GAA international manager Charlie Harrison is hopeful that they can lay foundations in new corners of the globe in the coming years as the association revealed its first-ever World GAA strategic plan.
The 2010 Sligo All-Star was speaking at the launch event in Newry with the plan setting out how they aim to grow the game further worldwide by 2026.
The 100-page document revealed how currently there are 475 clubs and 847 teams outside Ireland and the UK, but that number is set to rise significantly as demand increases.
Those 2026 club projections anticipate that the number of current active clubs, currently 434, will rise to 464 while the GAA also expects to increase developing, emerging and dormant clubs too.
Unsurprisingly, USGAA, New York GAA and Europe GAA provide the bulk of those clubs, with Australasia GAA (60), Asia GAA (28) and Canada GAA (27) also reporting good numbers.
The rest of the world – incorporating primarily Africa and South America – has only 10 clubs at the moment, but Harrison said that he expects that number to rise significantly in the coming years.
"We're in three different primary schools now in Uganda," Harrison told RTÉ Sport.
"Mexico is new, I’ve had a couple of emails in recent weeks, one from Nigeria, so it’s popping up all over the place.
"We’ve been in contact with Brazil, Argentina and there seems to be a real appetite for growth there.
"At the World Games in Derry last summer, 75% of the actual participants were non-Irish born.
"That’s where our growth is, it’s an exciting time."
This strategic plan aims to strengthen both the global reach and the impact of the GAA through a variety of key pillars and actions, mainly recruitment, participation, retention, increased awareness as well as fostering strong organisational structures in regions outside of Ireland.
For Harrison, the launch of a first strategic plan is a very important step given the level of emigration from Ireland.
"It’s a necessity. 69,000 people left the island of Ireland last year, 28,000 of those were Irish citizens.
"There’s more and more people leaving and the age demographic of that, most of them are aged between 25 and 30.
"The GAA can cater for that and clubs are popping up all over the world and the strategic plan is really there to set a blueprint to be able to cater for these people that are leaving the country."
The plan has four key areas - coaching and games, heath and well-being, PR and communications and officer training.
For GAA president Larry McCarthy, whose term comes to an end this Saturday with Jarlath Burns set to succeed him, they have a duty to get it right for those involved in the games outside of Ireland.
"So many people rely on us in one sense when they go abroad," said McCarthy, who thanked outgoing World GAA chairperson Niall Erskine with Tyrone's Ciarán McLaughlin set to take over.
"It’s going to expand, the growth opportunities are outside of Ireland not necessarily just within the Irish diaspora, but with local people in the various areas across the world.
"That’s what you’d hope to do, plant the love of Gaelic games in those local people who might be non-Irish.
"There’s a wonderful opportunity there but we need the resources."
McCarthy was at the launch in Newry and will remain in the border town for the weekend as congress takes place.
Although Cork born, McCarthy became the first overseas president as he was a New York GAA representative having spent many years in America.
He said that it was fitting that something so close to his heart would kickstart his final few days as the 40th GAA president.
"What a magnificent way to start congress in terms of the international GAA obviously, and it follows on what was a spectacular World Games in Derry during the summer. It was an absolutely brilliant occasion and arguably the highlight of my three years.
"This document pulls everything together in where we are and what we’re doing in the various locations across the world.
"Being of the diaspora, I appreciate the work that has been put into it pulling it together."
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