“Sport has the power the change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite.” Nelson Mandela
Harmony with Nature
Welcome to Raise the Ash, a collaboration project that interweaves the threads of music, songwriting, cinematograpahy, poetry, photography, culture, and film to uplift the role our local Irish sporting GAA communities are playing in long term sustainability – through the restoration of reciprocity in our relationship with Nature.
I’m deeply thankful for all the inspiring collaborations that continue to emerge through the song Raise the Ash and the poem Caoimhe’s Mindful Pause. This project is aligned with the United Nations Resolution of ‘Harmony with Nature.’
Raise The Ash – an Irish folk song uplifting the ancient bond between people, land, and culture, while encouraging the role our Irish sporting gaelic games community are playing in long term sustainability through the renewal of reciprocity and harmony in our relationship with Nature.
Here in Ireland, we come from a people who have long shared a love for the land and for the unique expressions of culture that have been kept alive here for centuries.
One such expression of our culture is the Ash – the wooden stick we use to play our native Irish sporting games of hurling and camogie.
Ash is an endangered species globally, and now, all around the country our local GAA people and communities are rising to the call. We are uniting to live our ecological responsibility – our ancient trust (and adventure!) – as guardians of the Earth, for the benefit of Nature, our children, grandchildren, and future generations.
This is not just a song – it is an invitation. Raise the Ash is an offering of appreciation for Ash – known to our ancestors as a “Noble of the Wood”. It is an invitation to unite our hearts together to restore reciprocity in our relationship with Nature and plant native trees annually in thanks and in return for our hurleys.
Ar scáth a cheile a mhaireann na daoine agus an domhain. We and the living Earth live in each others shelter.
Coming soon Free Trees Information for GAA Clubs
Poem: Caoimhe’s Mindful Pause
In 2021 I wrote Caoimhe’s Mindful Pause, and shared it along with presentation slides to our leaders in the GAA headquarters in Dublin, as a creative proposal to present my vision for a tree planting project centred on peacemaking, culture regeneration, and climate action. I extended an invitation for our GAA leaders to join me in bringing this vision to life together.
I’m very grateful to have been granted an opportunity to collaborate voluntarily with the GAA’s brilliant Green Clubs Programme, which successfully secured funding from the Irish Department of Agriculture Food and Marine for the planting of 10,000 native trees that I proposed from the outset we apply for to support the initiative.
It was an honour to introduce two peacemaking initiatives into the Green Clubs Programme’s wider 100,000 native tree planting and growing projects, in a way that aligned with the United Nations’ Resolution of “Harmony with Nature.”
I had the privilege of guiding us to offer our first ever one-minute silence in respect and appreciation for Ash Tree at Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence – offering our appreciation for the living Earth not as a resource, but as a living presence amoungst us generously gifting us with land and hurleys to play our native gaelic games.
Later, at Kerry GAA Centre, I was honoured to be given the opportunity to offer the 100,000 native trees our communities had been planting as a gift of relationship repair to restore our relationship with the Earth and restore balance for the trees we harvest to make our hurleys annually for generations.
I am thankful to everyone involved in helping to bring this vision to fruition. All the many pioneering initiatives that are led by GAA Green Clubs Programme, and the many voluntary projects our community members volunteer in – show that grassroots care can become cultural leadership.
I believe our participating local GAA communities are a shining example of the role sport can play in service to climate action and a more sustainable future for the Earth and future generations.