Las Arpas (The Harps) Paraguay GAA is Paraguay’s first and only Gaelic football club. This weekend, the team marked a major milestone with the visit of Roger Keenan, a coach from Ulster GAA. He travelled from Ireland to support the Parguayan club’s development. Ulster GAA is the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the provincial governing body for Gaelic games in the province of Ulster in Ireland: the birthplace, heart, and sole homeland of Gaelic football.
Although the sport is still uncommon in Paraguay and across South America, this small and determined community is working to change that.
Keenan’s arrival was made possible through a joint effort involving the club and the Irish Consulate in Paraguay.
The Irish Embassy in Argentina and World GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) also played key roles in making it happen. For Las Arpas, the visit represents a crucial step in preparing coaching staff under official GAA guidelines, and strengthening the sport’s long-term prospects across the country.
“The enthusiasm is amazing”
Photo: Zyro Honty
When asked about the biggest difference he noticed while coaching in Paraguay, Keenan said he immediately observed a contrast between the Paraguay GAA players, and those in Ireland.
“Back home, players usually start when they are very little. Here, many are picking up the sport in mid-adulthood, but they appreciate it even more. It takes a bit longer for tactical skills to develop, but their enthusiasm makes up for all of that.”
Keenan added that Paraguayan athletes impressed him from the start.
“Their passion. They are so passionate, want to get better, and they are very competitive.”
The essentials of Gaelic Football
During his workshops, Keenan focused on the fundamentals of Gaelic football, emphasising repetition and technique.
“The tactical skills, the pick-up, the crouch-lift, the catch, the kicking, the hand-passing; all the basic skills repeated time and time again until they become automatic. So, at the beginning, it is a bit difficult, stop-start, but once you get better at them, it becomes very fluid.”
Gaelic football itself is a hybrid sport, combining elements of football, rugby, basketball, and even volleyball. Players kick and carry the ball, can score either by sending the ball into the net (worth 3 points) or between the two posts over the bar (worth 1 point). The players must constantly balance speed, technique, and spatial awareness. For beginners coming from other sports, the combination feels familiar yet new, which is why mastering the fundamental techniques becomes essential before the game can flow naturally.
Catching up to the region
Latin America now has around seven Gaelic football clubs, with some, particularly in Buenos Aires, being established for several years. Paraguay is still new to the scene, but Keenan sees remarkable progress.
“They have only been going, eight or nine months, and they played in a competition last week in Buenos Aires. So, they have made up a lot of time in a very short period of time.”
Las Arpas recently competed in the Almirante Brown Cup in Argentina and secured an impressive third place in their international debut. This result was huge for Gaelic Football In Paraguay, and shows how quickly the team is advancing within the region.
A touch of Ireland in South America
Keenan admits that seeing Gaelic football so far from home has been an emotional experience.
“It really breaks my heart to see how interested they are, how good they are. To come the whole way to Latin America, to South America, and see GAA and enthusiasm, I am so humbled. I just cannot believe how they are doing this with so little resources, but so much passion.”
For Las Arpas, Keenan’s visit is more than a training opportunity. Keenan’s addition is a symbol of how far the club has come in under a year. With growing interest, supportive families, and partnerships abroad, the foundations for Gaelic Football In Paraguay are being laid with dedication and heart.
As the sport continues to spread across the region, Paraguay’s young team hopes to soon join international competitions. Representing not only their country, but a new chapter in Gaelic football’s expanding global story.
Interested in joining a freely available trainings session? Find Las Arpas on Instagram. The club is looking for both male, and female players.
