UCFB student Conor Martin completed a special experience shadowing journalist Cóilín Duffy in Dublin, covering Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) sports over five action-packed days.
First year Sports Business & Sports Broadcasting student at UCFB Wembley, Conor Martin grabbed the opportunity to shadow Cóilín Duffy, a well-known freelance Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) journalist who works for television broadcaster RTÉ and other local radio stations.
Conor was contacted by Cóilín directly after he had seen the UCFB student’s GAA blog that he had done as part of his UCFB coursework. After meeting in London, Cóilín offered Conor the opportunity to shadow him for five days in Dublin covering a number of GAA events.
Once in Dublin, Conor followed Cóilín closely as he reported on Gaelic football, Ladies’ Gaelic football, hurling and camogie games. In between attending games, Conor rubbed shoulders in the press lounge with other well-known journalists and reporters of the GAA games. Conor also had the opportunity to be present at the RTÉ studios as well as his hometown radio station, FM 104, to not only see how sports are reported on, but also gain a first-hand behind the scenes experience of how the stations are run.
For Conor, a passionate GAA fan, the ability to gain a unique first-hand perspective at these events was a truly memorable experience:
“Growing up, GAA and Ireland have always had a major influence on my life. When I came to UCFB I took the first steps to start a career featuring both passions. I am grateful for the experience I have gained as it is highly beneficial towards my activities outside of my time at UCFB. In my free time, when I’m not playing GAA myself, I write pieces for The Irish Post covering Gaelic football and hurling.”
“Overall I feel the experience has helped boost my writing ability even further and has made me realise that I want to pursue a career path in journalism after I graduate from UCFB. I look forward to heading back to Dublin soon.”
