Inspirational Westmeath Youngster Wants Others To Have Positive Experiences

Thursday, 24 June 2021 08:28

Conor Dufficy is playing with Moate All-Whites and is part of a new GAA campaign.

A young Midlands sportsman is encouraging everyone to take part in GAA, regardless of their ability.

Westmeath's Conor Dufficy lost his left leg in a lawnmower accident when he was just five.

Now aged 12 and with a prosthesis, he plays football with Moate's All Whites.

The youngster is part of a campaign to increase diversity in the GAA by 2025.

He's been telling our reporter Claire O'Brien how sport has always been a big part of his life:

Speaking at the launch of SuperValu’s ‘Bring It On’ campaign, SuperValu Marketing Director, Ray Kelly, said:

“Today marks SuperValu’s 12th year of sponsoring the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, a long-standing partnership which we are incredibly proud of. At SuperValu, we believe in community and in making communities better places and for us community means including everyone. As a society we have come a long way when it comes to diversity and inclusion however there is still a way to go. Our research shows that 65% of respondents believe if the local GAA club is more diverse and inclusive it will also improve diversity and inclusivity within communities. Today’s research also highlights the importance of role models with 47% telling us that we are lacking role models from diverse communities in GAA. We want to use our position as a leader in the community to start this conversation and use our position to support and encourage inclusive communities. We are investing over €1m in the ‘Bring It On’ campaign across TV, radio, billboards, bus shelters, digital and social media to drive the conversations, awareness and understanding. We believe in the power of community and our partnership with the GAA offers us a great opportunity to make our communities fuller, more diverse and more inclusive places.”

Ger McTavish, GAA Diversity and Inclusion Officer:

“We are delighted to be working with SuperValu once again and that they are using their sponsorship of the GAA and national reach to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion. In the past number of years, we have been committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion within the GAA at all levels and we are committed to keeping this momentum going. In recent years we’ve seen the success of campaigns to increase female participation in our games and we are delighted to be doing the same across Ireland’s diverse population, to promoting sport and physical activity to everyone regardless of age, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, nationality, or fitness level by committing to increasing GAA participation by 30% among diverse groups.”