AODH RUADH AND FOUR MASTERS played host to the launch of the ‘The Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative’ today.
The family of the late great Dermot Earley Snr believe a new initiative in his honour can help the next generation of young Irish leaders make their mark in the world.
The Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative, brought together by the GAA, Foróige, Ireland’s leading youth organisation and National University of Ireland Galway, commenced today in Donegal.
Photo caption:Â Gary Duffy Regional Youth Officer, Marian McNulty Chairperson of Donegal Health and Wellbeing,Sean Campbell CEO Foroige, Donegal Chairman Sean Dunnion with Donegal Players Hugh Mc Fadden, Karl Lacey, and participants in this years Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initative Programme.
The initiative gives young people the opportunity to take part in Foróige’s Leadership for Life programme which has been customised for this partnership with the GAA.
Fifteen young GAA and Foróige  members from various clubs throughout Donegal have been given the opportunity to  develop their leadership skills through this exciting programme that evokes and honours the values Dermot epitomised and held so dear.
Helping to facilitate their journey are a troupe of facilitators who volunteered from within the GAA and Foróige and have received four days training provided by Foróige and in NUI Galway, achieving a Foundation Diploma in Training and Education for their time and efforts.
To inspire the lucky participants Donegal’s Karl Lacey (pictured above) spoke at today’s  launch.
The lucky participants, aged between 15 and 18 years of age, will explore all elements of leadership before being asked to put their skills to work in their own clubs and communities.
Those who complete all three modules between September 2015 and May 2016 will be eligible to graduate from NUIG with a Foundation Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action.
For more information contact Stacey Cannon, GAA National Health & Health Coordinator on Stacey.cannon@gaa.ie or 01 8192387 or visit wwwgaa.ie/community
For further media enquiries contact GAA National Health and Wellbeing Coordinator Stacey Cannon on 01-8192387 or 085-7083598.
Dermot Earley Snr
Lieutenant-General Dermot Earley DSM (24 February 1948 – 23 June 2010) was an Irish army officer and sportsman. He played Gaelic football with his local clubs Michael Glavey’s and Sarsfield’s and was a member of the Roscommon senior inter-county team from 1965 until 1985. Earley is regarded as one of the greatest players never to have won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal.
Earley’s status as one of the all-time greats is self-evident. In a senior inter-county career that lasted for twenty years he won five Connacht titles, one National League, two All-Star awards, however, the ultimate honour of an All-Ireland medal at senior level eluded him. In retirement Earley served as manager of both the Roscommon and Kildare senior inter-county teams.
Earley also served as a high-ranking military official in Ireland and with the United Nations. He was the Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff from 2007 until his retirement in 2010.
His Newbridge funeral on 24 June 2010 was attended by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Irish government ministers and leading GAA figures, while former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave issued a statement calling him ‘one of the great figures of this country’.
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