THE wheelchair hurling stars of Ulster and Ireland could be about to transfer their skills to the international stage.
Talks are under way for an ambitious link-up with the International Committee Wheelchair Floorball (ICWF) that could see an Irish team become involved in the coming years.
The ICWF was established in 2012 and 12 nations are currently active participants.
Floorball is played with a plastic unhook rather than a hurl but, given the similarities with wheelchair hurling, it is possible that Ireland could become the 13th to get involved in competitions across Europe.
An Ulster GAA YouTube trailer showcasing the skills of wheelchair hurling was picked up by an interested observer in Amsterdam and, as a result, the lines of communication were opened.
“We’ve been invited to maybe form an Irish team,” explained Ulster GAA active club co-ordinator Paul Callaghan who, along with Shane McCann, is deeply involved with wheelchair hurling in the province.
“Myself and Shane were out in Sweden last week looking at wheelchair floorball.
There’s not many GAA games you could play internationally - you’ve the Compromise Rules, Shinty - but this game is really fast, really skilful.
“It would be good to give it an international dimension and it would be a great opportunity for somebody with a disability to go out and represent their country in Gaelic games.
“It could be an exciting development down the road.”
Since first being established by Dublin PE teacher Tim Maher back in 1998, wheelchair hurling has gone from strength to strength, with Ulster joining the other three provinces in 2013 after attending a blitz in Athlone.
They haven’t looked back since, winning the league and All-Ireland championship double in 2015 and retaining their league title last year. As a result, the Ulster team picked up the chairman’s award at the recent Ulster GAA Writers’ ceremony.
Beyond the competitive success achieved, Ulster GAA has also taken the show on the road to try and spread the word about wheelchair hurling, as Callaghan explains.
“We got funding from DCAL [the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure] for two vans - one to cover the east of the province, another to cover the west. There are 16 or 18 wheelchairs in each van so we can go around schools to give taster sessions.
“It’s very good for going into a school and there’s maybe somebody with a disability who never had the chance to play alongside their class-mates.
“Maybe somebody who goes to a PE class and is asked to stand at the end of a line and they try to be involved - at least in wheelchair hurling everybody is at the same level.
“Last year we had a panel of 12 players in our Ulster team and maybe eight or nine of those would be at school, so we went around the secondary schools and the class-mates of the players.
“It was the first time their class-mates had the chance to play sport with them at the same level.”
And it’s not just young men either still at, or just out of, school who get involved. While the youngest member of the Ulster team is just 13, grandmother Geraldine McGarrigle from Strabane in county Tyrone is the most experienced at 52.
She first got involved after attending a taster session in Derry and hasn’t looked back since.
“I’ve enjoyed getting out and meeting people with other disabilities apart from yourself. I love the social aspect of it,” said goalkeeper McGarrigle, the last line of defence on the Ulster team.
“I’m the only female on the team but it’s grand because I had played wheelchair basketball beforehand - the only difficulty was learning to hold a hurl and push a chair at the same time.
“Winning the All-Ireland the year after we were formed was really brilliant. The training can be fast and furious, you wouldn’t get a look in sometimes, and if you get hit with a hurl you know all about it.”
Captain David Doherty, from Belfast, has always been a huge GAA fan and says wheelchair hurling has afforded him the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong ambition by representing Ulster.
“I first heard about the whole GAA disability initiative after I was actually at a game between Armagh and Tyrone, there was a half-time exhibition for people with learning difficulties,” said the 24-year-old.
“I was doing research into it and found out about wheelchair hurling and contacted Paul and Shane. I started two years ago and the sport has continued to grow ever since with more people getting involved from the likes of wheelchair basketball, which is great to see.
“I’ve been involved in disability sport for a long time but getting involved in Gaelic games, and being able to find something like this, being able to represent my province is a massive, massive thing for me.”
Playing for Ulster is a huge honour, no doubt, but what about the possibility of playing for Ireland on foreign soil?
“I’d be up for it,” he added. “We’ll see what happens but that would be a great thing.”
Ulster GAA operates wheelchair hurling hubs in Belfast, Enniskillen, Lurgan and University of UIster’s Magee campus in Derry. If you are interested in getting involved in wheelchair hurling, contact Paul Callaghan at paul.callaghan.ulster@gaa.ie or Shane at shane.mccann.ulster@gaa.ie
