Our work
Good Grief in Sports
As part of our 2027–2031 strategy, we are developing Good Grief in Sports - our plan for grief-aware sporting communities across Northern Ireland, where bereavement is understood and supported.
Why sport matters
Sport provides identity, belonging and connection
For many people across Northern Ireland, a club is far more than somewhere to train and play - it is a community that players, volunteers and whole families belong to. Following a bereavement, that community matters: clubs can play an important role in supporting the people around them through loss.
Good Grief in Sports aims to help clubs meet that moment with understanding. Like all of our work, it is grounded in Continuing Bonds Theory - the understanding that love, memory and connection continue after death.
Our long-term aim is to establish sport as a safe and supportive environment where conversations about grief are welcomed and support is available.
Status: Planned
Phase One - Gaels with Grief (2027–2028)
Gaels with Grief is Phase One of Good Grief in Sports, planned for 2027–2028. We aim to work with GAA clubs to develop bereavement-awareness resources, coach guidance, memorial initiatives, support pathways for bereaved members and community engagement programmes.
As the programme develops, we aim to build relationships with potential partners including Ulster GAA, County Boards, the Healthy Club Programme and local clubs. These are ambitions we are working towards - not yet established partnerships.
Phase One focus
What we aim to develop with GAA clubs
Working with GAA clubs, we aim to develop five connected strands of support.
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Bereavement-awareness resources
Practical, grief-informed resources to help clubs understand bereavement and respond with compassion.
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Coach guidance
Guidance to help coaches feel confident supporting bereaved players, volunteers and families.
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Memorial initiatives
Meaningful ways for clubs to remember members who have died and honour their place in club life.
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Support pathways for bereaved members
Clear routes to support, so no bereaved member of a club community has to work out where to turn alone.
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Community engagement programmes
Programmes that help the wider club community understand grief and welcome conversations about it.
Status: Our ambition
Phase Two - expanding across sport (2029–2030)
Our ambition for 2029–2030 is to expand the Good Grief in Sports model into football, rugby, hockey, athletics, boxing, swimming and cricket - so that, over time, sport across Northern Ireland becomes a safe and supportive environment where conversations about grief are welcomed and support is available.
Get involved
Help us shape Gaels with Grief
Gaels with Grief is still taking shape, and we want to build it with the people who know club life best. If your club would like to hear more as the programme develops - in Gaelic games or any other sport - we would be glad to hear from you.