Intriguing debate will ponder future of Gaelic games

‘THE Future of Gaelic Games’ is the topic up for discussion at the Boyle Arts Festival next Monday, July 22, with some fascinating special guests lined up to delve into the evolution of Gaelic football, hurling and camogie, with a view to exploring the future direction of all of these sports and the associations that oversee them.

The event will take place at St Joseph’s Hall in Boyle at 8pm and feature a trio of fascinating guests with their own unique perspective and understanding of the history and development of Gaelic games.

They are Joe Brolly, former All-Ireland winner with Derry and a longstanding commentator on the sport of Gaelic football as well as the cultural and social value of the GAA, alongside Dr Paul Rouse and Eimear Ryan.

Paul Rouse is a historian and academic lecturer in UCD who has published a range of books on the history of sport and the GAA in Ireland, while also hosting the Irish Examiner’s “Gaelic Football Show” and serving as a columnist with that paper.

Eimear Ryan, a former Tipperary camogie player, also writes for the Irish Examiner and is an editor for the literary journal Banshee. Her book ‘The Grass Ceiling’ has been widely acclaimed for providing a deep understanding of the different perspectives of women in sport.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Kevin Egan, an Offaly native now living in South Roscommon and working as a GAA reporter, broadcaster and columnist.

At a time when the nation’s focus will largely be pointed at the following Sunday’s All-Ireland football final, this discussion promises to look at the wider issues that influence the future of our native sports, such as the sustainability of amateur status in an era when teams such as the Dublin footballers and Limerick hurlers have raised the bar to a new level, the county structure, and how Gaelic games will develop in response to an increasingly diverse society in Ireland.

Tickets can be purchased here.