Tullamore school selected for Lidl Ireland LGFA programme

Sacred Heart School, Tullamore has been chosen to participate in Lidl Ireland/LGFA #SeriousSupport Schools Programme for the 2023-24 school year.

Coláiste Íosagain in Portarlington is also among the 26 schools, one for every county in the Republic of Ireland, selected for the programme.

This represents an investment of €120,000 in local schools across the country.

Supported by the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and delivered by Youth Sport Trust and their specially trained athlete mentors, the programme is designed to educate teenage girls about the positive mental and physical health benefits of playing sport.

The programme also aims to increase participation and reduce drop-out rates for teenagers in the sport. Twenty-six schools across the Republic of Ireland and six in Northern Ireland (see list below) will have the opportunity to benefit from the programme, along with receiving a brand-new set of jerseys for their school team.

Lidl’s 2023 State of the Nation research commissioned in September demonstrated the significantly positive impact participation in sport has on secondary school girls. Girls that play sport are significantly more likely to have high levels of body confidence (40%) compared to girls who do not play sport (25%).

In addition, 49% of girls that play sport report strong levels of mental wellbeing compared to just 29% of those that do not play sport. Among the benefits of playing sport cited by girls in the research was that it is good for your physical health (73%), increased mental wellbeing (49%), increased energy levels (49%), lifelong friendships (42%) and increased confidence (39%).

The athlete mentors of the Serious Support programme, all of whom are current or former inter-county ladies Gaelic football players, are committed to using sport to transform the lives of young people. Taking place over the course of two visits to each school, the programme will be delivered via workshops and team-building sessions.

Boasting an impressive array of achievements, the stellar line up of LGFA inter-county players delivering this year’s programme are as follows: Ann Marie Doran (Wicklow), Eilis Ward (Donegal), Laurie Ryan (Clare), Méabh de Búrca (Galway), Orlagh Farmer (Cork), Samantha Lambert (Tipperary), Therese Scott (Monaghan), Aisling Hanly (Roscommon), Anna Galvin (Kerry), Cathy Carey (Antrim), Deirdre O’Reilly (Cork), Leah Caffrey (Dublin), Lucy Hannon (Galway), Niamh McEvoy (Dublin), and Shannon McQuade (Fermanagh).

President of the LGFA, Mícheál Naughton, commented: “The athlete mentors are inter-county stars who are role models within their local communities and counties, and who can pass on invaluable insights to the students involved in the programme.

"We have had magnificent first hand feedback from previous programmes that students have received key skills to assist them in their daily lives, and at such a formative stage. I can’t think of better people to learn from than our athlete mentors, who have seen and done it all. I wish to acknowledge the brilliant work of Lidl Ireland in helping to bring this programme to life and to Youth Sport Trust, who will once again assist in its rollout.”

Eimear O’Sullivan, Corporate Affairs Director for Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, said: “The impetus of our longstanding Ladies Gaelic Football Association sponsorship has always been the impact we can have on the grassroots level of the game in communities across the country, and we’re delighted to be launching our Serious Support Schools Programme for another year.

"The success of the programme is reflected in the growing number of schools and students taking part, and we’ve been blown away by the feedback from students and the transformative impact that the programme has had on young people right across Ireland.

"We’ve seen through our recent research the incredibly positive impact participation in sport has on young girls and through our team of fantastic sporting heroes and mentors, we aim to identify and unlock barriers faced by young people and support them on a programme to better physical and mental health."

Lidl Ireland has been the title sponsor of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association since 2016, recently announcing a four-year extension to the partnership. The extension will represent an investment of €10 million in ten years of sponsorship by the retailer.

Republic of Ireland schools

Carlow: Presentation De La Salle, Bagenalstown

Cavan: St. Clare's College

Clare: St. Patrick’s Comprehensive School

Cork: Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí

Donegal: Magh Ene College, Bundoran

Dublin: Castleknock Community School

Galway: High Cross College

Kerry: Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine

Kildare: Holy Family Secondary School, Newbridge

Kilkenny: Loreto Secondary School, Kilkenny

Laois: Coláiste Íosagain, Portarlington

Leitrim: St. Clare's Comprehensive School

Limerick: Limerick Educate Together Secondary School

Longford: Mercy Secondary School, Ballymahon

Louth: Ardee Community School

Mayo: St. Mary's Secondary School, Ballina

Meath: St. Peter's College, Dunboyne

Monaghan: St. Louis, Monaghan

Offaly: Sacred Heart School, Tullamore

Roscommon: St. Nathy's College

Sligo: St Attracta's Community School

Tipperary: Our Lady’s Secondary School Templemore

Waterford: Waterpark College

Westmeath: Loreto College Mullingar

Wexford: Gorey Community School

Wicklow: St. Kevin's Community College.

Northern Ireland:

Antrim: Dominican College, Fortwilliam

Armagh: St Patrick’s High School, Keady

Derry: Sperrin Integrated

Down: St Mary’s High School, Newry

Fermanagh: St Kevin's College

Tyrone: Loreto Grammar School, Omagh.