A GAELIC FOOTBALL enthusiast from Barry who has been giving children at Romilly Primary School introductory lessons to the game is calling on parents and teachers in the area to help him create an inter-schools competition in time for the start of the new academic year in September.
A group of 15 children aged between nine and 11 have been enjoying taster sessions every Wednesday for five weeks given by Matt Hutchinson, 46, who left his home city of Cardiff in 1999 and spent the following two decades working in other parts of Britain and around the world, including spells in London, Portugal, Italy and the Middle East, which is where he found a love for Gaelic football.
Matt’s interest in the sport grew while he was working in Ras Al-Khaimah, about 50 miles north of Dubai, where he played for a local team: “Gaelic football is massive out there – people are surprised when I tell them just how many people play the game. It really does have a strong following.
“There are teams in all the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – it became a big part of my life, and it’s something I’m keen to share with others now I’m back home in Wales,” he said.
Matt’s passion is shared by his 14-year-old son Finn, who also played the sport in Ras Al-Khaimah and now attends St Richard Gwyn RC High School in Barry.
The game is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the other team’s goals (3 points) or between two upright posts over a crossbar above the goals (1 point).
Players advance the football up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands).
Gaelic football is played across Britain and is popular among the Irish community, though its appeal, along with that of hurling, broadened with the help of regular TV coverage of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) on Channel 4 in the 1980s and early 1990s. Nowadays, live matches are shown on the BBC iPlayer.
Since settling in Barry in summer 2021, Matt has trained every Saturday with the St Colmcilles in Pontcanna, who have been active since 1956 and are popular among the Irish student community. He is also now the Youth Officer for the club.
Matt’s wife Emma is a teacher at Romilly Primary, and he decided that would be a good place to test the level of enthusiasm among local children. He said: “We ran taster sessions every Wednesday after school for five weeks, with the help of my wife Emma and another teacher, Dawn Dobbs.
“The sessions were consistently well-attended by 15 children, I was delighted with how quickly they took to the game and the way they kept coming back, so I plan on running another five-week block during the summer term.”
With so many children at Romilly Primary showing an interest in Gaelic football, Matt is now calling on other schools in the area to contact him to help put a coaching structure in place and to create an inter-schools tournament during the new academic year which begins in September: “It’s amazing to see the children at Romilly Primary having so much fun and developing their skills, but I’d love to take things further so that Barry becomes a hotbed of Gaelic football.
“The game is administered across the region by the Gloucestershire GAA, we’re a community and we have a network of contacts and coaches who can go into the schools and turn this into a reality.
“They believe that the best time to introduce children to Gaelic football is when they’re between the ages of nine and 11, so I’d ask the parents and teachers at primary schools in Barry and the surrounding areas to make themselves known to me.
Parents and teachers can contact Matt by phoning: 07933 727026, by emailing , or by visiting the LinkedIn page here.
- Pencoed tangled up by ‘Seaweeds’
- Pencoed RFC survive fightback for home win
- Barry RFC are on song against Pentyrch
- Penarth are stunned by visitors’ 5-0 win
- Penalty shoot out leads to Cup exit for Airport
- Ring rusty Barry RFC make a promising start
⭐ All of our social media in one handy place – here
Pencoed tangled up by ‘Seaweeds’
Primary school’s former deputy head is banned from teaching
I make no apologies for calling Plaid Cymru ‘separatists’
‘The importance of participation and continued learning’
Opposition leaders clash with First Minister over independence rally
How Kevin saved a stranger’s life
