THIS columnist’s weekend centred around a trip to Manchester for the Northern Games youth tournament with hundreds of young footballers to play in competitions across two days hosted by Lancashire GAA.

THE Gaelic Football season is now well underway in Scotland and there are some familiar patterns beginning to emerge even in these early stages.

AT 37 years old and having just won a second La Liga title in Spain, Robert Lewandowski, the Barcelona and Poland striker, attributes his playing longevity —at least in part—to following what’s known as the ‘reverse diet.’ Basically it means that he consumes his dessert first, before turning to his main course.

MARCH 2026 at Soccerworld, Old Glamis Road, Dundee will live long in the memory of those who are associated with the GAA on the East Coast of Scotland with a celebration of the most significant milestones since the founding of the Dalriada GFC on January 28 1990—a milestone on a par with the enthusiasm of the 58 children who participated and registered with the newest youth GAA Club in Scotland.

DUNEDIN Connollys recently welcomed Dublin side Naomh Mearnóg to Edinburgh for a valuable challenge match, as preparations began ahead of the league campaign.

THE German language is full of single words expressing feelings and emotions that are only describable in English by using half-sentences. For example, there’s Schadenfreude—delighting at the misfortune experienced by others.

SCOTLAND once again turned green for St Patrick’s Day, with events up and down the country bringing Irish communities across Scotland together as they shared their culture with wider Scottish society, but it was the second annual parade through the streets of Glasgow which once again provided the most high profile spectacle.

AS CEANN Creige enters its seventh year as Scotland’s only hurling and camogie club, there is lots to look forward to and lots to reflect on.

AS PAUL Brady once sang: “It’s nothing but the same old story.” And lately that line feels painfully accurate.

THE Men’s National Football League can be seen—from the outside at least—like the weigh-in before a heavyweight title fight. The pugilists get close, look each other square in the eye with maybe some shadow-boxing or actual pushing, before stepping off the stage knowing that the real deal is just around the corner.

FOR those involved with Men’s Gaelic football at the University of Glasgow, the 2026 season will live long in the memory.

FOR those of involved with Tír Conaill Harps GAA Club, it has always been about more than football. Since the club’s foundation in 1994, its members have worked to build something that reflects the very best of community sport—a club where young people thrive, families feel welcome and culture, wellbeing and connection sit alongside competition. Three decades on, the Harps remain a living, growing expression of that original vision.

AS I STEP into the shoes of the fabulous former columnist, Colly Clerkin, allow me to introduce—and indulge—myself by recollecting a Sunday afternoon in Croke Park recently when my home club, Glenullin (above), featured in the All-Ireland Intermediate Football Final.

All your questions about the Glasgow St Patrick’s Festival Parade answered here!

ON MARCH 14, 2026, the Glasgow St Patrick’s Festival Parade will once again bring colour, music and life to the heart of the city. This year’s theme ‘A Celebration of Irish Immigration to Glasgow’ is more than a commemoration. It is a declaration of who we are, where we come from, and the immeasurable contribution our community has made to Glasgow for almost two centuries.

THERE was a mixture of sadness and joy for Stirling Carrigans GFC recently as they lost a dear member of their club in the midst of setting up their own youth section.

AS I watched my daughter, Eva, take part in her last blitz of the season with Glasgow Gaels at Toryglen Regional Football Centre in the shadow of Hampden Park, I allowed myself some time to reflect on what was a year of milestones for us as a family in GAA terms. 2025 marked her first foray into the world of Gaelic Football, initially training with the Gaels under the watchful eye of their highly skilled and dedicated coaches before moving onto playing in blitzes. She loves t

DEAR Santa, I’ve been a good boy this year—well, mostly. I’ve cheered, I’ve groaned, and I’ve written more words about GAA than I care to count. So instead of socks and selection boxes, I’m asking for something different: a few gifts for the game we love. After a rollercoaster 2025, here’s what I’m hoping for in 2026.

ONE of the unsung heroes of the GAA in Britain since 1962 passed away at his home in Perth on the evening of Saturday October 25, 2025.

TÍR CONAILL Harps GFC are making a major play in 2026 to get more women and girls involved with the club.