Liam Horan has been on about a new initiative he’s heavily involved in, which is the launch of a new magazine by the GAA’s Connacht Council entitled, appropriately enough, Into the West.  Liam is editor of this new publication and it was officially launched this week with a remit to focus on GAA news and events within the province.  Opposite is the front cover of the launch issue and, before you go scuttling off for a magnifying glass to peruse the details a bit closer, I can tell you that as well as the cover-page feature on Portumna’s All-Ireland club hopes, it also includes articles on the Connacht Colleges football and hurling championships, the ongoing McHale Park redevelopment and more.

Into the West is a 52-page magazine and it’s going to appear every quarter.  I understand the intention is that copies of the publication will get to every single club within the province  and that the plan is that it’ll be distributed in print format to GAA club officers around the province who, in turn, will pass it onto club members.  So if you’re a club member, you should be able to get your hands on a printed copy every quarter (I did say it’s free didn’t I? No, I didn’t – well, it is).  If you’re not, or if you’re just into the concept of the paperless office, an electronic version of the magazine will also be available (again, free of charge) by simply emailing a request for a copy to magazine@connachtgaa.ie.

The next edition of the quarterly magazine will come out on June 1st,  which means that May 15th will be the closing date for articles, photographs, comments and contributions.  All items for inclusion should be be emailed to Liam at magazine@connachtgaa.ie and he’ll take it from there.

The GAA is keen that its units throughout the province make use of the magazine to publicise events of interest and it’s obvious why they would want this to happen.  The magazine sounds like an excellent vehicle for the GAA to spread the word about issues of interest amongst its own constituency within the province as well as to those not affiliated to the GAA but who are still interested in what’s happening.  Well done all round on what appears to be an excellent initiative and here’s hoping that it’ll be around as a point of reference for GAA happenings within the province over the long haul.