THE London GAA club marked its first decade with a celebration honouring its founding members and looking ahead to its ambitions for the next ten years.
Gael Londain celebrated its anniversary with a special event at its Hazelwood centre on October 17, bringing together around 150 members, volunteers and friends.
“It went amazing, we had a really great turnout,” club chairperson Ruth Nic Aoidh said.
The evening included a special presentation to the club’s five founding members who each received a plaque honouring their tireless work in getting the club started.
Gael Londain Chairs - Michael Reilly, Ruth Nic Aoidh, Kieran Walsh (Photo by Gael London)The club also honoured former chairperson Michael Riley and former secretary Siobhan Riley for their years of service.
“It’s the people who make the club, and it’s a joy and an honour to be able to celebrate what we’ve achieved,” Nic Aoidh said.
Those who came also included Pat Winston, Secretary of the County London Youth Board, who Nic Aoidh said had been “really pivotal in helping us get the club off the ground from youth up”.
The event featured a dinner with a buffet, speeches and a video reflecting on Gael Londain’s journey throughout the years.
Connor Moloney, from Mrs Brown’s Boys fame, hosted the event, while music from Roy McManus and DJ Paul McCormack kept the celebrations going into the night.
Ruth Nic Aoidh, Liam Kearney, and host Conor Moloney (Photo by Gael Londain)There was also a lively auction, featuring weekends at holiday homes, All-Ireland football and hurling tickets, as well as a football signed by the entire Mayo team.
The Mayo team had visited Hazelwood earlier in the year to train with the club’s youth players before their big championship win in July.
Nic Aoidh was thrilled and said, "There was nobody in the room who didn’t want to be there or who hadn’t contributed in some way.”
A moment that stood out for her was the fireside chat hosted by Moloney with the club’s two previous chairs.
Kieran Walsh, who served as chair from 2016 to 2017, and Michael Riley, who held the position from 2017 to 2024, spoke about their time at the club.
“It was just brilliant listening to their reflections on what it was like in the early days and the level of passion and commitment that they put into the club,” Nic Aoidh said.
Special Award for Service to the Club - Siobhán and Michael Reilly (Photo by Gael Londain)Despite reaching the ten-year milestone, the chairperson stressed that Gael Londain remains a young club with a lot more they want to achieve.
The club’s development model, which began with its youngest players and youth teams, is key to its future.
Nic Aoidh said, "This is something very unique; we’re not aware of any other club that’s attempted to build the GAA club, starting with your under-5s and your youth clubs.”
With the club now in its second year of adult men’s and ladies’ football, attention is increasingly turning to ensuring younger players can continue their GAA journey as they get older.
“We have quite a large number of our youth players starting to graduate into adult football, and so it’s really about building those pathways for people to continue to play and enjoy Gaelic football with us,” she said.
Gael Londain 10th Anniversary at the Hazelwood Centre (Photo by Gael London)Looking back on the milestone, Nic Aoidh said she had spent a lot of time reflecting on how far the club had come.
“Our role is to continue to build on the strong foundations that have already been laid,” she said.
That ambition is set out in the club’s strategy, The Road to 2035, which sets out its vision for where Gael Londain hopes to be by the time it approaches its 20th anniversary.
The strategy has four main aims: to see Gael Londain players feature in All-Ireland finals; to establish high-performance coaching and player pathways; to maintain the club’s presence in the local community, including through its school outreach programme; and to have senior teams competing for and winning London senior championships.
“The theme of the night was very much about celebrating the present and celebrating who we are and also very much looking ahead to the future,” she said.
As Gael Londain enters its second decade, they have their eyes firmly fixed on reaching their ambitious 2035 goals.
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