A new TV series following the players behind the historic East Belfast GAA club is set to air this month.
'Le Chéile', meaning together, is a new Irish Language Broadcast Fund series airing on BBC Two NI about the club during their first full year of play in 2021.
Northern Ireland Screen explained that the programme attends training sessions and competitive matches in league and championship, witnessing victories, injuries and defeats, showing the "determination of the East Belfast GAA community and their passion for Gaelic games as they strive to achieve success".
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The description reads: "It started with a single tweet in May 2020. In an area where no GAA club has existed for more than half a century, a new one was born. Two years on, East Belfast GAA currently has more than a thousand members from all backgrounds and walks of life.
"Historically the GAA has been associated with Irish nationalism whereas East Belfast has long been seen as a unionist area. The last GAA Club there, St Colmcille’s, closed more than 50 years ago at the start of the Troubles. But in 2020, the founders of a brand new club, East Belfast GAA, hoped to change things by removing boundaries, breaking down stereotypes and welcoming players from all communities, faiths and political persuasions.
"That single tweet was sent by David McGreevy in May 2020. David and his friend, Richard Maguire, only wanted to start a GAA club for kids in East Belfast and sent out their social media message at 9.15am on a Sunday morning. They invited people from all backgrounds, beliefs and abilities to join their ranks."
The programme meets some of the players who come from a range of diverse backgrounds such Caoimhe O’Connell, originally from West Belfast, Andrew McCammon, a former Second Lieutenant in the British Army and Kimberly Robertson, originally from Boston, Massachusetts.
NI Screen continued: "Linda Ervine is the club’s first President. A unionist and Irish language activist, Linda is director of the ‘Turas’ Irish language project and welcomes the inclusion and promotion of all cultures within the club.
"She said: 'Of course, there are some naysayers, but overall, there has been a lot of positivity...I think it is a symbol of a shared space. It shows that, if you’re one thing, it doesn’t mean that you can’t engage with something else. Coming from the background that I did, I never heard of GAA, I didn’t know anything about GAA, but that has changed.'"
Produced by Macha Media, the series begins on Monday, June at 10pm on BBC Two Northern Ireland and RTÉ One on Monday 13 th June at 8pm.
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