Humans of Camogie Series

To celebrate 120 years, The Camogie Association’s Humans of Camogie campaign asked clubs all over the country to tell them about the people contributing to camogie at their clubs. One of our nominees was Donal Murphy, who shared his story of his long involvement with, and love for, camogie at Cuala.

Donal Murphy, Senior Camogie Coach, Cuala 

Donal Murphy has been instrumental in developing Adult Camogie at Cuala over nearly two decades. His inherent love of the sport has no doubt been influenced by strong family connections, with sisters who played for Dublin, including Edel who was on the 1984 All Ireland winning team, and a brother who was a manager for the Dublin senior camogie squad. His daughter, Sinéad, also now currently plays for the Dublin Seniors.  

Having commenced coaching at Cuala in 2005, Donal was involved in re-establishing the Adult Camogie squad and section in the club in 2014/2015, subsequently helping the 1st team progress from Div 5 through to winning Intermediate Championship in 2018 and reaching Senior 2 Championship finals in 2020 and 2022. Further to achieving success on the pitch, Donal has been a champion of good coaching practice in the club, often also coaching juvenile players, and is a strong advocate for life balance for players – encouraging young players to continue to play camogie through teenage years, including through State exams, into college and even when living overseas.  

Donal has undoubtedly been an unwaveringly positive influence in the development of Cuala camogie and in instilling a love of the game in a generation of players.  

Club Coaching Officer

Cuala is inviting applications for the role of club coaching officer.

Please find role specification here.

Applications by email should be sent to secretary.cuala.dublin@gaa.ie by 27th September 2024.

Cuala Coaching Whatsapp Broadcast Channel

To facilitate communication, the Director of Coaching and Player Development, Mark Brennan, and the Coaching Forum are pleased to launch a WhatsApp Channel for Cuala coaches and mentors, that will provide essential updates on courses, workshops, and other relevant news. As this is a broadcast channel there is no chat feature with messages kept to those that are sent by admins with an option to mute/turn on notifications as required.

You are invited to follow the channel via this link:

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vao3iVRHbFV6IzBk6h11

For any posts you need shared, please send onto coaching@cualagaa.ie or mark.brennan@cualagaa.ie.

Upcoming Coaching Workshops

Please find links below for the Introduction to Coaching Gaelic Games Dual Course in September and the Award 1 Child Dual Coaching Course in October, with both taking place in Cuala.
An Award 2 course will be run by Dublin GAA this Autumn/Winter. Register your interest via the form below.

Cuala Minor Player Resource Pack

Members may recall research survey shared in April 2024 on the experience of Minor GAA Player’s move to Adult. The survey purpose was to gauge perceived value for a player yearbook and online form at the end of their season as they prepare for a move to adult team(s). The number of responses received from a mix of players, parents, coaches and club members, far exceeded expectations and the insights gathered proved valuable feedback for creation of a Minor GAAP Resource Pack, which has been approved by Coiste, Coaching Forum and shared with Coaching Director, Minor and Adult section chairs and mentors.
Summary of approximate % of positive responses to questions presented are detailed below (weighted from Likert scale 1 to 5):
Question
Approx % of Positive Responses
“I believe that a minor to adult GAA Player Handbook/Form would be beneficial for player and coach communication.”
90.48%
“I believe the minor to adult GAA Player Handbook/Form would help players with their move and integration to adult team(s).”
88.89%
“I believe the minor to adult GAA Player Handbook/Form would help coaches (minor and adult) with the player’s move and integration to adult team(s).”
94.44%
“How important do you think it is for coaches to receive information on the player when they move to adult?”
88.89%
In addition, considerable comments and suggestions were provided that contributed to the overall design of the resource pack, with more ideas coming through that have been added to the Coaching Forum backlog and will be progressed with the club’s Coaching Director.
We would like to thank everyone for their interest in this area, including those who took the time to respond to the survey, the players and coaches who participated in workshops and the members who provided feedback on the versions presented. More detail on the project can be accessed at Minor Player Resources and the Cuala Minor Player Resources are available at Policies, Documents & Forms – Cuala GAC – Official Website (cualagaa.ie).
Míle buíochas,
Niamh O’Connor, Fintan Quill, Joyce Groarke

Child Safeguarding 1 Workshops September

Face-to-face Child Safeguarding 1 Workshops are taking place on Friday 16th September (general) and 20th September (Transition Year Students only) at 7.00pm in the Cuala boardroom.

If you need to get Child Safeguarding certification, or if it is due for renewal, you can register your place on this course.  Places are limited so please only register if you can commit to attending.

Please note that an online Child Safeguarding 1 Refresher Course is also available for those who have already attended a full face-to-face Safeguarding 1 session in the last 3 years. This option can only be availed of once in the lifetime of the coach. Visit Child Safeguarding Home | Tobar (gaa.ie) for more information.

Find out more about child safeguarding at Cuala here.

Coach Ratification

Coach Ratification – Upcoming Workshop/Course Dates

Thank you and congratulations to all of our coaches/mentors who have recently completed ratification by An Coiste, ensuring compliance with statutory and association regulations to be recognised as a Cuala Coach. Your time and commitment to our club is much appreciated.

Ratification is achieved by meeting 4 criteria:

  1.  Paid Cuala Membership
  2.  In-date Child Safeguarding Certificate
  3.  In-date Garda Vetting Certificate
  4.  Minimum Coaching Qualification.

The next Safeguarding workshop takes place on June 25th. Places limited. Register interest here.

For questions on garda vetting or child safeguarding, or if you would like to find out about future safeguarding workshops contact childrensofficer.cuala.dublin@gaa.ie.

An Award 1 (Youth and Adult) coaching course takes place in June. Register here.