About Us – Kerry Health & Wellbeing Committee

While the GAA will always primarily be known as one of the world’s leading amateur sports organisations, our members, and our communities remain at the heart of all we do.

The GAA Community & Health Section was created to ensure that the health and wellbeing of members, clubs and communities is at the core of GAA business.  Building on this, in 2014, Health & Wellbeing sub-Committees were established in all counties, as per the motion passed at the historic 2013 Congress (GAA Official Guide 2014, Section 3.20 (xiv)’.

The County Health and Wellbeing committees aim to help the Association to identify and respond to the wellbeing needs of its members, both directly through GAA health-related programmes and through signposting to and partnering with relevant national and local agencies who can provide services that may be of use to our members.

The Kerry Health and Wellbeing Committee brings together the chairpersns of the Mental Health Initiative, ASAP and Gambling Awareness Initiative, Inclusion and Integration Initiative and Youth Initiative, to better work with clubs. The Committee also partners with a number of agencies locally including Kerry Mental Health Association, Jig Saw Kerry, MABS, Anam Cara, South Kerry Developemnt Partnership (SKDP) and Nationally with The HSE and The Samaritans (the GAA’s mental health partners).

To link this important work with the great efforts being made at grassroots level, Coiste Bainistí recommends that all clubs appoint a Health & Wellbeing Officer whoses role replaces the role of the ASAP Officer. This is intended to better reflect the broad nature of health promoting work the Association is engaged in. 

In this important work, the County Health and Wellbeing Committee receive guidance from the National Health & Wellbeing Committee, chaired by Ciarán McLaughlin, Tír Eoghain, with support from Colin Regan and the Community & Health team in Croke Park, and the provincial councils.  The chairperson and Secretary of the Kerry Health and Wellbeing Committee are members of the Munster Health and Wellbeing Group.

If you are passionate about health and would like to be part of this exciting element of the Association then why not consider taking up the role and play your part in making your club and Ireland a healthier place to grow up and grow old in.

The Chairperson of the Kerry Health and Wellbeing Committee is: Bernie Reen. e mail: childrensofficer.kerry@gaa.ie

Details of the Kerry Health and Wellbeing Committee and the Initiatives run under the auspices of the committee are summarised in the below attachment. 

2017 Summary H&W Committee & Initiatives.pdf