up with former minor All-Ireland winners and current senior Inter-county stars Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone), and Michael Fennelly (Kilkenny) to launch Electric Ireland’s new GAA campaign and to celebrate their sponsorship of the 2013 Electric Ireland Football and Hurling Minor Championships.
The Electric Ireland Minor Championships: Where Major Stars are Made campaign hopes to energise current players by showcasing former minor players who are now major stars in their chosen discipline of GAA, football, rugby, music and business.
Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Liam Ó Néill said:, “The Electric Ireland Minor Championships are highly valued in our stable of competitions and the fact they give our young players a first real chance to represent their county at national level in a competitive championship environment gives them a special status within the GAA community.
“We are delighted to have the support of Electric Ireland in helping to promote these competitions in a proactive and exciting way as part of our ongoing efforts to generate even more interest in the games. Many of our current stars have progressed through the minor competitions and we are very much looking forward to continuing this work in 2013 and the years ahead.”
How the new GAA technology works
A major European motion capture technology project to preserve, promote and develop culturally important sports has been developed in Ireland through a unique collaboration between scientists, sporting bodies, cultural organisations and athletes.
Minister launches project to digitally capture skills
A major European motion capture technology project to preserve, promote and develop culturally important sports has been developed in Ireland through a unique collaboration between scientists, sporting bodies, cultural organisations and athletes.
Launched today by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD at Croke Park, Dublin, Re-Play is a €2million research project funded by EU Framework Programme 7 (FP7) and involves top-class scientists from Ireland, Spain, UK, Switzerland and Greece. Their collaborative work will capture the styles of play and skills unique to Gaelic and Basque Games and develop 3D interactive software that will be used to educate future generations about these culturally significant sports.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, T.D. said:
“The Re-Play project is an excellent example of the cultural impact that science can have. Sport is deeply ingrained in Ireland’s cultural heritage and this important project will help us preserve, promote and increase participation in our traditional games for future generations.”
Minister Bruton added, “This project is also another excellent example of how we can leverage additional non-exchequer funding to Ireland arising from Government’s investment in excellent scientists through Science Foundation Ireland.”
The project’s Scientific and Technical Coordinator is Prof. Noel O’Connor of CLARITY: Centre for Sensor Web Technologies, a partnership between UCD, DCU and Tyndall National Institute and funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Re-Play will initially focus on two families of traditional sports, Gaelic and Basque that are integral to the fabric of their communities and have remained popular in spite of the competition from other more widespread sports.
The project will study the bio-mechanics and unique skills base of Gaelic football, Hurling and Basque Poleta.
Management team for Irish Daily Mail International Rules Series 2013 Confirmed
Irish International Rules manager Paul Earley confirmed his back room team for the upcoming series as the GAA also confirmed the Irish Daily Mail and TG4 as team and series sponsors and broadcaster partners respectively.
The recently appointed team manager announced that Seamus McCarthy (Tipperary), Ciaran Whelan (Dublin) and Tony Scullion (Derry) will act as selectors and that former Cavan footballer Nicholas Walsh will fill the role of conditioning coach.
