Michael Geaney

Nenagh's Geaney recognised as a GAA Healthy Club Hero

Nenagh Eire Og's Michael Geaney was recently honoured by the GAA for their exceptional efforts in promoting the GAA’s Healthy Club Project.

The Healthy Club Project started in 2014 with just 16 clubs, four from each province, including Nenagh Eire Og, and at the recent Healthy Club Conference in Croke Park, Michael Geaney was one of 23 people recognised for their work in the community.

Geaney is the Chairman of Nenagh's Healthy Club Project. He has pushed through numerous health and wellness programmes, including those for mental wellness as well as physical. The club have also hosted gambling and alcohol awareness evenings where numerous speakers come to the locality to speak and inform on a range of issues.

A proud clubman, Michael is involved in all aspects of the club, none more so than seeking to get everyone involved and to improve the lives of those in the community in whatever way he can.

The Healthy Club Project has developed over the last four years, with 150 clubs now engaged all over the country, with Lorrha, Newport and JK Brackens having come on board, joining Nenagh Eire Og and Father Sheehys who were first to take up the initiative in Tipperary.

The project aims to broaden the traditional boundaries of a GAA club, turning clubs into hubs for health in the communities. It involves a partnership with Healthy Ireland, the National Office for Suicide Prevention, the HSE, and is proudly supported by Irish Life.

Clubs focus on a range of health topics, including healthy eating; mental fitness and emotion wellbeing; physical activity for non-playing members; gambling drug, and alcohol awareness (including becoming smoke-free clubs); engaging older community members; and the provision of games for persons with special needs and those from minority groups, amongst other things.

Participating clubs were asked to nominate their Healthy Club Heroes: someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in serving the health and wellbeing needs of their clubs’ members and the communities they serve.

Dublin All Ireland winner, All Star, and Player of the Year nominee, Brian Fenton, was on-hand to present the recipients with their awards in Croke Park.