GAA clubs take part in Irish Life Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge

Almost 12,000 GAA fans have racked up an incredible total of 2.2 billion steps during the month of June as part of the Irish Life GAA Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge.

With Gaelic Games activities forced to stop, the Irish Life Steps Challenge was launched to recognise and reward the importance of physical activity during lockdown. Irish Life, partner to the GAA’s Healthy Club Project (HCP), tracked and collated the activity through their MyLife App, allowing participants’ steps to be counted and the winners identified.

Irish Life’s MyLife App gives customers an individual health score & rewards for healthy behaviours, but in this case Irish Life provided additional prizes totalling €20,000 for the GAA Healthy Clubs challenge. A total of 424 clubs across the 32 counties registered on MyLife, a quarter of all the clubs in Ireland.

The big winners of the challenge were: Geraldines GFC, Dublin (Leinster); Crosserlough GFC, Cavan (Ulster); Kiltha Og GAA Club, Cork (Munster); and Portumna GAA, Galway (Connaught) each receiving an O’Neill’s voucher worth €2,500 as the provincial club to record the greatest average steps over four weeks.

An Uachtarán Cumann Luthchleas Gael, John Horan, said: “The GAA has always prided itself on being more than a sporting association and the Healthy Club Project brings this to life in exciting new ways that benefits the wellbeing of our members and our communities.

"I would like to thank Irish Life for helping to make the Steps Challenge such a resounding success and all our partners for their continued support of the Healthy Club Project.”

Irish Life Group CEO, Declan Bolger, said: “We know how important GAA clubs are to local communities and whilst there have been no matches on the field, it is great to see that the competitive spirit continues with so many people taking part in the Irish Life Healthy Club Steps Challenge. During the lockdown people have once again shown a huge appetite to stay active and we’d encourage everyone to continue to get their daily steps in to help improve their overall health and wellbeing.”

A further five clubs in each province were randomly selected to receive a voucher of €500 each. The GAA’s Community & Health department also provided a number of spot prizes to the clubs that had the highest numbers of people that took part, and also to the people who recorded the highest number of steps (see the full list of club winners below).

The Healthy Club Project (HCP) is the GAA’s flagship health promoting initiative and is delivered in partnership with Healthy Ireland, the HSE, the National Office for Suicide Prevention, with support from the PHA in Northern Ireland. Irish Life has supported the project since 2015 when just 60 clubs were involved and there are now 300 clubs involved. The HCP is designed to support GAA clubs in becoming hubs for health in their communities, working in areas including: physical activity for non-playing members; mental health; healthy eating; gambling and substance use awareness; diversity and social inclusion; and community development.

The 300 Healthy Clubs were amongst the first GAA clubs to respond when the Covid crisis hit local communities, maintaining a supply of essential goods and, just as importantly, a human connection for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 and those forced to cocoon.

Clubs had to recruit a minimum of 15 participants to register for their ‘team’ on Irish Life’s MyLife App to be in with a chance of winning.

List of prize winners:

Leinster:

€2,500 O’Neill’s Voucher Geraldines GFC, Dublin

5 * €500 O’Neill’s Vouchers

1. Beann Eadair GAA, Dublin
2. Castleknock GAA, Dublin
3. Na Gaeil Oga CLG, Dublin
4. Nurney GAA, Kildare
5. St Brigid’s, Blackwater Camogie Club, Wexford

Ulster

€2,500 O’Neill’s Voucher Crosserlough GFC, Cavan

5 * €500 O’Neill’s Vouchers

1. Clogher Eire Ogs GAA, Tyrone
2. Kinawley Brian Boru GAA Club, Fermanagh
3. Lacken Celtic GAA, Cavan
4. St Killian's GAC, Whitecross, Armagh
5. St Peters GAA, Warrenpoint, Down

Munster

€2,500 O’Neill’s Voucher Kiltha Og GAA Club, Cork

5 * €500 O’Neill’s Vouchers

1. Ballyhooly GAA, Cork
2. Ballyporeen LFGA, Tipperary
3. Brosna GAA, Kerry
4. Glen Rovers Camogie Club, Cork
5. O'Callaghan's Mills GAA, Clare

Connaught

€2,500 O’Neill’s Voucher Portumna GAA, Galway

5 * €500 O’Neill’s Vouchers

1. Elphin GAA Club, Roscommon
2. Gaeil na Gaillimhe CLG, Galway
3. St Patrick’s Dromahair GAA Club, Leitrim
4. Tynagh Abbey Duniry GAA Club, Galway
5. Western Gaels GAA, Roscommon