The brother of Jennifer Poole, who was murdered by her partner in 2021, told a packed Croke Park that society needs to do more to tackle to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Jason Poole took part in a pitch side interview at half time during Donegal and Meath's All-Ireland semi-final as part of the 'Game Changer' initiative, which aims to use Gaelic Games to tackle gender-based violence.
The programme has seen the GAA partner with Ruhama, an organisation that supports women who have been sexually exploited, and White Ribbon Ireland, which encourages men and boys to act against domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
"We as a society need to look at how we approach gender and sexual based violence in the future, and to see the GAA taking such a stand in this moving forward is an absolutely amazing experience," Mr Poole said during the interview, which was shown on the stadium's big screens.
It was one of a number of 'Game Changer' events that took place as part of the All-Ireland semi-final.
Before throw-in Ruhama volunteers were joined by members of Erin's Isle GAA club in Finglas, the Poole family's home club, in carrying a massive ‘Game Changer’ banner onto the pitch.
Oisín Gallen, who scored a goal and a few points in Donegal's defeat of Meath is also a ‘Game Changer’ ambassador and he featured in a video that was played on the stadium's screens throughout the day.
"There's incredible encouragement in the GAA on the pitch to back up your teammate and to leave no man behind," Mr Gallen said.
He added: "That should be the same when you’re calling out gender-based violence.
"If it was racism or if it was any other type of abuse, I’m sure there’d be a lot of people who’d be standing up to call out what’s wrong, so it shouldn’t be any different when it comes to gender-based violence."
The initiative started in November 2024 but today was billed as ‘Game Changer Activation Day’.
In addition to the series of events at Croke Park, a new ‘Game Changer’ website has also gone live.
A nationwide advertising campaign will begin tomorrow.
This autumn, the ‘Game Changer’ programme is also planning to launch four age-appropriate e-learning modules on the GAA's e-learning site, Tobar.
The modules are on healthy relationships and will address topics such as boundaries, consent, bystander intervention, intimate image abuse and the harmful impacts of pornography.
Mr Poole's sister Jennifer was 24 when she was murdered by her former partner Gavin Murphy in 2021. She was a mother of two.
Mr Murphy had a history of violence against women and was previously jailed for two years for attacking a former partner and her mother with a knife in 2015.
Mr Poole and his family have campaigned for a number of years for the establishment of a domestic violence register.
Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has committed to enacting legislation in Jennifer Poole's name, Jennie's Law, that would establish such a register.
Mr O'Callaghan attended today's event along with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his predecessor, now Minister for Education, Helen McEntee.
