‘Ireland Lights Up’, the popular walking initiative, is returning in January 2021 in partnership with the GAA, Operation Transformation and Get Ireland Walking.
For a fourth year, clubs across the 32 counties are being encouraged to turn on their floodlights to provide for community members a safe walking environment during the dark winter evenings.
As ever, Operation Transformation, which returns to our screens each Wednesday from January 6 to February 24, will shine a light on Ireland Lights Up by showcasing participation clubs each week of the hit RTÉ show.
Ireland Lights Up will take on an additional significance in 2021 as people have increasingly turned to walking to support their health and wellbeing since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While organisers can’t predict the level of Covid-19 restrictions they will face in the new year, Ireland Lights Up and the clubs involved will take every due diligence to ensure those who want to enjoy a walk at their local GAA grounds can do so safely and within recommended public health guidelines.
These measures ensure:
• Registration process with Get Ireland Walking to track all club and participant involvement
• A new club ‘MyLife Steps Challenge’ with Irish Life, CSR partners of the GAA Healthy Club Project, to ensure ‘Every Step Counts’
• Once-off grant for clubs to support the cost of delivering Ireland Lights Up
GAA President John Horan said: “GAA volunteers have gone above and beyond when supporting their communities during this pandemic and I have no doubt our clubs will once again support this great walking initiative come the new year.
“Club walking tracks remained open during the second lockdown period and thousands of community members have benefitted from accessing them.
“Ireland Lights Up isn’t about maximising numbers this time around, it’s about providing community members, particularly those most vulnerable to Covid-19, with a safe place to enjoy some outdoor exercise while adhering to the public health guidelines.”
To register your club and review the full Terms & Conditions of participation, click here.
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