LOUGHINISLAND GAC hosted an Ulster GAA Sport for Peace Day event at Macartan Park recently.
This initiative showcased coaching drills in the sports of soccer, rugby and GAA. Under the guidance of Chris Lindsay, from the IFA, Jennifer Johnstone, from Ulster Rugby, plus Rory Mason, Peter Kearney, Maeve McCaffrey and Sophie Brown from the host club, the 23 children received training drill in the three sports.
The Sport Uniting Communities event was intended to be a much larger event but was scaled back and only included youth players from Loughinisland during to Covid restrictions.
Pierce Caherty, Ulster GAA Community Sports Development Officer, welcomed everyone to the event and ensured the three hours of activities ran smoothly and was fun for all the participants. He was delighted with the turnout and the eagerness of the children.
“It’s been a pleasure to come to Loughinisland in this fabulous weather,” he remarked. “The children have been so well mannered and have been a delight for myself and the other coaches to work with.”
The final events rounded off with the children using giant inflatables which included a giant ‘dart board’ for soccer target practice, a GAA inflatable pitch to practice in a small-sized environment and a rugby target inflatable to ascertain the strength and power of kick outs.
The children enjoyed learning more about the three sports disciplines and also thanks to Louise Kearney who assisted with the registration which ensured everyone abided by the club’s Covid guidelines on the day.
