‘GAA was what brought us together’

The plans were made ages ago, the flights booked and now a group of GAA people from Meath are in the Philippines over the Easter holidays. Their aim in the coming days and weeks is to build a school in a community where the people are noted for their warmth and welcome but where poverty is rife.

The group includes a plethora of GAA players who play or played hurling for Kildalkey and football for Ballivor - David Connelly, Padraig Geoghegan, Mark Healy, Eoin Potterton and Sean Corrigan.

Also among the travelling party will be Laura Dempsey who played underage football for Meath and won an All-Ireland medal at u-16 level.

They will be joined by chief organiser Tony Hannon and his daughters Alannah Hannon and Kealey Hannon from Boardsmill. The 10th person involved is Richard Hogan. He's a psychotherapist who lectures in DCU. He's also the founder of the registered charity 'Embrace Badjao' and lives in Dublin.

The GAA is fully behind the project and to openly demonstrate that support and goodwill the Association's president, Larry McCarthy, met up with the travelling party in Croke Park at HQ. The group are planning to travel to Davao, Philippines over Easter and start work on the construction of the school for the Badjao people.

The school will double as a medical centre and meeting space - and the skills set of the volunteers is crucial to the success of the project. The group of 10 volunteers are a mixture of builders, educators and business people. They will be joined in Davao by locals and all will join in building the school as well as providing teaching services.

The origins of the project goes back a few years. "Myself and daughter Alannah had done some volunteer work with this tribe in 2019. Talking afterwards to other people we agreed it was all very good but there was nothing left behind for the Badjao to work on, to build on other than the friendship we had built up with them," explained Tony Hannon who is deeply involved in organising the trip.

Originally from county Cork he married Julie Kealey from Kildalkey (sister of Sean Kealey who was an accomplished hurler with Meath and Kildalkey). Tony and Julie settled in Boardsmill where they have raised their three daughters - Alannah, Kealey and Toni.

A retired teacher Tony Hannon has sought to do his bit for the local GAA by filling a number of roles including that of selector. In recent times he has also sought to do what he can for the Badjao people. Word of the project to build the school spread - and there were those only too willing to help out.

While Hannon learned a great deal about the Badjao people on that trip in 2019 he feels it's important that any charitable work should leave a lasting legacy. "They are lovely peaceful people but they have very little education or educational facilities and education is the pathway out of the poverty they live in," he added.

While endlessly cheerful the Badjao live in conditions that are often without basic sanitation, running water or electricity. Many children in Badjao society die from curable diseases. Many also go through life without any formal education and therefore struggle to find employment to feed their families.

The volunteers from Meath will carry out their work in building the school under the umbrella of the 'Embrace Badjao' charity. "The idea was that I would put a group together with different skills, young people with their drive, energy and expertise," explained Tony Hannon.

"Many of those who make up the group are from Kildalkey and the lads from the club who are travelling have, between them, 15 senior county medals. My role is as the organiser but their contribution is their willingness to give up their holidays, to fund-raise which has been remarkable journey in itself.

"Initially our target was €25,000 and we have raised €34,000. That is 40 per cent more than we targeted and I must say the community of Kildalkey, particularly the GAA, have been amazing. Even managers of teams have told their players, look, there's a fundraiser in the Village Inn tonight make sure you support it or a golf classic let's make sure we're all there. It's an amazing way the community have got behind the lads and the girls who are going to the Philippines."

The GAA President, added Tony Hannon, "got wind" of the Badjao project and he wanted to lend his support. McCarthy was, no doubt, impressed by the commitment of the footballers and hurlers from Kildalkey and Balliavor. "The GAA was what brought us together," added Tony Hannon. "We have already sent funds to the Philippines and they have put in foundations for the school. In our group we have four carpenters and what we are doing then is building on those foundations putting in the timber-framed school."

Those involved in setting up the Gaelic Athletic Association in Hayes' Hotel all those years ago could never have imagined the influence the old organisition would have such a long way from the shores of Ireland.