Counterfeit Hurling & Camogie helmets are dangerous, warn CCPC and GAA:

Counterfeit Hurling & Camogie helmets are dangerous, warn CCPC and GAA:

· Fake branded helmets place style over safety

· Risk of serious injury to face, head, and eyes

· Product safety inspections found poor quality helmets with protruding screws, sharp edges

The CCPC is issuing an urgent warning to Hurling and Camogie players to cease use of all ‘Gola’ branded helmets immediately.

Often sold via online marketplaces and social media and generally purchased for style reasons, the helmets do not meet basic PPE standards and will not protect the wearer from injury.

The company Gola does not make helmets and does not licence the Gola brand to any other company to make helmets; however, counterfeit ‘Gola’ branding has been added to batches of sub-standard, retro-styled helmets which do not meet safety requirements.

CCPC Member Patrick Kenny said: “Do not purchase one of these helmets for yourself or anyone else this Christmas. Our product safety officers are working to remove these dangerous helmets from the Irish market. If you currently use one of these helmets, stop using it and buy a standard, CE-marked helmet from a reputable retailer instead.”

Counterfeit ‘Gola’ branding has been added to batches of sub-standard, retro-styled helmets which do not meet safety requirements.

Chairperson of the Gaelic Games Helmet Work Group, Jim Bolger, said: “Purchasing and using a compliant helmet system (helmet complete with faceguard added at the point of manufacture, thus making it an item of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE) which meets the NSAI standard, IS:355, is of the utmost importance in terms of ensuring player safety and welfare in Hurling and Camogie at all levels. It is worth noting that if a helmet system is purchased when incomplete (i.e., without a compatible faceguard) it cannot be considered an item of PPE.”

“In particular, we are concerned about juvenile players using these helmets and encourage parents and players to only buy helmets from reputable sources.”

As the ‘Gola’ brand added to these helmets is counterfeit, it is highly likely that any CE mark on the helmets is also counterfeit. Hurling and Camogie helmets must have a CE mark to show that the helmet meets the required health and safety standards.

The helmets bearing the counterfeit ‘Gola’ brand are also manufactured without faceguards. In order to meet health and safety standards, faceguards must be added at the point of manufacture and not afterwards.