Seán McCague's story shows how GAA clubs can provide a safe haven for those with dementia

By Colin Regan

Amongst Seán McCague’s innumerous contributions to the GAA, he is probably best remembered for his leadership in ending Rule 21 during his presidency of the Association from 2000-2003. Long before the GAA launched its manifesto of inclusion in 2019, he was making sure that the Association he loved was a place ‘Where We All Belong’.

In 2013, Seán received a diagnosis of dementia. He was 68 and lived with the condition for ten years before his death in 2022. As is the case for most people living with dementia in Ireland, his immediate family, his wife Bernie (RIP) and their five beloved daughters Paula, Nuala, Martha, Freda and Emma, became his primary carers.

However, wrapped around the family was their club Scotstown and the wider GAA community in Monaghan, who ensured Seán remained actively engaged in the Association he dedicated so much of his life to. Abundant research relating to dementia highlights the importance of this additional layer of community support when it comes to maximising the social, physical, and mental/emotional wellbeing of those living with the condition and their carers. Dementia can make your world very small without this vital outlet.

Studies also highlight that a lack of understanding can contribute to social isolation, as some friends and neighbours withdraw when someone they know gets a dementia diagnosis. This may be out of a fear of saying or doing the wrong thing or a belief that the person and family may want privacy. Some will. But this means, we are stepping back at a time when those receiving a dementia diagnosis and their families most need us to step in. Thankfully, the support of many GAA clubs and the positive examples they set is providing an antidote to that, but we can do more.

Croke Park awareness day

That is why the five McCague’s sisters are highlighting their family’s story as part of a dementia awareness day that will take place at the All-Ireland football semi-final between Kerry and Dublin in Croke Park on Sunday, July 12^th. Delivered in partnership with the GAA, the HSE’s Dementia: Understand Together campaign, and the Global Brain Health Institute in Trinity College, the day seeks to raise awareness about the benefits of continued social connection for those living with dementia.

A special video showcasing the Scotstown club’s welcoming and dementia inclusive culture will be shown on Croke Park’s big screens and shared across the GAA and HSE’s social media channels as an inspiration to other GAA clubs around Ireland and beyond.

Dublin stars and siblings John and Niamh Hetherton are acting as ambassadors for the partnership, celebrating their grandmother Betty who was diagnosed with dementia three years ago. (A proud Meath woman, Betty turned 90 in February and she and her husband John – a spritely 92 years-young Mayo man – are parents to 10 children, 33 grandchildren, and a legion of great-grandchildren.)

90,000 people living with dementia

There are an estimated 90,000 people living with dementia in Ireland, 64,000 in the Republic and approximately 25,000 in the North. That’s enough to fill Croke Park and Parnell Park combined. It’s the equivalent of 6,000 GAA teams of 15 players lining out at the same time.

As with all great GAA teams, behind that army of players is a volunteer network of an estimated 180,000 people who have/are caring for a loved one with dementia, enabling the majority of those with the condition to reside as long as possible in their own home and community. However, if we are to ensure they accrue the full benefits of living in their community, we must make sure their communities are as dementia inclusive and welcoming as possible.

Since August 2025 I have been fortunate enough to pursue a 12-month Atlantic Fellowship with the Global Brain Health Institute in Trinity College, taking a sabbatical from my role as GAA Community & Health manager to do so. Over the course of the past year, I’ve been exposed to some of the latest research and best practice when it comes to brain health, especially in the field of dementia.

More importantly, I’ve been able to have conversations with many people living with the condition and their families and carers. This has been a revelation for someone with little personal experience of the condition. Last week, as a participant in Walk the Talk for Dementia, I spent four days walking the Camino de Santiago with people from all over the globe who are living with dementia and their carers (in all cases either a care partner or a son/daughter). The group included the inspirational Maureen Garry, a 69-year-old woman from Mayo living with dementia who taught us all a thing or two about how to live one’s life.

This unique event also sees experts in the field of dementia – many of whom have dedicated their careers to the diagnosis and treatment of those living with the condition and the search for a potential cure – walk alongside those with lived experience, breaking down some of the barriers and power dynamics that impact the fluid flow of communication and two-way understanding. Developing medical solutions for dementia is considered one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine, especially as we face a globally ageing population.

Umbrella term

Dementia is a broad umbrella term that encompasses an array of underlying diseases, of which Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common and well-known. As the world population ages, the number of people living with dementia globally is expected to rise from approximately 50-55 million today, to 153 million by 2050. Ireland’s dementia prevalence figure is expected to more than double in the same period.

While ageing remains the biggest risk factor for dementia, an estimated 10% of cases are what is known as early on-set dementia: that is receiving a diagnosis before the age of 65. During my Fellowship I have met people diagnosed as young as 47 years-old.

This cohort often faces even greater stigma and delayed diagnosis as many people, including some clinicians, still associate dementia exclusively with older people. Other lesser-known forms of dementia include Vascular dementia (the second most common form), Lewy Body dementia (which, it was discovered posthumously, the actor and comedian Robin Williams had and the media mogul Ted Turner recently died from), and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), which the FTD Brothers, Jordan and Cian Adams, raised so much awareness of during their incredible 32-marathon journey around Ireland. (We are absolutely thrilled to have the brothers join us for the awareness day and they will do a lap of honour of Croke Park in recognition of what they have done to increase awareness in Ireland, especially in reaching a younger audience than typically associated with the condition.)

More than memory loss

It is worth noting that while short-term memory loss is the predominant early symptom associated with Alzheimer’s disease, the other forms of dementia bring differing and varied symptoms. For example, early indicators of Vascular dementia can include difficulty organising thoughts, changes in mood, and physical impairments such as a change in gait or balance problems. Lewy Body dementia (LBD) symptoms include visual hallucinations and wildly acting out one’s dreams (known as REM sleep behaviour disorder), while some of LBD’s movement symptoms such as stiffness and tremor can be associated with Parkinson’s disease.

FTD, which is more often associated with younger onset, can significantly impact behaviour, with a loss of inhibitions, compulsive behaviours, word finding difficulty/stilted speech, and potential apathy and a loss of empathy. This gives a small flavour of the complexity of dementia and why people say: ‘when you’ve met one person with dementia, you’ve met one person with dementia’. Everyone’s journey is different.

Despite some progress with disease-modifying medicines (that may slow the rate of some of the symptoms associated with the disease), life-changing pharmaceutical interventions remain limited and likely some way off. However, the beneficial impact of many non-pharmacological interventions is consistently highlighted in the academic literature. Core to these is the importance of maintaining social connections, staying active, and keeping the brain engaged in stimulating, enjoyable activities. GAA clubs offer many such opportunities.

Following his diagnosis, for Seán and his family it was all about getting down to the club to watch a match or a training session while remaining connected to the people who mattered most to him and an Association that defined his life. And while he grew more reluctant to venture out as the years and his condition progressed, his family continued to nudge him knowing those he met would welcome him warmly and he was always the better for the stroll and the chat.

Where We All Belong

Since I joined the GAA in 2011, it has been a privilege to be part of the huge strides the Association has made in becoming more inclusive through the likes of the Irish Life GAA Healthy Clubs programme (now having engaged 800 clubs), while the All Stars programme for children with additional needs has been transformative for the lives of those involved.

By their nature, a more inclusive club is a more dementia inclusive club, but additional small accommodations can go a long way. The Dementia Services Information and Development Centre (DSIDC) and The Alzheimer’s Society (ASI) provide dementia-inclusive training to community groups including sports clubs. ASI also rolls out a wonderful initiative called Sporting Memories that GAA clubs and counties all over the country have supported. Engaging Dementia manages the Dementia Cafes network and is keen to work with GAA clubs to host them in their community.

The model is very similar to popular age-friendly spaces and initiatives that many clubs already offer and can be easily adapted. The Replay (www.thereplay.ie) initiative, involving an online archive of the inimitable commentary of the late Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, is a form of reminiscence therapy. It works by accessing the longer-term memory banks of the brain where meaningful past events are protected by the emotions they activated when in the experience.

We have had testimonies from family members and carers describing how Mícheál’s voice has reanimated their loved ones who are living with dementia, bringing them back for precious periods as they relive the games and emotions of earlier years. Such windows into the past have been shown to improve wellbeing and connections. (There will be an opportunity to experience The Replay at a special fanzone marquee in the Cusack Stand concourse in front of the Michael Cusack statue at Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final, with some of the O’Muircheartaigh family in attendance too.)

Lasting connections and memories will be made at the All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday between Dublin and Kerry. It is worth reflecting on the privilege it is to be part of an amateur, volunteer-driven, community-based Association that can deliver games that will attract crowds equal to what will attend the biggest sporting occasion in the world this year, the World Cup final.

Let’s make sure that as an Association we ensure that those living with dementia, their families and carers know that privilege extends to them too, and that the GAA really is a place ‘Where We All Belong’.

Colin Regan is the GAA’s Community & Health manager and an Atlantic Fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute in Trinity College Dublin.

For more information on the HSE’s Understand Together campaign and training go to: https://www2.hse.ie/website-maintenance-ut/

For more information on Sporting Memories go to:

https://alzheimer.ie/creating-change/awareness-raising/sporting-memories/

For more information on Dementia Cafes go to:

www.dementiacafe.ie