As a result of greater media exposure and the TV deal with Sky Sports, the profile of Gaelic games outside of Ireland has grown rapidly over the last two years, particularly at grassroots level.

However, St Paul's Academy in South East London has long been known as a hotbed for GAA activity within GAA circles in the UK's capital and featured heavily in Robert Mulhern's 'A Very Different County' in 2011.

The secondary school has enjoyed a very fruitful 15-year partnership with Dulwich Harps GAA club, with both boys' and girls' of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds taking-up Gaelic football as their main summer term sport for extra curricular Physical Education.

It is fantastic that young people outside of Ireland with no links to the GAA are being exposed to our games, but it would be wide of the mark to suggest that it is just about participation levels at St Paul's Academy.

The teaching staff involved and the students themselves set their sights on competing for county honours; they are not just there to make up the numbers.

For example, the clubs boys have won an unprecedented six London under 14 championships out of the last seven on offer, and in 2015, the club made a significant breakthrough at under 16 level, winning the London club championship for only the second time in the clubs history.

The club also organise annual tours to Ireland staying with local families throughout the country. During these tours, the travelling party have the opportunity to experience the very best of Irish culture, with one of the highlights being a visit to Croke Park, the home of Gaelic games. One of the key highlights over the last number of years was attending the John Egan invitational tournament in 2014 in Killarney (Kerry). The team beat Killarney Legion in Fitzgerald Stadium in the division 1 final.

Many of the St Paul's students that have represented Dulwich Harps over the years have also gone on to represent South London at the annual Feile Peile na nÓg competition in Ireland. At this level, South London has enjoyed monumental success, winning division 5 in 2010, division 4 in 2013 and division 3 in 2014.

The link between school and club continues to flourish, and on Saturday 14th May 2016, St Paul's Academy in partnership with Dulwich Harps will be hosting an under 14 boys' 9-a-side Gaelic football festival which will involve visiting club teams from Ireland and local GAA clubs in London. It is a very exciting project, which will become an annual event.

The Downs GAA club (Westmeath) and St Moninna GAC Killeavy (Armagh) have already confirmed their entry for the inaugural festival and will be travelling with two squads each. It is anticipated that more clubs from Ireland will be keen to take part. If any club in Ireland is interested in taking-part then please contact Michael Maher on 07886471626 or email directly to [email protected]

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