Photo: Official Donegal GAA
The Donegal County GAA Health & Wellbeing Committee, in association with ATU, Jigsaw, HSE, and the Northwest Alcohol & Drug Task Force, has officially launched their Youth Conference.
The event, which will be held on Saturday, March 22, in ATU Letterkenny, aims to give young people in Donegal important information and resources, based on feedback from club representatives through a recently completed survey.
Speaking at the launch, Health & Wellbeing Committee chairperson Cora Harvey thanked all sponsors and partners, without whom the event could not proceed, and she urged clubs to register their attendees.
“The young people of our clubs will get the tools to help them deal with issues that arise in everyday life,” she said. “They will leave the conference knowing who they need to go to when they need help and support. We want them to know that the GAA is a safe place to go, We are not just about games, We are a community”.
Each club has been invited to send four young people, ages 15-18, along with a club volunteer to attend the conference.
The conference will take place from 9am to 2pm and promises to be a day filled with insightful discussions, workshops, goodie bags and opportunities to engage with members from other clubs.
A highlight of the event will be the presence of Rory O’Connor from Rory Stories – influencer, comedian, and mental health advocate, who will be in attendance for the morning session. He will help launch a new initiative focused on gambling awareness in the afternoon after a master workshop delivered by Mr. Declan Cregan from the charity Gambling with Lives, furthering the conversation around mental health and the challenges facing young people today.
This conference represents a significant opportunity for young people to come together, learn, and discuss important issues affecting their lives, as well as to be inspired by some of the leading voices in the mental health and wellbeing space.
Officially launching the event, Donegal GAA Chairperson Mary Coughlan expressed her gratitude to all who have made this possible
“This is a holistic approach, all our young people have challenges, and it is important that they realise that the GAA is there for them,” she said. “So many professional people are giving their time voluntarily to help and steward them. And it is also beneficial to the club volunteers attending, many of whom are parents. There are supports in place, and we want to get that message out there. It is our hope that this information is transposed into our clubs and then they too can organise events like this within their own settings”.
