By John Harrington

Ballymacelligott GAA club in Kerry have lived up to the GAA’s manifesto, ‘Where We All Belong’, by making the Ukrainian refugees who recently arrived their community feel at home in it.

Over 300 Ukrainians are being temporarily housed in the Earl of Desmond Hotel which is only a couple of kilometres from Ballymacelligott GAA grounds.

Ballymac Healthy Club Officer, Oonagh O’Rahilly, quickly made contact with the new arrivals and invited those with children to visit the club and sample Gaelic Games and some local hospitality.

“One of the reasons that made us think it would be a nice idea is that our flag, the Ballymac flag, is the same colours as the Ukrainian flag, so straight away we had a connection there,” O’Rahilly told GAA.ie

“We felt it would be nice to give the children the opportunity to come and play in a safe space. Our coaches are garda-vetted and we had everything we needed in place so a week after they arrived we invited them to come over.

“John O'Shea, who owns a local bus company, gave us his services for free to bus them from the hotel to the pitch. There were about 30 children or so with their parents and our Health and Wellbeing Committee made buns and cakes and we also gave the parents tea and coffee while the children played for an hour and a quarter.

“The weather was just beautiful, we couldn't have gotten a better day for it. They children loved it and the parents were delighted. There were tears and everything, they were thrilled.

“And it was so simple, it didn't cost anything, only people's time. We have the equipment and the volunteers and to be able to do it was just a real feel-good factor.”

O’Rahilly hopes to see many of the children and their parents return to the club on a more regular basis in the coming weeks and months.

“We’re having another follow-up evening this evening and if anyone is interested I'll link them in with teams then because it's no good keeping them isolated as a group, want to integrate them into the community if they would like that.

“It's very much an evolving situation because some of the children will be going to school in Tralee and will maybe want to join a club in Tralee which would be brilliant too. We just want to help them feel at home in the community, that's why we did it.

“A mother of one of the children said it's soccer he'd like to be playing here so I know a guy in the soccer club in Tralee and got on to him to arrange that. We just want to link them in with the community in whatever way we can.”

Welcoming the Ukrainian refugees to Ballymacelligott is one of just a number of worthy initiatives that Ballymac’s very active Healthy Club committee has carried out in recent weeks and months and they have plenty of big plans for the future too.

“We're now starting up a GAA For All initiative to coach children with additional needs and we're also setting up a GAA for Mothers and Others,” says O’Rahilly. “Last year we had social rounders which was a fantastic success.

“Next week we'll also have a One Good Adult talk in the club. We've recruited a few new people to the Health and Wellbeing committee, which is great, because you always need new ideas coming. We're hoping to build a community walking track as well soon which will be great because we can get the elderly involved there.

“It's had a hugely positive impact on the club and you can see it shifting more towards being a community hub, it's not just that you have to be a football player to be involved. We have a lot of different nationalities now, people with all sorts of different abilities as well, and everyone brings something to the table.

“If you can't play sport you can help out in coaching or join the Health and Wellbeing committee or whatever. There's a place for everyone in the club which is what you like to see.”