GAA players from 14 counties travelled to Africa for the launch of a campaign to plant a million trees to raise awareness of global warming and climate change.
Close to 40 inter-county GAA players made the journey to Africa for a week long trip to launch the campaign and to showcase Gaelic games with local sports stars.
The Plant the Planet Games, founded by former Galway inter-county player Alan Kerins, was organised by Irish development charity Self Help Africa in collaboration with Warriors for Humanity and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA).
Players included Antrim camogie stars Maeve Kelly, Colleen Patterson and Roisin McCormick. The players involved in the campaign have raised £400,000 to support Self Help Africa’s tree planting efforts.
During the Kenya visit a number of showpiece hurling and Gaelic football exhibition games were held while players also took part in a competitive match with Kenyan league soccer team, AFC Leopards.
Irish Ambassador Caitríona Ingoldsby hosted a reception while the players visited Self Help Africa agricultural projects. The party also visited the elite athletics camp run by Brother Colm O’Connell, the Cork-born missionary priest often described as the “godfather of Kenyan running”.
Our 3rd Plant the Planet Games was another huge success. Over the 3 years the successful initiative has raised almost 1.5 million euro and will plant 3 million trees. Hugely proud of this collective legacy huge thanks to our partners @selfhelpafrica @gaelicplayers pic.twitter.com/INNpPgw71q
— Alan Kerins (@alankerins) November 26, 2024
“Sport has the power to bring people from different cultures together, and this trip was an example of what can be achieved when people come together with the same goal,” Mr Kerins said.
“We are indebted to the players who travelled, to the friends, families, communities who supported their fundraising efforts, and to the GPA for joining us in this effort to both raise awareness and combat the effects that climate change is having in Africa.”