Semple Stadium groundskeeper features in documentary

David Hanley, the groundskeeper of Semple Stadium in Thurles features in the latest AIB documentary, The Toughest Summer, which will be available on AIB’s YouTube channel on Thursday August 27th, at 1pm. 

Told through the lens of award-winning documentary maker, Ross Whitaker, the feature piece will celebrate the strength and resilience of the thousands of people in GAA communities. Tuesday’s documentary marks the finale in AIB’s The Toughest Summer series, which saw AIB, proud sponsors of the All-Ireland Club Championships across football, hurling and camogie as well as the All-Ireland Senior Football Championships, give viewers a poignant look into GAA communities across Ireland over the past several months.
The 50-minute documentary, which aired on RTÉ One on Tuesday August 25th, marks the finale in AIB’s The Toughest Summer series, and saw AIB, proud sponsors of the All-Ireland Club Championships across football, hurling and camogie, as well as the All-Ireland Senior Football Championships, give viewers a poignant look into GAA communities across Ireland over the past several months.
 
The Toughest Summer showcases the powerful and extraordinary ways that the GAA has connected with their local communities when needed most, proving that even when there are no games being played, the GAA is still the beating heart of Ireland’s rural and urban communities. This week’s documentary tracks a host of GAA people, from players to coaches, fans to commentators, and will also follow the stories of TJ Reid, Michael Darragh Macauley, Caitriona Cormican, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh and Ann Downey to name but a few.
 
The documentary is the culmination of a journey through a unique period of time in GAA history and chronicles the unprecedented halt to the games in March 2020. It follows the stories of GAA people and their communities across the country as they learned to cope with their new reality, and their subsequent path towards returning to on-field action once more. It tells the story of a summer that has been like no other; one that has truly highlighted the importance of GAA within local communities and one that has united friends and rivals, old and young, players and fans.
 
AIB’s The Toughest Summer, which aired on RTÉ One this week, will be available on AIB’s YouTube channel from 1pm on Thursday, August 27th, at www.youtube.com/aib.
 
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