Why you should choose Na Gaeil Óga
Na Gaeil Óga is an exceptional club which always extends a warm welcome to new members, regardless of their sporting experience or level of Irish.
Many players are from Dublin but there are also players from all over Ireland, including all of the Gaeltacht regions. There have been players from further afield including England, America and Brazil over the years.
"It doesn't matter where in the country your from, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Donegal, Dublin, Tyrone, we are all coming together to play sport through Irish"
Fiona Ní Bhraonáin, a player from Dublin
Meet our players
Niall McQuillan
"My name is Niall McQuillan. I have been playing with Na Gaeil Óga hurling team for the past two years, after ten years playing at senior level with James Stephens in Kilkenny.
I played on Kilkenny's under 21 panel in 2009 and 2010 and was lucky enough to win the Kilkenny Senior Championship in 2011 with James Stephens.
I was worried at first about my standard of Irish but everyone was so patient and helpful that the language came back to me within a few weeks. The club has a great spirit and I love that the Irish language is just as important as the sport."
Caitríona Ní Mhurchú
"I started with Na Gaeil Óga in 2013 even though I had never played football before. I love all kinds of sports and I wanted to keep the connection with the Irish language after I left the Cumann Gaelach at UCD. I started with the camogie team in 2016 as a reason to pull me away from work!
The women’s football team and the camogie team are beautiful groups of friends. We have have great craic as well as matches and competitions. All kinds of players come to us from all over the world. There are events that give you an opportunity to meet members of the other teams. There are also opportunities to help underage teams - and learn some skills from them!
In 2016, my first year with the camogie team, we won our first ever game and then made it through to the final. In 2019 we won the championship, a great achievement for the club!
Na Gaeil Óga is a warm community and a special club that I am proud to be part of."
Conán Glass
"My name is Conán Glas and I'm from Slaughtneil in South Derry. I have been playing with the hurling team for the last two years. Before I started playing with Na Gaeil Óga I didn't speak much Irish. I didn't study the language in school but I was always interested in it. The training environment helped me a lot with learning the language and encouraged me to do my own study.
The team and managers were always generous and helpful, within six months I was able to understand instructions and talk to the other players. In my second year I was chosen as team captain and now I am a member of the management team. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by Na Gaeil Óga to learn my native language."
Clíodhna Esslemont
"I have been living in the east of the country for a few years now and I have always been interested in joining an association or club where the Irish language was central. I'm originally from the Connemara area and I wanted to have the opportunity to speak Irish more often. I decided to go to a training session to see if I liked it.
I have now played for two years with the Ladies football team and I Iove it. The girls are very friendly and we have a lot of fun at the training sessions and matches. For the past two years we have managed to get as far as the Championship final, sadly we haven't won yet but we'll continue to fight.
Na Gaeil Óga is a wonderful community that encourages the Irish language in Dublin to grow. It allows people to learn the language or for me to speak my native language more often."