Inspired by a passionate plea from young Ugandan students for hurling and Gaelic football equipment, Newpark Hotel Kilkenny launched a charity appeal to build a GAA pitch and clubhouse in Uganda. The hotel also sponsored CBE employee and Kilkenny GAA legend Aidan Fogarty to fly to Uganda for the first All-Uganda Championship this month and to provide several skills and training sessions while there. 

The Newpark Hotel Kilkenny to Kampala fundraiser aims to raise at least €20,000 to ensure that Uganda GAA can continue to provide equipment and dinner for each child after training, with proceeds also going towards securing final payment for 3 acres of land for a GAA training pitch and clubhouse on the outskirts of Kampala.

Upon completion, the pitch will hold two records before a ball is kicked; it will be the first full-size GAA pitch on the African continent and the highest altitude GAA pitch in the world, constructed on the banks of Lake Victoria. The club’s long-term goal is to incorporate the great community spirit that runs through every GAA club, thereby establishing a sustainable Ugandan GAA Club that will nurture a love of Gaelic games and provide a safe and healthy environment for thousands of Ugandan children long into the future. A significant part of the clubhouse will be a kitchen where meals will be cooked for every training session, thereby taking pressure from parents who struggle to meet school fees and putting food on the table by allowing their children time to be a child and have fun playing sports.