A GAA club in Uganda is appealing to Irish clubs for second-hand equipment for over 120 schoolchildren who have fallen in love with hurling and football.
Most of the children became exposed to Irish sport through the power of the internet.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, John Walsh of the Irish Society in Uganda, explained how the kids' newfound passion started.
"The guys found it themselves on YouTube and TikTok in 2019, Robert and Moses, two Ugandan guys."
"They're basketball friends and they loved it."
Moses, who is a P.E. teacher, decided to bring the new sports into a school to gauge the children's' interest.
They started with Gaelic football and now they've progressed to hurling.
Equipment
"They go mad for the hurling", Mr Walsh said.
"They think it's so different."
Before they had their own hurls, the kids made some by watching YouTube tutorials.
"They made a hurl out of mahogany, which we had to ban for safety reasons", Mr Walsh said.
Cultech, a company based in Co Meath, sent 100 hurls to Uganda but, according to Mr Walsh, more equipment is needed for the eager young sportspeople.
"We only have 15 helmets, so we can only play literally seven aside", he said.
First batch of @Cultec hurls have arrived. We're super excited and can't wait for training on Sunday 🇺🇬❤️🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/hiYB7YvXGt
— Uganda GAA 🇺🇬 (@UgandaGaelic) November 18, 2022
"They're playing in flipflops and things like that."
The Irish Society in Uganda is calling on Irish people that may have "given up on the intercounty career" to donate things they're no longer using.
Even things "that are thrown around sheds and garages" are welcome, Mr Walsh said.
Main image shows a sliotar on a hurl. Picture by: Stephen Barnes/Alamy
