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Dublin GAA is more than just a sports organisation; it's a core part of the Dublin identity, encompassing the passion and dedication of Men’s Football, Ladies Football, Camogie and Hurling.
But until recently, their digital presence was fragmented, with separate websites for each code. As a Dublin-based agency passionate about UX and web development, we were thrilled to partner with Dublin GAA on an ambitious project: to create a single, unified digital platform – a first of its kind in Ireland.
The goal? To build a cohesive online home that strengthens the Dublin GAA brand, streamlines communication and delivers an exceptional experience for fans, players, coaches and administrators alike.
The Challenge - What Needed Fixing?
The primary challenge was clear: consolidate four distinct websites into one seamless experience. This fragmentation meant fans often had to navigate multiple platforms to follow their favourite teams, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
Beyond unification, Dublin GAA needed greater control over its brand identity across all codes. Furthermore, the existing setups hampered publishing agility – getting news, fixtures and resources online quickly was a cumbersome process. Performance, security and scalability were also key concerns for an organisation with such a large and growing online audience.
We also needed to solve the tricky puzzle of maintaining brand consistency while empowering various teams and contributors to update content dynamically and efficiently, reducing reliance on developers for everyday tasks.
The Solution - Our Approach & Expertise
Our team dove headfirst into understanding the needs of Dublin GAA and its diverse audience. The key lay in smart UX design and robust development. We explored and user-tested various navigation structures and sitemaps to find the most intuitive way for users to interact with content from all four codes.
The winning solution involved creating dedicated 'mini-sections' within the main website for Men’s Football, Ladies Football, Camogie and Hurling.
Each sport gets its own clearly defined space, accessible via the main navigation, offering tailored news, fixtures and team info. This provides a personalised feel while maintaining a consistent overall design and user journey – a unified experience, delivered seamlessly.
To tackle the content agility challenge, we implemented a flexible, component-based design system. This empowers Dublin GAA's internal teams to build dynamic pages and update content swiftly without needing developer intervention or compromising design integrity. We also introduced content scheduling features, streamlining their communications workflow.
Spotlight on Video & Content
Recognising the power of visual storytelling in sport, video integration was central to the project. We designed dedicated video blocks that can be flexibly placed throughout the site, allowing Dublin GAA to showcase highlights, interviews and features prominently.
Crucially, the site integrates directly with Dublin GAA’s YouTube channel, automatically pulling in the latest videos. This keeps content fresh and engaging with minimal manual effort, ensuring fans never miss the action. While existing news archives were carefully migrated, this new automated video pipeline is a game-changer for their content strategy.
Key Features We're Excited About
We're incredibly proud of the final result, but a few features really stand out:
The Combined News & Video Wall: A central hub bringing together the latest updates and video highlights from all codes in one dynamic feed. Staying informed across the entire Dublin GAA family has never been easier.
Dedicated Sport Mini-Sections: Giving each code its own tailored area within the site provides fans with a focused experience specific to their interests, while still being part of the unified platform.
Detailed Player Pages: Fans can now connect more deeply with their heroes through dedicated player profiles featuring stats, bios and more – adding a rich layer of engagement.
The Impact - A Win for Dublin GAA
The new Dublin GAA website successfully unites each code under one digital roof, presenting a strong, cohesive brand identity. It delivers a vastly improved, faster and more secure user experience for everyone – from parents checking fixtures to dedicated fans following every match and coaches accessing resources.
Most importantly, it empowers the Dublin GAA team with the agility and control needed to manage their communications effectively and efficiently, setting them up for future growth.
We loved collaborating with Dublin GAA on this landmark project, leveraging our expertise in web design, development and digital strategy to create a platform worthy of the sky-blue jersey. It’s a testament to what can be achieved when clear goals meet smart design and technology.
Check out the new Dublin GAA website here.
Thinking about elevating your own digital presence? Book a 15-minute call today to discuss how we can help!
