DALRIADA club member, Cathal Ó Gaillín, has just returned from the occupied West Bank in Palestine, where he and fellow coach, Claire Liddy, had been coaching and building the Moataz Sassour GAA Club, which was launched in August 2024, in Ramallah for two weeks, as well as visiting other towns where more clubs are soon to be set up.
Claire, a social care worker from County Clare and Cathal, a young architecture student from Donegal, travelled to the West Bank at the start of January. There, they were met by the local and hugely enthusiastic GAA Palestine volunteers on the ground in Ramallah, where the Moataz Sassour GAA club boasts an impressive 28 members at this point.
Cathal and Claire have spent time doing indoor and outdoor training with the coaches and the young players, teaching them hurling skills. A couple of local men, Khaled and Shaher, who have been coaching the team since their first training session in August 2024, initially taught themselves the basic skills by watching videos on the internet so they were hugely enthusiastic to have in-person support from Claire and Cathal.
The equipment—hurls, sliotars and so on—which have been donated by various GAA clubs around Ireland, has been in Ramallah since July 2024, when it was brought there by Claire. She has previously joined FAJR Scientific, an international surgical care charity, on several visits to the region—Palestine and Lebanon—where she is working to establish a mental health support programme for children suffering in the face of war and violence. It was Claire herself who first taught some of the basics of hurling to the fledgling players last summer, when GAA Palestine was only one week old.
“The difference in how the club is operating since I was here last July is so evident, it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s so efficient and well organised, and the children are so passionate and enthusiastic about the club. Nearly 40 children attended one of our training sessions here this week; 8-10 years is the typical age group but lots of their younger peers have joined now also. They are all so proud of the skills that they’ve learned in this short space of time.
As well as working with young players in the Moataz Sassour club in Ramallah, Claire and Cathal also did some hurling camps in Jenin, Tulkarem and Al- Khalil (Hebron), where new clubs are to be established.
This was Cathal’s first trip to Palestine and commenting on the experience, he said: “To be in Palestine is something I can scarcely believe happened. I feel honoured to be able to play a small part in supporting this. The entire community there made me feel at home; I was blown away by the hospitality and the sense of community in the Am’ari camp (Ramallah).
“The coaches, children and wider Moataz Sassour Club are a credit to themselves; it’s hugely impressive the work they have done. I’ve every confidence they can continue to grow and develop into an entirely self-supporting and sustainable outlet for local children whose lives are dictated by occupation and displacement."
GAA Palestine was the brainchild of London-Irish man, Stephen Redmond, who visited the West Bank in January 2024 and put the idea of a GAA club to the community leaders, the Excellence Centre in Hebron and the Am’ari refugee camp in Ramallah. A team of passionate volunteers in Palestine, Ireland and the UK are working hard to launch additional clubs very soon and they are planning a visit for some of the young new Palestinian hurlers and their coaches to Ireland in summer 2025.
Cathal has organised a fundraising event for Palestine GAA on Friday February 21 in the upstairs of Rehmat's restaurant in Aberdeen (AB25 1ED), where he along with Stephen and two speakers from the Moataz Sarsour club will speak in more detail on the story of hurling and life under the occupation. Traditional Palestinian food will be provided. All are welcome and anyone wishing to attend is asked to register on Eventbrite. Full information can be found on the club’s Instagram: @Gaa_Palestine or via the website: https://Moataz-Sarsour-GAA.eventbrite.com
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