13/12/2025
โ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐. ๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐'๐จ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐, ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐'๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐จ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐โฆ.โ (๐๐ช๐๐ ๐พ๐ช๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ข)
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ต๐ฎ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฆ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ผ, ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ.
Hugh has had a long career โ initially as a professional footballer, then in teaching and community work in England before moving to Sligo and where he coached at Kilglass Enniscrone United FC for 18 years.
Now aged 78, Hugh continues his work with the club with a focus on bringing Walking Football to his community. He discovered the sport after searching online for ideas to help him recover from a serious health issue โ from that moment on he has been heavily involved in developing the sport in his locality, including coaching a variety of groups for both women and men in his area.
Through Age & Opportunityโs Active National Grant Scheme, he secured funding to buy appropriate equipment and organise a Walking Football Blitz. On a sunny day last July, teams from Sligo, Leitrim and Mayo enjoyed an afternoon of friendly competition and craic, all cheered on by the locals. Players of all genders aged from 55 to 75 took part, and local volunteers helped to make sandwiches and serve refreshments for participants on the day.
Hugh says: โThe objective was to get as many older people involved as possible and we achieved thatโฆ What is often overlooked, I think, is that when older people play sport/Walking Football they are often watched by older people- and even if just one is motivated to join in next time then it has been a worthwhile experience. I think getting people together just to enjoy thingsโฆ..to have a bit of fun and have a cup of tea and a biscuit - it solves a lot of problems.โ
More recently, Hugh worked as a volunteer at our Walking Football as Medicine pilot in Dublin. This initiative is designed specifically for adults living with chronic conditions or impairments and was developed by Age & Opportunity with the support of Parkinson's Ireland, Arthritis Ireland and Irish Heart Foundation.
To find out more about Walking Football and other Age & Opportunityโs initiatives and how you can get involved, visit www.ageandopportunity.ie
Kilglass Enniscrone United Football Club Sport Ireland HSE Ireland Irish Men's Sheds Association Age Friendly Ireland Active Retirement Ireland
