A wet day in Croke Park - back in 1983


 

Coiste Chontae an Dúin and the family that is Down GAA are saddened to learn to day of the death of Mother Attracta, former Principal of St Patrick's Primary School in Mayobridge and great supporter of Mayobridge, Down and the GAA. We extend our sympathies to her family,  to her community of the Poor Clare's and to the Gaels of Mayobridge on the death of a remarkable lady who made a difference to the lives of so many people. 

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam   

New or Updated Funding Initiatives

Community Foundation for NI: Coronavirus Community Fund

The fund will be open to constituted community organisations throughout NI, who are supporting isolated older people at this time.

They want to support community groups working together; particularly in smaller geographical communities.  They will therefore encourage a partnership approach, and one application from one lead organisation, rather than a number of separate applications.

Typically, they will be able to provide grants of £1,000, however, they will consider applications for up to £2,500

https://communityfoundationni.org/grants/coronavirus-community-fund/

Wesleyan Foundation Small Grants Fund

Managed by the Community Foundation for NI, the fund aims to support charities, constituted voluntary and community groups based in NI through grants of up to £2000 which focus on education, promoting health and wellbeing and providing local solutions to meet local needs, promote community cohesion and develop sustainable and supportive communities.

https://communityfoundationni.org/grants/the-wesleyan-foundation-small-grants-programme/

ESB: Aughrim Landfill Programme

Managed by Groundwork NI, the programme aims to support projects working in the conservation and promotion of biodiversity projects and protection of social environment.  Grants available are from £5,000 to £10,000.

https://www.groundwork.org.uk/projects/aughrim-programme/

Groundwork NI: Whitemountain Programme

Since its inception in 2007, this programme has distributed over £6 million of Landfill Communities Fund funding to over 200 community and biodiversity projects.  Grants of up to £50,000 are available to fund projects making a positive impact at ground level, either developing facilities for community use or encouraging bio-diversity and environmental improvements.

https://www.groundwork.org.uk/projects/whitemountain-programme/

The Dungannon Community Trust

Administrated by the Community Foundation for Ireland, the Trust offers grants of up to £5,000 for projects of up to one year based within the Dungannon District providing community-based activities supporting young people aged 13-25 with low levels of educational attainment, enhancing their opportunity to gain employment or further education.

https://communityfoundationni.org/grants/the-dungannon-community-trust/

On this bright sunny Sunday morning, a morning when at this time of year our Club Grounds would be a hive of activity, we want to commend you all for staying away from any activity as you have done so for the past ten days. 

We need everyone to stay committed to the GAA directives on how we address Covid19, NO activity should be taking place on our Grounds.

 We should use our County and Club Social Media Platforms to deliver programmes to our young players to allow them to practice their skills in their own home and gardens.

 Let us stay focused and stay strong, there will be adequate time between the end of the current restrictions and the resumption of GAA matches for our teams to get up to speed again.

Our Strength is in our Unity.

The GAA have confirmed today that a number of coaching and games initiatives will not go ahead in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

FEILE
Included in these are Féile na Gael (hurling and camogie) which was due to be hosted by Dublin, Kildare and Meath on the 5th, 6th and 7th June, as well as Féile na nÓg (football) which were due to be held by Donegal, Derry, and Tyrone on the weekend of 26th - 28th June.

As a result Down GAA have cancelled their own Feiel and Feile Peil Competations which would have been due to take place in April.

CELTIC CHALLENGE
The Celtic Challenge hurling development competition which involves all 32 counties including Down at U17 level has also been removed from the 2020 schedule, along with all activity involving Academy Squads.

CROKE PARK ACTIVITY DAY
Down GAA's upcoming P6/P7 Activity Day, planned to take place on April 16th has been cancelled. The GAA has offered use of Croke Park stadium to the HSE, to act as a mobile Covid-19 testing facility and for that reason all other activities planned for the stadium moving forward have been cancelled.

The GAA, in partnership with the LGFA, Camogie Association and local authorities across Ireland, are launching a Green Club project, to offer support and guidance to clubs in the areas of Nature & Biodiversity, Energy Savings, Waste & Plastic Reduction and Transport and Travel.

The GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association are asking their members, players, volunteers and supporters to complete a Green Club Questionnaire, which will form the basis of a new Green Club Toolkit.

Gaelic Games clubs are the beating heart of communities across the country and the Green Club partnership with local authorities will help clubs to identify and implement simple measures to protect our natural heritage and secure a sustainable future for our local communities.

The Green Club Toolkit is being built with input and guidance from expert partners in energy efficiency, biodiversity and waste management and will help clubs:

• Make savings through energy efficiencies
• Create habitat for native Irish plants and animal species
• Increase recycling rates and cut down on single-use plastic use
• Target local carbon emissions levels

The Toolkit, which will be developed throughout 2020 through a pilot project with a small number of clubs, will also showcase the fantastic work already being done by clubs and club members in producing easily replicable templates for energy savings, habitat creation, waste management and green event organisation and in identifying grant and funding streams that can support clubs in going green.

By completing the Green Club Questionnaire club members, volunteers, players and supporters can contribute to the development of the Green Club project. The questionnaire also allows clubs to express their interest in being considered for the Green Club pilot.

The Green Club Questionnaire is available here. Queries can be addressed to greenclubs@gaa.ie