Launch of first GPA International Scholarship – Inaugural Recipient – Dr. Orlagh Farmer
The Gaelic Player Association (GPA) in partnership with the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce (IACC) and Young Melbourne GAA Club are pleased to launch the first ever GPA International Scholarship in Melbourne, Australia starting in October 2024. The recipient will be Dr. Orlagh Farmer, a six time All Ireland Senior Football medalist with Cork.
This scholarship will be focused on female development across the Young Melbourne GAA Club, one of Australia’s fastest growing and progressive GAA clubs in the heart of Melbourne. Orlagh will be supporting the coaching, development and mentoring of the club’s junior and adult female programs, engaging with teenage girls in local schools and presenting to the broader GAA and business community on how we retain more females in sport and the many benefits of following that worthy mission.
Orlagh’s inspiring career spans her passions for PE Teaching, sports research and early childhood education. She is a former Cork Senior Ladies Football player and the holder of 6 All Ireland Senior medals and completed her PhD research in the Department of Sports Studies and Physical Education at University College Cork. Her research entitled ‘Gaelic4Girls’ – a multi-component community, sports-based intervention, focused on increasing girls’ (8-12 years) physical activity levels, movement skill competencies and psychosocial well-being. She is a qualified PE teacher and a lecturer in sport education and research modules in Applied Early Childhood Studies at Dundalk IT.
She is also an ‘Athlete Mentor’ for the #SeriousSupport Lidl Programme empowering young girls to participate in sport. Her research and teaching areas include early childhood, youth and adolescent physical activity (main focus on girls), fundamental movement skill competency, psychosocial wellbeing, coach education and teenage lifestyle planning. She has presented at local, regional, national and international conferences, including the GAA Games Development Conference in Croke Park and International Physical Literacy Conferences in Canada, London and Cape Town South Africa. Orlagh is also an Ambassador for the LGFA ‘Gaelic4Teens’ initiative (running since 2017), which involves the planning and delivery of numerous upskilling coach education workshops for coaches and teenage girls from all over Ireland.
In 2020, Orlagh won The Irish Times ‘Sportswoman of the Month Award’ (May) and was recognised and awarded for the innovative creation of research-informed videos on social media platforms targeting young girls (March – May during Covid19 lockdown). The online #DrilloftheDay videos, as part of her ‘5-Day Ladies Gaelic Football Challenge’, garnered attention nationally and internationally. Recently, she has set up her own service-based business EmpowerEd Coaching, empowering players, teachers and coaches in sport, education and wellbeing.
She is an inspiration to existing and aspiring PE teachers blending the role of teaching with innovation, research and representation.
Young Melbourne GAA Club, founded in 2016, and based at Albert Park in central Melbourne is one of the fasted growing GAA clubs in Australia with over 200 players in its junior program and over 100 adult players in its adult program. Young Melbourne GAA Club’s mission is to provide people of all ages and abilities from our diaspora, those with an affinity to Ireland and the wider Australian community an opportunity to learn the skills, play and compete in Gaelic Games as they engage inclusively with each other in a safe, family friendly and community environment.
Tom Parsons, GPA CEO, has hailed the first ever GPA International Scholarship “as a great initiative that is very much aligned to the values of the GPA which will lead to more scholarship opportunities across the GAA world.”
Barry Corr, IACC CEO, is delighted to partner in this initiative remarking, “celebrating and supporting our emerging female leaders in sport aligns perfectly with our commitment to doing just that in business through our Emerald Leadership Program. We are delighted to have the opportunity to help with this unique initiative, and it’s no surprise that it’s being championed by Young Melbourne, whose values resonate with so many of our senior Chamber members as demonstrated through their involvement in the club.”
And Carl Walsh, Young Melbourne GAA Club President has added “that we are grateful and blessed to welcome Orlagh, a person of such calibre, energy and presence to focus on the key area of female development at our club.”
ENDS
Contact: Carl Walsh (carl.walsh@me.com; +61 478 170 734)
Editor’s notes:
The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players and a growing number of former players across the four core pillars of Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality.
The Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce is the kindred network, committed to adding value and bringing opportunities to its likeminded members. As the preeminent Irish Australian business organisation, the chamber connects the two countries and allows them to facilitate trade and business, acting as an important bridge for those wanting to make the most effective connections.
Through events, programs and initiatives, the chamber provides members a network of support and a platform to further business objectives. Being an inclusive and diverse community, it comprises a broad range of industry sectors and professionals, both nationally and internationally.
To learn more, visit: https://www.irishchamber.com.au
