100 days to 2026 World GAA Games

By John Harrington

100 days from now, the 2026 World GAA Games will be begin in Waterford on Monday July 13^th.

Taking place every three years, this year’s World Games will be the biggest yet with 114 teams participating from across all major World GAA regions – Europe, Britain, USGAA, Australasia, Canada, Asia, New York, and the Middle East, as well as South America and Africa

The growing reach of Gaelic games across the globe will be vividly illustrated by entries from Zambian and Paraguayan teams. Indeed, there will be more non-Irish born players taking part than ever before.

All codes; Football, Hurling, Camogie, Handball, and GAA Rounders, will feature, and competitions will be organised across both international-born and open categories.

Gaelic games are about community as well as sport, and the World Games will showcase how other cultures wholeheartedly buy into that ethos and in doing so further enrich it.

For the World GAA units taking part, the opportunity to play Gaelic games in Ireland is a sort of homecoming that means an awful lot to them, even for those who have never set foot in Ireland before.

“Those involved see it as the pinnacle of their involvement in World GAA,” says GAA World Council Chairperson, Ciarán McLaughlin.

“These Games happen every three years and the participants from all the World GAA units see great significance in being able to play the games in Ireland, where they were first established.

“There are more teams than ever coming across to play in the World Games and that's because of the brilliant work that's going on across the world in promoting our games.

“Our games are recognised for what they are, traditional Irish sports, but more so when you are across the world, the community ethos, the social networking and the connections that can be made. They help bring people together, and not just Irish people.

“That's the next thing that's started to happen, that we are seeing more and more multi-national people involved in the games. In France, for example, in Galicia, huge numbers of natives are playing our games. I was in Canada myself and witnessed French speaking Canadians playing our games. These are only two examples”.

“A lot of these people involved in the World GAA units are young men and women who are not just playing our games but are also on club and county committees, and are the people who have to seek out the facilities needed to play, and the fundraising that requires as well as everything else that goes into successfully organising our games across the World.

“These people are incredibly hard-working and passionate about Gaelic games. ”

The World Games is a five-day event from Monday July 13^th to Friday July 17^th with the opening ceremony in Waterford City on the Monday and group matches taking place on the SETU Waterford campus.

There will also be a number of cultural exhibitions and networking events taking place over the course of the week before the Finals Day in Azzurri Walsh Park on Friday.

“Our opening ceremony will have all the participants walking throughout Waterford and enjoying the opportunity to represent their clubs and countries in great anticipation of the games starting,” says McLaughlin.

“Then, on the Tuesday night, they'll be linking in with the local clubs from the area that they are twinned with. They will hopefully build relationships with them that will last into the future.

“On the Thursday night, there's a celebration event where we will bring the ambassadors from each of the countries represented at the World Games down to Waterford.

“Also invited are multi-national companies from the countries represented at the World Games that are based in Ireland, so it's a big networking event as well.

“Additionally, representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs will be present. I want to acknowledge the Department for their tremendous support to World GAA, it is hugely appreciated.

“We want to bring in all these people not just to network, but to also thank them for all that they do for World GAA.”

The World GAA Games also provide a great opportunity for the cross-pollination of ideas amongst the units taking part.

Facilities, equipment, and travel are among the logistical challenges faced by clubs outside of Ireland that are rarely an issue here, and there’s a great ethos of ‘Meitheal’ in World GAA where units help one another overcome a myriad of challenges.

“Yes, it’s a great opportunity for the World GAA units to network with one another and to exchange ideas,” says McLaughlin.

“As I mentioned a lot of them are younger people still finding their feet, so just to be able to bounce off each other is very beneficial, but to do that they need to get to know each other. The week of the World Games builds those relationships.

“We are also seeing gaels across the World who have settled, are having their own children and they want an avenue for those children to play Gaelic games. As a result, we're finding more youth clubs being established in different parts of the world as well that provide opportunities to play.

“That is a significant point because then you're looking at second and third generations who will be able to sustain what has been established by the generations before them.

“Another thing we're very proud of is that most of our World GAA units have their own strategic plan. So, they know where they want to get to and how they want to try to do it and they know what their achievable and measurable targets are and they're working towards all of those things.”

If you visit Waterford in the third week of July there will be no missing the huge buzz the World GAA Games will bring to the city.

With over 1,500 players from all corners of the world taking part, it’s a colourful occasion where huge enthusiasm is the common currency amongst all competitors.

“The first thing I would say about the World GAA Games is that everybody is welcome,” says McLaughlin.

“The thrust of this is that these are the World Games for units outside of the island of Ireland most of who will have family members across the island of Ireland so by all means come and see your loved ones playing our games.

“It's also a celebration event. The games will be competitive but they'll also be played in the spirt of collaboration and camaraderie that we all expect to see in our games.

“Overall, it's a celebration of how significantly World GAA games have progressed even since three years ago when we had a wonderful World Games in Derry.

“What we're hoping to do is build on those games again this year in Waterford.

“The party atmosphere will be there but as much as anything it will be that opportunity for everyone to network, celebrate, and to enjoy themselves.”