Leinster population trends ‘big challenge’

POPULATION trends in Leinster represent a major challenge for the GAA in the province. That’s according to Council Secretary Michael Delaney after a report they commissioned on the changing demographics on their 12 counties and the clubs in the 15 local authority regions.

“This report was recently placed before our county officers and its findings are fascinating,” Delaney said, “One statistic alone stands out — the population bulge in the 0-9 years age group. There are more than 312,000 in this group in Leinster alone.

“It is everywhere, both urban and rural, but mostly concentrated in the environs of the large provincial towns.’’