Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join in the words of welcome to the uachtarán and the ard stiúrthóir. In particular, I congratulate Mr. Liam O'Neill on a wonderful presidency and the very fine contribution he has made to the organisation during his presidency. The presentation highlighted an amazing success story, namely, the fact the GAA, an amateur organisation, has managed to spread the organisation throughout the world in a relatively short time to a situation where it now has more than 400 clubs overseas. I can certainly confirm that the organisation in Milwaukee is particularly strong. I had the pleasure of being part of a Galway delegation there some years ago and of putting on the jersey and playing against a team there. As was rightly said, it is mainly Americans who are playing the game there.

I very much welcome the fact a very strong relationship has developed between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the GAA which has the potential to forge very strong business and commercial links between Ireland and our diaspora. What is particularly wonderful about the strength of the GAA abroad is the connectivity it provides between people who are living and working abroad and keeping them in touch with what is happening.

We talked here previously about having a formalised system where we could permanently keep in touch with our diaspora through a dedicated website or whatever. The GAA should be central to any plans we have to strengthen the links and to keep in regular contact with the diaspora. I wish the GAA continued success in its endeavours. I look forward to seeing the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade forging stronger links with the organisation and seeing the GAA continuing to grow in every corner of the world.