Ireland Lights up

The GAA’s popular ‘Ireland Lights Up’ initiative returns in January 2024 in partnership with RTE’s Operation Transformation, Get Ireland Walking and the Irish Life “My Life” app.

What’s involved?

‘Ireland Lights Up’ encourages GAA clubs across the 32 counties to light up and bring communities together to walk and talk in a safe environment during the dark winter evenings. As ever, a club participating in Ireland Lights Up will be showcased each week on RTE’s Operation Transformation.

In 2023, over 1000 GAA clubs signed up for Ireland Lights Up helping tens of thousands of participants improve their physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Clubs also recruited over 29,600 walkers to participate in the ‘Every Steps Counts Challenge’ delivered through the ‘MyLife’ app, in partnership with the Irish Life GAA Healthy Clubs programme. Participants walked over 5,500,000 kms during the five-week challenge.

Registrations for the 2024 ‘Ireland Lights Up’ and ‘Every Step Counts’ MyLife Challenge opens today!

Ireland Lights Up commences on Wednesday, January 10th, to coincide with the broadcast of the second episode of Operation Transformation on RTE. Click on the button below to register your club for Ireland Lights Up and the MyLife Healthy Clubs Steps Challenge:

MyLife Healthy Steps Challenge

MyLife is a personalised health and wellbeing app that inspires people to lead a healthier and more active life. The MyLife app will help you understand more about your health, so you can easily identify ways to improve it.

MyLife makes health measurable with a single real-time scientifically calculated ‘health score’ based on your body, mind and lifestyle. There’s also a highly personalised AI Health Coach to engage with and help keep you motivated.

You can earn points for activities such as answering health assessments in the Wheel of Life, tracking your exercise, getting sufficient sleep and answering the Health Coach’s questions. Irish Life customers with certain eligible plans can use these points in the online Reward Store to claim great rewards.

To find out more about MyLife and download the App, use the following link:

‘Ireland Lights Up’ Additional Info for Clubs:

  • Ireland Lights Up will run from January 10, 2024. Participating clubs are asked to host a community walk for up to 6 weeks, for the duration of the Operation Transformation show. Clubs can determine their own schedule depending on volunteer capacity.

  • Clubs that complete the registration process for Ireland Lights Up and adhere to the necessary criteria will be covered by Get Ireland Walking's insurance for all walk leaders. Irrespective of GAA membership status, leaders and participants are not covered by the GAA Injury Benefit Fund for this initiative.

  • To put an accurate figure on the number of walkers that participate in Ireland Lights Up in 2024, clubs will be asked to report their participant numbers weekly. They will also be considered as host club for the launch of Ireland Lights Up 2025 (which involves a visit from RTE’s Operation Transformation).

  • Please direct any Ireland Lights Up queries to stephen.quinn@gaa.ie

‘Every Step Counts Challenge’ Additional Info for Clubs:

  • The challenge will commence on the MyLife App on January 8th and run for five weeks until midnight on the 12th of February. Participating clubs will be encouraged to register as many interested club and community members on the App in advance of this. (Any club that registered in 2023 will be auto-enrolled again this year. If already on the MyLife App from previous Steps Challenges, individuals will have to register for the new 2024 challenge on the App).

  • MyLife allows participants and clubs to track their participation in the challenge through regional and national league tables while also measuring the positive impact on their health and wellbeing.

  • As ever clubs will be in with a chance to win cash prizes for their club by participating in Every Step Counts challenge.

  • All GAA clubs can get involved in the Steps Challenge (irrespective of having a walking track facility) and are automatically registered when they register for ‘Ireland Lights Up’. Participation in the challenge is, of course, at a club’s discretion.

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