Dermot Earley Youth Leadership Initiative 2023/2024 (DEYLI)

DEYLI is a collaboration between Foróige, the GAA, University of Galway and the family of the late great Dermot Earley. It's aim is to empower young people to reach their full potential and to have a positive impact in the world around them. 

 

In December 2023, with 3 Foróige trained facilitators (parents of the participants) and 16 participants, we started on our most recent DEYLI journey. Thanks to the break from field activities, Module 1 was completed before Christmas and Module 2 started early in January 2024 with team projects and planning for Module 3. 

Module 3 was where the participants built on their learnings of Modules 1 and 2 to enable them complete a Community Action Project.

   

Our club members excelled in their efforts in the Community Action Projects. Some were within the club and others had a wider impact in the community. 

Jane, Maura and Tom focussed on coaching with some of the juvenile teams in the club and were so dedicated at bringing on our future senior players! 

Alannah, Aoilean and Ava brightened up the exterior of the club with painting and colourful planting. All plants were donated and special thanks to Hugh and Shiela Gallagher for their horticultural expertise. 

Cillian, Clodagh, Eve, Jessica and Oscar worked as a team with the huge task of giving a much needed facelift to the dressing room. Róisín put her creative and artistic skills to great use by painting targets on the walls in the hall. 

Thanks to Cove and Co for the donation of all paint. 

Danny gave a much needed revamp to the dugout benches under the expert eye of Eugene Matthews.

Gavin raised over €900 for the Irish Cancer Society - €652 online and €250.10 in cash donations. Initiatives included creating a go fund me page, selling daffodils and hosting a bake sale in Salesian College on Daffodil Day. 

Abbie was up bright and (very very) early and had an amazing spread of delicious bakes during Darkness into Light in May. Abbie raised over €727 for Pieta House on that day alone as well as coaching her sisters team! 

Áine had the unique and brilliant idea to create colourful club information documents in Ukrainian, Hindi, Polish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Hausa and Urdu to attract new members to the club, who may have recently moved to the area.

 

The pictures included are just some examples of the Community Action Projects carried out by the participants. 

  

 

On September 21st, our participants and parents attended a recognition event for Modules 1 and 2 in Croke Park with special guests, GAA president Jarlath Burns and his All Ireland champion son, Jarly Óg. 

5 of the participants who completed Module 3 will be conferred with a Foundation Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action by the University of Galway on November 23rd, 2024.