The day started off with kayaking in Downings Bay and then talking with the owner of the adventure sports company about his business. He discussed how his business started off small but eventually grew larger to the size it is today by changing how and what he was offering to best suit his clientele. He also talked about how getting more certifications in different areas grew his business because it allowed him to do more activities as well as train others. Once we finished kayaking I got a quick coffee to warm up and then we headed into Carrigart for some free time exploring.

While exploring Carrigart, we went to the gift shop and then walked around til lunch at the hotel. After lunch, we had a long talk about how sports are run in Ireland and about different GAA clubs. A GAA club is a local, community-based sports organization in Ireland that is the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). These clubs are at the heart of their communities, not just as places for sports, but as cultural hubs that promote Irish identity, language, and heritage. The main sports they organize and play are Gaelic football and hurling, along with their female equivalents, Ladies’ Gaelic football and camogie. All GAA clubs are run on a completely amateur basis, meaning players and coaches are unpaid volunteers. This strong volunteer ethos is what makes the GAA so central to Irish life, with clubs providing a place for people of all ages to play, coach, and support their local teams. We also learned that some of these final match games get thousands of people in attendance to watch yet the athletes are still only amateurs and do not get paid which is a different from in the U.S. because ameture sports do not get a lot of attendance. After the sports talked we worked at the co-work space and then finished with a farewell dinner since tomorrow is the last day here.

A single activity, whether it’s a kayaking trip in Downings Bay or a local GAA club match in Carrigart, creates an economic ripple effect by circulating money throughout the local community. For instance, the money spent on a kayaking tour doesn’t just go to the operator; it’s used to pay employees who then spend their wages at local shops and restaurants. Similarly, a local GAA club generates revenue through fundraising and sponsorship from local businesses. When matches are held, spectators spend money on everything from petrol and food to merchandise, benefiting not only the club but also nearby pubs and shops. This spending creates a ripple effect, as the money spent at one business becomes income for another, strengthening the entire local economy.

The key difference in both lies in their economic models. Kayaking operates on a for-profit, tourism-driven model while a local GAA club functions as a community-based, non-profit organization. The kayaking business generates income primarily from tourists paying for a service, with profits going to the business owner and employees even if the business owner is investing the profit back into the company like the kayaking companies owner is doing. This model directly injects money from outside the community into the local economy. In contrast, the GAA club’s economic model is circular and self-sustaining within the community, relying on fundraising, membership fees, and local sponsorship. While it also brings in money from spectators, its primary goal is to provide a social and sporting outlet, with any surplus funds reinvested into the club’s facilities and activities. Both are vital to the local economy with the kayaking business diversifying the economy by attracting external revenue, to the GAA club strengthening the internal economy by circulating money and fostering community cohesion. All in all the things we did today make for an enjoyable last day of exploring in Ireland before heading back to the states.