Round Tower GAA participants in the Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative 2024-25, with programme co-ordinator and club secretary Sharon Jordan
Tower young members leading the way
OVER twenty young members of Round Tower Clondalkin GAA have graduated from a GAA leadership programme this week.
The Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative takes its name from one of Ireland’s most inspirational leaders and one of Gaelic games most iconic proponents, Roscommon footballer and Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Dermot Earley.
Twenty-two young people from Round Tower Clondalkin took part in the programme, which has been run by the club each year since 2021.
Sharing pictures on social media, the club hailed the group as “a credit to their families, coaches and club”.
The initiative, a tribute to Dermot’s lifetime of sporting and professional achievements and his commitment to community service, is brought to life through a partnership between GAA, Foróige, and the University of Galway.
The programme empowers young people to enhance their leadership capabilities to better enable them to reach their full potential and have a positive impact on the world around them, skills that aren’t necessarily taught in school according to Sharon Jordan, Round Towers club secretary and co-ordinator for the programme.
“It gets the young person to focus outside of the club. We always say the player and sport is hugely important, but with the Dermot Earley programme, we encourage them to look outside into the community and look at more vulnerable members of our community,” she explained.
The program involves eight weeks of classroom sessions on Friday evenings for young people taking part.
This involves a presentation to their peers, and a Community Action Project, which is self-led with the help of a mentor.
“I always say at meetings, I don’t know what you were doing when you were 16 on a Friday night but these young people are dedicating their time and commitment to a leadership programme, which is fantastic,” Sharon said with a laugh.
Participants in the Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative are awarded a QQI level 6 Foundation Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action and will attend a full ‘cap and gown’ graduation ceremony in November at University of Galway.
Year on year, the engagement from young people involved in Round Tower Clondalkin has been “fantastic,” Sharon said.
“The young people, from our side, just blossom, and then from their own perspective, they can see the advantage of the activities that they’ve been doing and then they put it into action, it’s very practical for them.
“We hear all the time about how their confidence has increased because of the programme.”
