By John Harrington

This Saturday, the GAA National Games Development Centre in Abbottstown will host a Dads & Lads National Blitz featuring over 30 Social Gaelic Football and Hurling teams from all over the country.

The numbers participating is a testament to the huge growth of social Gaelic games in the space of a few short years.

The ‘Half Pace Hurling’ group in Belfast were among the pioneers of social hurling in Ireland and are going strong now for nearly four years.

There’s a broad range in terms of both age and ability among the thirty-odd players that come together for their weekly social hurling sessions, and, according to founder Brendan Murray, everyone is welcome.

“We don't take ourselves too seriously,” he says. “There's great banter on Twitter with other social hurling groups and we like to get out now and again for the odd social night as well.

"Some of the lads take part because they love the hurling, but it's nice as well just to meet people and get out and chat for an hour or two.

“The way we work it you respect the players that have played before and you go a bit harder against them. But if it's somebody who hasn't hurled in a while you take it easy so they get the feeling of lifting the ball and hitting it. Everybody works it out themselves, that's how we do it.

“There's a big range of abilities. We have guys who are 25 to 30 and haven't played the game before but their kids are now playing for the local club. So they're doing the social hurling to improve their hurling so they can practice with their kids.

“They might be younger than a lot of us, but it levels itself out because they haven't hurled as much so the skill factor isn't there. We don't knock anyone back because of their age. We're happy to encourage them and you see a big improvement then over the course of a few weeks.

“There's a big mix of people taking part. You have ex-county players and lots of lads who played senior club for 10 or 15 years. For everyone it's just great to have that feeling of being able to run about and play a bit of hurling. It's a great buzz for everybody afterwards.”

The void left in their life when someone retires from competitive Gaelic football and hurling can be a significant, and not just because they no longer play the sport they love.

No longer being a part of a team and the craic that goes along with a dressing-room environment can feel like an even greater loss and sometimes leads to social isolation and mental health issues.

Social hurling and Gaelic football gives players the opportunity to remain part of a sporting and social network long after their days of competitive club action have ended, and Murray has seen first hand how the mental as well as physical health of those who take part has been significantly boosted.

“You're constantly making new friends,” he says. “You're coming home then afterwards in really good form and it changes your attitude too in terms of looking after yourself a wee bit more and looking out for other people too. Not everybody is a clean-cut guy with a standard way of life. We have boys who have a few issues and all our squad look out for them.

“Someone will say why has he not been here for a couple of weeks and someone will give him a buzz to see if they're a bit down in the dumps. I'm sure it happens with everybody, but we can see it. A couple of guys might go AWOL for a week or two and a couple of boys will ring them up for a chat and look out for them.

“It's a great positive thing for people who maybe over a number of years had just been drifting from week to week.”

Murray’s Half Pace Hurling group take part in many mini-blitzes around the country and organise social Saturday’s with other social hurling groups near them, but this weekend’s GAA for Dads & Lads National Blitz will be the biggest they’ve ever been involved in.

Their days of competitive championship action might be behind them, but Murray says events like this bring back a familiar buzz for all involved.

“The Dads for Lads initiative is just fantastic and there's room for a lot more growth,” he says. “This blitz looks like it's going to be really well organised with so many teams taking part and various prizes.

“The last time we had one like this we were like big kids going down it. It was like how you'd feel before a big Championship game back in the day. We all had our tops on and had a coffee and photograph and the laughs were just amazing, it was like going to Casement Park to play a Championship match again. Just a great buzz.

“I'm 54 going on 55 but I just feel a great buzz and it was the same with the other boys. A couple of them were just up to high doh!

“It was just fantastic. You can coach all you want and get a buzz out of it, but there's nothing like playing for an hour to feel good.”