A game for everyone: Tony McCollum looks at the start and progress of GAA For All

It’s a decade since Tony McCollum began what grew into GAA for All. On Saturday, over 900 people are expected in Creggan as they host Ulster GAA’s latest Games for All festival. He spoke to Michael McMullan

WHEN a heart attack forced Tony McCollum to press the pause button, he left plastering behind him. It was time for something different.

At the time, the Bridge Association in Antrim was catering for people with disabilities and additional needs. They’d a vacancy for someone to drive their minibus.

Tony joined and he’d do the morning pickups and return journeys from Antrim.

For anyone who knows him, there is plenty of chat and banter. There’s not much in Creggan he hasn’t being involved in. Coming from a GAA club, interaction and people skills are high up the tree.

It wasn’t lost on those running the Bridge. In time, they saw the natural fit and asked Tony if he’d be interested in a deeper involvement, working with the youngsters themselves. Bingo. It was a perfect match.

“I said, aye, I’m much the same mentality and was able to have the craic with them,” Tony explained of the beginning of the first stage of GAA for All before he even knew it.

“They took me on full time and I was there for four or five years. You’d treat the weans the same way as you would, for example, an u-14 team.”

GAA for All wasn’t a thing at that point in Ireland and certainly not in Ulster. Looking around, he could see soccer coaches involved in offering sport to anyone with additional needs. Being a Gael, Tony asked himself the question. Why not GAA?

“I took them over in van loads to Creggan, to our 3G pitch. There were all denominations, all religions…I took everybody with me,” McCollum explains of the early days.

Antrim have 22 players on their team list for the upcoming Games For All festival. Back then, the fingers in both hands were more than enough for a head count.

IN THE BEGINNING…Tony McCollum got GAA For All up and running in Antrim. Photo: John McIlwaine

“I drove the minibus and brought them all over with me,” he explains. “And if anybody couldn’t run or walk, they went down to the Holy Well in Cranfield. If not, and they were able, they played a bit of football.”

There was a scattering of jerseys, including Linfield, England and Ballymena United. A mixture of everything. But it didn’t matter. Enjoyment was the only currency that counted.

“They came along and played whatever they wanted and they absolutely loved it,” Tony said.

The love of sport was evident. Getting out and about was a vital life skill. And, before long, the penny dropped. There were more gains to be made.

When word spread, interest in having fun in Creggan came from further than the Bridge community Tony was initially catering for.

“I decided to arrange a training session,” he said of the next step of a journey that has exceeded all expectations.

“I went through the club and they gave me a free slot on a Saturday at half two and I sent out word to the clubs in Antrim that if anybody with a disability would like to play, they could come along on any Saturday.”

The door was open to everybody. And there it was. The gradual growth of a sporting opportunity that would change everything for families who needed a different pathway into games.

It wasn’t long before word spread across the River Bann where Martina Loughran and Aidie Moran were getting a team up and running. They linked in with what was happening in Antrim.

“I began to think, all this training is well and good but the children needed game time as well,” said McCollum about the thought process of taking the idea a stage further with a game between Derry and Antrim.

And, just like that, the avenue that eventually led to players with additional needs from across Ireland converging on Croke Park earlier this month was born.

“We decided to call it the ‘Real Championship’ and we were going to play Derry,” said McCollum with the pride of seeing players get an opportunity that stretched longer than the half-time slot they’d previously had if playing as part of a major game at a county venue across Ulster.

“I’d say for the first three or four years, there was just us and Derry, that was all there was. And it just was great. We made a big deal of it with it.

“We had official referees and the crowd, there was a serious crowd at it. It was something they could take to seriously. It was unbelievable and that’s what you want.”

Creggan’s impressive facilities was the perfect location along the picturesque shores of Lough Neagh. After that initial start, eight years ago, they plugged the event. The word-of-mouth element helped it grow. If something is enjoyable, people will want more. And they’ll shout if from the rooftops.

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McCollum was Creggan chairman at the time and Philip O’Kane was his go-to man, involved in the club for the last 40 years. If a reserve manager was needed or someone to plough in with an underage group, McCollum would float the question. The answer was always yes.

“His young boy Eunan has autism,” McCollum added, “So I just made Philip the (Antrim GAA for All) manager. He still is the manager and everybody knows him as the manager.

“My own young boy (Peter), he absolutely loved helping out as well. Neither me or my son have any relations or anybody with a disability.”

While most involved in sport for any type of disability are parents, McCollum sees the chance to put something back. There is also an enjoyment factor too.

“You could just be in bad form on a Saturday or annoyed with something going on at work,” he explains. “I’ll tell you what, five minutes into a session with these weans and they put a smile on your face.”

Kevin Heaney is another coach. Downs Syndrome wasn’t keeping his son away from sport. Amelia O’Neill looks after all the logistics. McCollum, he jokes, can now just lie back and look on.

Antrim’s growth was gradual. The numbers aren’t through the roof but many who signed up have stayed the distance. That’s the truest barometer of success.

An odd one or two didn’t come back. McCollum accepts that. Like any sport, some just didn’t take to it but the offer was there. And still is.

When Antrim submitted their list for Saturday week, they’ve 22 names. In the buildup a challenge game was arranged for a Sunday and the weekly Saturday session was cancelled, parents expressed an interest going both days. Another sign of progress. A product in demand.

While Creggan have the facilities, Bourke Sports supplied 60 footballs help with the necessary equipment. Between suppliers TeamKit and sponsors The Jaq Group, the team had a set of kits. Club Aontroma dipped into the coffers.

“Tony Shivers (Saffron Business Forum), as usual, he’s in behind us as well with a ween of pound to keep things going,” McCollum added. Like every other team, there is a thrill of being kitted out with that sense of identity it creates above all else.

The most important ingredient is the children themselves. For the most part, they’re full of beans, but some will shed a tear and need a caring arm to steer them along the way.

“You head over and give them a hug and ask them what’s wrong with them,” said McCollum.

“Then, on other days, our Peter is like a human punchbag, if they are bored, I’ll tell them to just pile on him,” he adds with a laugh that tells it all. There is no malice, just the light-hearted behaviour you’d see at a club anywhere.

And the parents just love it. When Saturday training was called off to make way for a Sunday game, parents were looking for both. It’s not as easy as that. With some the

conditions, overdoing can bring a danger.

Games for All action in Croke Park

On the other side, the health benefits are immeasurable. In some cases, children have saw their body shape change with exercise they wouldn’t have got without GAA for All.

Children who lacked the confidence to come out of the house, something taken for granted by many, saw their self-esteem develop to a point they wouldn’t miss a session and poured themselves into other sports.

That’s why people like Tony McCollum – while they won’t want it – deserve a massive pat on the back. Their value to a community is unseen by many outside those who appreciate it the most.

While it has given children a chance to play at Croke Park and be part of a team, the benefits reach deeper than we can ever imagine.

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When Creggan’s grounds throng to the seams next month, it will be just the second Games For All festival following on from Donaghmore’s event that saw 260 players involved last year.

Speaking just over two weeks from the 2024 version, McCollum’s numbers are coming in at “314 or 315”.

“At the minute, there’s 23 clubs coming, there’s 170 coaches, there’s 14 wheelchair users, and three trolley users,” he said. “If you add in 400 or 500 parents, that’s in around 800 or 900.

“We’ve people coming from Cavan, from Crossmaglen, we’ve Warrenpoint in Down, Donaghmore and Aghagallon. It’s open to all of Ulster and most of them are coming, thank God.”

Creggan’s main pitch will be split into four mini pitches. Their old pitch offers another three while their 3G area will be packed with different types of action to suit everyone.

“The top third of it is going to be hurling skills with county players Conor McCann and Caitrín Dobbin,” McCollum adds.

“The middle third is going to be an obstacle course because some of the teams won’t want to play (actual) matches, they’ll just want to come along to have fun.

“The third end is going to be have tug of war, so there is something for everyone. There’s also going to be a double-decker sensory bus on the day as well, for ones that just need to get into that wee bit of quiet and relaxation. We’ll have a sensory room upstairs in the club.”

At the time of writing, Sam Maguire is booked up but McCollum has his fingers crossed the coveted silver might find a way of making an appearance. The other cups won by Ulster teams will be present.

Conor Laverty, Daniel and James Guinness will have the Tailteann Cup. Ciaran McFaul is bringing Glen’s sweep of cups. Shane McGuigan and Niall Toner will have Derry’s league title. Caolan McGonagle will be making the trip from Buncrana with Donegal’s league and Anglo Celt Cups.

“We’re introducing hurling to the event for the first time so it’s going to be a great day, it definitely will be,” McCollum said with a quiet sense of pride.

Antrim’s team has male and female players between the ages of five and 42. There will be both catholic and protestant. There is no difference. If anyone want to enjoy themselves, their gates are open.

“As long as they’re out with a smile on their face and playing games, that’s what you’re looking,” he said of the most important point of all.

It’s a long way from gathering “six or seven” in a minibus from the Bridge Centre to Creggan just a decade ago.

“It’s unbelievable the way this went,” McCollum said, beginning to sum up the journey. “It’s an unbelievable feeling just, to see them all out there.

“It’s fantastic, that sense of pride that comes from seeing all the weans. One of the parents said to me, it was only 15 or 20 years ago that these weans wouldn’t have been allowed out. Times have changed, we have to change with it and we are.”

And it extends beyond the playing field. The parents enjoy a cuppa and are involved in a whole new social circle.

Action from last year’s competition in Donaghmore. Photo: Ulster GAA

“There’s a wee family there,” McCollum adds. “They even run their own discos and all now, they become friendly and go out for a cup of coffee.”

When the kids are playing the parents are unwinding in each other’s company. They know the kids are in safe hands. His modesty probably won’t allow him to say too much about it, but that’s the GAA family Tony McCollum knew the kids from the Bridge would thrive in. GAA people know how it works.

“They know they’ve been looked after and that’s hard to beat for a parent of a child with a disability.”

If Sam Maguire makes it to Creggan on Saturday it will be an unbelievable bonus on a day that will have enough to stoke the fire of joy.

If it doesn’t, well that’s alright too. The games, the tug of war, the sensory bus and the infectious laughter will be more than enough to make the second Games For All festival a resounding success.

It will radiate bright enough to keep the fire burning in the children for the next 364 days, until the third installment.

He won’t say it, but Tony McCollum will be one of the proudest people in Creggan. Without him loading up his van a decade ago, it may never have happened. The GAA family will be forever indebted to him.