Details have been confirmed for the return of Lá na gClub this year and which will take place in clubs across Gaelic Games on Easter Bank Holiday Monday, April 1st, 2024. 

The Lá na gClub event carries added significance this year throughout the Gaelic Games community. 

This year marks 140 years since the establishment of the GAA in 1884. It is also the 120th anniversary of the birth of the Camogie Association, while also marking 50 years of the existence of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and is the centenary of GAA Handball.  Every club throughout the Gaelic Games community at home and abroad is being encouraged to host their own event to coincide with Lá na gClub or if suitable, across that weekend, and create an international festival of Gaelic Games colour and activity, and where everyone is welcome.

A special campaign to assist clubs to participate will be launched in the coming weeks and encourages clubs and the public to Join Us and Join In. 

GAA President, Larry McCarthy said: “Lá na gClub is an opportunity for our clubs to get out and do what they do best – showcase the fantastic work they do promoting Games and offering lifelong participation and sense of belonging to the communities they represent. 

“I look forward to clubs all over the world participating and showing their colours in all manner of fun events that weekend and with a particular focus on Easter Monday throughout Ireland. 

“The emphasis will be on participation, and welcoming new people to experience our clubs. In a year with so many milestones throughout Gaelic Games it is an opportunity for clubs to celebrate their existence in their local communities, so I encourage all our clubs and their local communities to Join Us and Join In.” 

A special section of the gaa.ie website will be dedicated to Lá na gClub in the coming weeks and regularly updated and can be found at gaa.ie/joinin 

The young people gathered ahead of the AIB Ulster Club Senior Football Final at Armagh City Hotel in mid December to receive their impressive set of certificates and awards from Ulster GAA Vice President Michael Geoghegan.

The eight Down people came from four clubs - Bryansford, Carryduff, Dromara and Drumagth.

The young people, the largest ever group to complete the Young Leaders Programme, showed great determination and commitment completing the six-month programme which included volunteering in their clubs, playing Gaelic Games, completing a skills development programme at a three-day Young Leaders Academy in the Athletic Grounds in Armagh and online workshops.

On completion of the programme, the young people from clubs across Ulster received the following awards:

• 2023 Ulster GAA Young Leaders Award
• GAA Foundation Coaching Award
• GAA Safeguarding Award
• Sports Inspire 50 Award
• Volunteer Now’s Youth Impact Award – 50 hrs
• Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award or Bronze Gaisce – the President’s Award

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Ulster GAA Vice President Michael Geoghegan said, “It’s great to see so many young people committed to helping out at their local GAA club, giving of their time and skills. In doing so, these young people have been able to put into practice some of what they have learned through the Young Leader Workshops to help out in their clubs. This programme is hugely successful because it benefits the young participants and their clubs. The young people go away with an impressive set of awards and certificates which they can use for University applications, job interviews and their own career progression. They also go away with new friendships from across Ulster and many will continue to be involved in Ulster GAA programmes.

“This is a big commitment by young people, who already have a lot of activity in their lives, but these young people have shown real leadership and determination to participate fully in this programme and I congratulate each of them. They are a real example of the positive impact that can be made by young people in their communities through the GAA.”

Well done to 2023 Ulster GAA Young Leaders!

The GAA has confirmed that from January 1st, 2024, all Hurling games at all levels from Minor (u-17) and above should use a Fluorescent Yellow/High-Vis Match Sliotar from a GAA Sliotar Licensee.

The decision to transition from white to Fluorescent Yellow/High-Vis sliotars began in 2020 with that year’s Liam McCarthy Cup and was made for the benefit of both players and spectators alike and based on clear scientific evidence.

To better inform the public on the specifications of Match Sliotars and SMART sliotars, the GAA has created a website link that includes sliotar information for all GAA members HERE.
Information on GAA Sliotar Licensees that includes a list of all licensees can be accessed HERE.

All GAA-approved Sliotars provided by Licensees undergo regular lab and field testing to ensure compliance with specifications as listed in the GAA Official Guide and to maintain the integrity of the game.

All Sliotar tests are carried out independently via Dublin City University.  Field tests have been carried out at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown and the
University of Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome.

A ‘Swatch Card’ is used to establish the level of compliance with the Fluorescent Yellow/High-Vis colour. Once again, in 2024 the GAA SMART sliotar will be used in Official Games at Senior, U-20, and Minor (U-17) inter-county level.

The SMART Sliotar project aims to ensure that approved Sliotar suppliers adhere to the Sliotar specification set out in the GAA Official Guide and that approved Sliotars perform on a consistent basis.

It seeks to address illegal use of the official GAA logo and to ensure that Sliotars meet ethical production and supply chain standards as determined by the World Federation of the Sports Goods Industry (WFSGI).

A tag or chip is embedded in the core of the SMART Sliotar which can be read by an app on a mobile phone and can be verified as being an official match ball. Furthermore, the Sliotar chip – which is the same type of technology that is used in mobile phone payments – cannot be replicated with the result Sliotar counterfeiting is also addressed. 

Two SMART Sliotar Licensees – Green Fields and O’Neills - will continue to provide SMART Sliotars for use in 2024 at Senior and U20 level. The SMART Sliotar will also be used in Minor (U17) Inter-County competitions in 2024.

Three additional SMART Sliotar Licensees have now passed the Sliotar specification tests and will also provide SMART Sliotars for use in the U-20 and minor championships. These are Bourke Sports, Cummins Sports, and O’Meara Sliotars.

These additional licenses will be approved for use in the Senior Inter-County competitions from 2025 should they continue to meet performance and specification standards in the interim.

All Sliotar Licensees will have to renew their WFSGI Pledge with the WFSGI annually, and all Sliotars produced by Licensees will include a new Sliotar Licensee logo.

Match Sliotars are all other sliotars, other than Smart Sliotars, which are produced by GAA Licensees, meet GAA specifications and can be used in official games, outside of inter-county games. All Match Sliotar Licensees have begun the phasing-out process of the production of white-coloured sliotars and commenced the production of Fluorescent Yellow/High-Vis sliotars instead which feature the new logo.  Official Match Sliotars should only be purchased from approved licensees.

This considerable body of work has been overseen by the Hurley & Sliotar Regulation Group which has met on 67 occasions since its inception in June 2021 having been appointed by Uachtarán Larry McCarthy.

Since then, the Work Group’s role has evolved and includes responsibility for a number of hurley-related matters.

10 members have contributed to the Work Group in that time period – Ned Quinn (Chairperson, Cill Chainnigh), Brendan Cummins (Tiobraid Árann), Eoin McDonagh (Gaillimh), Terry Reilly (Aontroim), Bob Ryan (Corcaigh), Louise Conlon, James Heffernan, Lizzy Broderick (Camogie), Pat Daly, and Eoghan Tuohey
(GAA).

“The group set out to develop a ‘Mission’, ‘Vision’ and ‘Ambition’ in terms of delivering on its key remit,” says GAA Player Welfare Manager and Hurley & Sliotar Regulation Group member, Eoghan Tuohey.  “This involved the development of a regulatory framework, which would serve to maintain the integrity of the game of Hurling, the Association’s good name and ensure that fair play is the prevailing norm.

“This would involve the introduction of a Sliotar Licensing System based on compliance with the Sliotar specifications set out in rule, ethical production, supply chain standards and financial probity. It also sought to ensure that quality Smart and Match sliotars are available at a competitive price point.

“Finally, the Work Group also ensured, on foot of Congress Motions, that the relevant rules of the Association are fit for purpose and applied on a consistent basis.”

The Work Group are now setting their sights on regulating the Size 4 and Go Games (Size 1 & 2) Sliotars and will provide an update on this area in the coming months.

· Further information available regarding GAA Sliotar licensee queries from GAA Partnerships Manager, Dónal Marah – donal.marah@gaa.ie

· Further information available regarding GAA Smart and Match Sliotars from GAA Player Welfare Manager, Eoghan Tuohey – eoghan.tuohey@gaa.ie