Blessington GAA open sensory cabin and garden
Blessington GAA recently opened a sensory garden and cabin.
By Cian O'Connell
Blessington GAA recently opened a sensory cabin and garden.
The progressive Wicklow club run a hugely successful and well attended All-Stars programme since 2020 with numbers constantly increasing.
That willingness to include everyone has been a real feature of the initiative with the latest developments illustrating Blessington GAA's welcoming environment. "On a Sunday morning from 10 to 11 we welcome children from many parts of Wicklow, Kildare, and Dublin," Blessington GAA's Karen Richardson explains.
"Today, we have over 55 kiddies on our All-Stars group. A text goes out on a Saturday evening to see how many kiddies will attend to make sure we have enough helpers and coaches for each session
"For any of our new kiddies joining we send out a passport which can be filled out by the parent if they wish we can then ,with the passport we have a good background of each child.We also have a visual story again this is sent out to new members joining our All-Stars.
"We all feel passionate that each child feels comfortable on joining the All-Stars team and entering the Blessington club grounds for the first time.
"We also use this aid for visiting All-Stars teams. Our goal each Sunday is that each child feels welcome, included, can make friends in a safe secure environment and can get some form of exercise in a safe, relaxed atmosphere."
It is vital with the positive response showcasing Blessington's innovative work in this area with coaches Declan, Rachel, Emer, Verena, and Ella heavily involved. "On September 20 we had the senco sensory bus at the opening of the sensory cabin and sensory garden with some Wicklow All-Star clubs joining in the fun on the day with Carnew and Baltinglass joining us," she adds.
Blessington GAA's All-Stars initiative is a real success story.
"On the day two of our fabulous All-Stars made a speech and cut the ribbon to open both. What an amazing day it was and without a doubt, it was a first for any GAA club in Ireland.
"In Blessington GAA, we believe it will be the first of many firsts for our fab All-Stars. To quote one of our senior players 'it's not all about winning trophies in Blessington' - it's about inclusion at its very, very best."
So, Blessington GAA are delighted to be involved in a coach education project for All-Stars programmes with a session held at Croke Park on Wednesday. "It was a fantastic day, we met with coaches and volunteers from all over Ireland," Richardson says.
"At the end the group will receive the first official GAA qualification for All-Stars coaching. It was absolutely brilliant - there were representatives from Wicklow, Laois, Westmeath, Meath, and Kildare, with coaches and volunteers.
"We're going to host some of these teams and we're very proud to have a sensory cabin and sensory garden."
Lisa Jackson, Wicklow GAA's Healthy Clubs Officer, occupied a significant role in the creation of Blessington's All-Stars offering. "Wicklow now proudly is leading the way with a total of nine (Blessington, Bray Emmetts, Aughrim, Baltinglass, Avondale, Annacurra, Éire Óg Greystones, Carnew, and Rathnew) All-Stars teams," Richardson says.
The programme matters deeply in Blessington. "We run all year as we feel it's so important not only for our All-Stars, but for the parents and carers to chat and meet up, where information is shared and the hand of friendship is also extended," she says.
"For some children this is their only outlet during the week. It's so heart-warming to see children forge new friendships and how their confidence grows even if a child is preverbal by their huge smiles and to watch a new member reach their big or small goals whether it be to catch or kick a ball or just run with their pals."