Three young brothers dream of playing for Dublin and Limerick 

Annual GAA Cúl Camps close to their grandparents' home in Co Limerick lead to the football-playing Dubs developing an interest in hurling

Murrough, Culann and Fionn Trimble who are attending Cúl Camps in Oola, Limerick

Hilary Bourke’s three sons are Dubs through and through, but the only place they want to do Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps is in Oola, Co Limerick, near where their grandparents live.

Fionn, 12, Culann, nine, and Murrough, eight, play with their local GAA club, Clontarf, in Dublin. Their dream is to play football for Dublin and hurling for Limerick. “That’s what Cúl Camps has done for them,” says Hilary, explaining that the camp they do in Oola concentrates only on hurling.

The mum of three can’t recall exactly when her sons started doing GAA Cúl Camps – the excitement around the camps seems to have been forever an integral part of the family’s summer. “It’s a given that they do Cúl Camps every year.”

The excitement starts in their Dublin home as soon as the new kit arrives and it goes on until the final day of the camps when a Limerick hurler comes along and signs their kit. “One of the best things is the friends the boys have made. Every summer they want to go to Oola to meet the friends they’ve got to know there over the years,” says Hilary, whose dad, James, has a county medal with Oola from the 1960s, while her mum, Anne, has a Munster club camogie medal. Adding to her sons’ GAA lineage is their paternal grandfather who played for Roscommon in the late ‘50s.

Hilary likes the ‘local heroes’ aspect of Cúl Camps – her boys know well the shop in Oola that’s run by Limerick mid-fielder Darragh O’Donovan’s parents. “They’re able to say ‘oh, I know somebody who’s done it [achieved on the playing field], so it’s attainable for me’.”

Offering children a healthy, fun and safe summer outdoor activity, the 2021 camps kicked off at the end of June and will continue until the end of August. Over 130,000 six to 13-year-olds are expected to attend across 1,242 camps the length and breadth of the country. The camps are run by qualified coaches and open to all children with and without Gaelic games experience.

Meanwhile, Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps has returned on TG4 for a second season after last year’s hugely successful run. The six-week series continues on Mondays (7.30pm) up to August 2 – it’s also available on the TG4 player TG4.ie.

The series includes skills, drills and segments from GAA experts including All-Ireland winning Dublin Ladies Football star Sinéad Aherne, Cork Camogie champion Linda Collins, Waterford hurler Tadhg de Búrca, and Tipperary’s Séamus Kennedy along with Galway footballer Paul Conroy and Donegal’s Ryan McHugh.

More details 

• Since 2006, 1,460,829 children have participated in GAA’s Cúl camps.
• Last year’s camps proved a great success, providing a welcome diversion from Covid-19 restrictions for more than 70,000 children.
• 2021 marks the 10th year of Kellogg’s sponsorship and the return of its on-pack competition, offering clubs the chance to win prizes worth €25,000, €10,000 or €5,000.
• More than 100,000 children are already booked into this year’s Cúl Camps but there’s still some availability of places - check out your local camp.