Holidays Travel

World War One and the GAA in mid-Ulster: A Dockside Festival talk

The devastating impact of World War One on Gaelic sports in mid-Ulster will be discussed during a lecture on board the HMS Caroline tomorrow night.

Historian Dr Dónal McAnallen will tell the stories of the forgotten hurlers, footballers and club secretaries who fought for the British Army in the first world war.

Dr McAnallen said the assumption that the GAA "having traditionally barred soldiers from its ranks, stood against the British campaign in the first world war has persisted for the last century".

"I will be exploring how seven All-Ireland final players and two county secretaries joined the British defences, and how that affected the association after the war."

The talk is at 7pm on Thursday April 12 and is part of the Dockside Festival in the Titanic Quarter which started last month and runs until April 20.

HMS Caroline is operated by The National Museum of the Royal Navy and is the world’s last remaining floating survivor from the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Moored in Belfast since 1924, over the past four years the ship has been fully restored and fitted out with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund in Northern Ireland.


Festival highlights

Friday April 13 - 7.30pm


Special screening of The Goonies (1985)



Friday April 20 - 7.30pm


Special screening of Piranha (1978)