It is that time of year when children across the country make their way to the local GAA grounds and immerse themselves in the art of Gaelic games.
Thousands of children are taking part in the annual GAA Cúl Camps, where primary school children between the ages of six and 13 gather to practice their football and hurling skills.
While this setting is fitting for some, 40 regional GAA for All Inclusive Cúl Camps are also taking place for children with additional needs, with plans to offer further inclusive camps across the country in 2026.
This week at Pearse Stadium, coaches and volunteers of Galway GAA hosted the county's first inclusive Cúl Camp of the summer.
Running over three days, the fully booked camp of 20 participants is tailored for children with additional needs, providing one to one coaching in a range of sporting activities.
In an indication of its popularity, families are commuting long distances from rural areas right across the county such as Clifden in Conamara to enable their children to take part in the Galway city camp.
In order to help meet the demand for places this year, a second inclusive camp will take place at St Mary’s GAA grounds in Athenry on 5-7 August.
Such is the demand that places for the Athenry camp also sold out shortly after they went on sale.
County Head of Games for Galway GAA Dennis Carr says while the mainstream Cúl Camps are suitable for some children with additional needs, the need for something more specialised for others became clear.
"We would have felt there was a need to host inclusion camps in the county because some of the mainstream camps may not be suitable for the children to attend," Mr Carr said.
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Now in it's third year of operation, the GAA for All Inclusive Cúl Camp at Pearse Stadium has become the highlight of the summer for Mr Carr and the coaches and volunteers who are involved.
"From the very first time we ran it, it's been a huge success and the feedback from the parents and the kids has been really, really positive," he said.
One of those parents is Des Fahy from Corofin, whose 11-year-old son Mark is attending the camp.
"You have different Cúl camps and other dance camps and stuff but for kids with disabilities like Mark and ASD in particular, there isn't really much they can do. So when I saw the Cúl Camp for All advertised last year we came here and it was absolutely brilliant."
Volunteering as a coach at the camp for the first time this year is Cola Murphy, one of the founders of Killannin GAA for All.
It is an initiative which she began so that children like her 15-year-old son Gavin could play an active role in the GAA community.
"About three years ago, we kind of felt we should set up something in the club for children who probably aren't able to participate with their teams in their age groups. Something that wasn't competitive and just in a safe environment.
"So we kind of just did everything to their needs. We have about 15 children going down every Tuesday and we do different games and it's all very much just fun," Ms Murphy added.
Practising the skills of hurling at Pearse Stadium is none other than Liam Gordon, who last weekend refereed the All Ireland hurling final between Cork and Tipperary.
As a GAA coach in Galway, Mr Gordon believes that for the children taking part, these camps are about far more than just the game.
"They're improving their skills, they're improving their hand-eye coordination. From just throwing a ball ten or 15 metres and swinging a sliotar and hitting the ball, like that's gold to see a child being able to do that."
In addition to these summer camps, the GAA All Stars programme sees many local clubs across the country provide a GAA experience for children who may not be able to participate in typical team settings.
As the Inclusive Cúl Camp at Pearse Stadium draws to a close, for parents such as Des Fahy, the chance for his Mark to be a part of the GAA community is priceless.
"A lot of the kids with certain disabilities and if they’re a flight risk, their families can't really bring them away on holidays like other kids. So even to have like, you know, two or three hours of a camp like this is fantastic."
For Ms Murphy, the opportunity for her son Gavin and so many others to dream big is what Gaelic games is all about.
"It's just so important to kind of just be able to come down and just run around Pearse Stadium like their heroes would do and pretend to be the next Johnny Heaney and Matthew Tierney."
"It's just very much that, living out their little dreams and playing with their friends and just being like everybody else," Ms Murphy concluded.
