Football is the primary focus of our club. With both a ladies’ and men’s club, we have youth teams covering all ages from nursery to Minors (u18s). There are also u21, Reserve and Senior teams for both clubs.
Our playing season typically runs from March to September, but the club runs the rest of the year with training and associated activities. Although the primary focus is on athletics and football skills, we are very much involved with our players to form part of their healthy development, physical and mental. We hold a presentation celebration night each year for youth and senior levels to reward achievements both on and off the field, and to include our members as part of our community from a young age.
In order to provide this offering to the community, and in the absence of paid income, we are almost 100% reliant on fundraising and we hold events each year to raise much-needed funds for our club. These events are aimed to benefit both the club and the community. We appreciate any and all contributions, all help with such events and ideas for future events.
For more information on individual teams, please follow links below.
Facilities
Donaghmore GAA has extensive sport facilities that include two full-sized football fields, stands, state-of-the-art changing facilities including treatment rooms, a handball court, full-size multi-function sports hall and a fully-equipped gym.
In addition, as part of and as one of the founding members of the Torrent Complex, there are additional exercise rooms, conference facilities, catering facilities, large carpark and 4G pitch, all of which are extensively used by Donaghmore GAA.
Media Communications
Club communications are mainly facilitated through Facebook and Twitter, so like us and follow us to keep abreast of our latest activities.
Twitter: @donaghmoregaa
Facebook: donaghmorestpatricks.gaa
Code of Behaviour
Donaghmore GAA adheres to the GAA Code of Behaviour Guidelines, which applies to all our members. We expect a high standard of courtesy from players, coaches, managers and parents. We believe in the Give Respect, Get Respect campaign as this applies to interpersonal dealings, acceptable playing on the field and in our wider lives. These Guidelines, which we would encourage you to read, are available on the GAA website at: http://www.gaa.ie/news/gaa-code-behaviour/
Youth Football
The Youth Coaching Officer for boys is Martin O’Neill. Stevie McNally is the Youth Coaching Officer for the Ladies club. The club’s Children’s Officer is Damian McCaul. All youth coaches are vetted by Access NI for child protection.
Youth football is about participation for all. It is about developing skills in an enjoyable way and a safe forum to make friendships, start to learn to work as a team, start to learn team-building disciplines and skills but always in a fun way.
The easiest way for coaches to communicate with parents is through a text message group and so parents are asked to provide mobile (rather than landline) numbers at registration to be included in this group. Parents then also have a contact point for their child’s coach.
Transport: in order to keep our costs as low as possible, we ask parents to carpool our youth players to games within a 15 mile radius. Buses are arranged for games further away, but these are costly as is the associated insurance. In order to share the burden fairly, we ask parents to commit to transporting children to 2 or 3 games over a season.
We recommend that youth players bring the following kit to each training session and game:
Donaghmore jersey, shorts & socks
Football boots
Gloves
Base layer
Warm top (e.g. a quarter top)
Tracksuit bottoms
A light rain jacket
A hat
Gum shield
Water bottle
It is also a good idea to ensure your name is on each garment, especially those that are likely to be removed during a game or practice. Lost items can be retrieved from the Torrent Complex.
Everyday practice at home is where GAA games skills are refined. We would encourage all our youth players to spend some time practicing their skills to reinforce what was learned on the training pitch. A wall and a ball, even for a few minutes, quickly makes a difference.
Safeguarding
Damian McCaul is the Child Protection Officer for Donaghmore GAA. For more information on Safeguarding, including details of how to obtain AccessNI background check certificate, see Safeguarding page.
Senior Football
Support is always needed at senior games and we always ask our club members to attend as many of these games to cheer our players on.