Our code officers Sylvia McCarthy (Camogie), Jane Brennan (Ladies Football)
and Colin Byrne (Mens Football), and coach Martin Crowley (Hurling) gave us
their perspective on Belgium GAA in 2010.
Camogie
The leaps and bounds covered by Belgium GAA camogie are due in no small
part to huge club support, quality coaching, and the admirable team that
developed in 2010. At the start of the year, many players had to learn the
basics of the game, but effort and enthusiasm resulted in marked
improvements from tournament to tournament. Our challenges included
training in the treacherous Parc 50e, disastrous injuries and epic train
journeys, but in the end, Belgium camogie came out on top. Our first ever tournament win (at home in
June) gave us a glimpse of the future, and the future was ours. This was emphasised by another cup in
Zurich, two Players of the
Tournament (Niamh and
Ciara), and our first ever
European Championship win.
This success, in addition to
the love that everyone has
for the game, has brought
camogie into the limelight of
Belgium GAA and gained us
some hard-earned respect.
There is no doubt that 2011
will be just as exciting.
Ladies Football
Champions for the third year in a row – it‟s pretty impressive, you know.
Even if at this point it‟s almost expected and therefore not often
acknowledged. We have been privileged to have exceptional players join
Belgium Ladies in the past 3 years, but none of our victories have come
easy. Perhaps it looked that way from the sideline, but the victories
weren‟t achieved in those short 10 minute a-side games once a
month. They were achieved in February when we froze our arms off doing
the ***ing plank on the rock hard Astroturf in BSB. They were achieved
in the sweltering summer heat in Parc Cinq, when we all got bitten alive
by whatever evil creatures reside in that godforsaken place. They were
achieved every time we got up at some ridiculous hour of the morning to
travel who-knows-where, spending far too much money on planes, trains
and automobiles.
Belgium GAA 2010: A Review
Christmas 2010
In this issue you can
read all about:
Tournament reports:
Maastricht
Youth GAA in
Belgium
The End-of-Year
Dinner
Club and player
news
...and much more!
Volume 1, Issue 8
BELGIUM GAA NEWSLETTER
Updating members and non-members alike on the activities of one of the best and most
ambitious GAA clubs on the European Continent
Brought to you by Belgium GAA Publishing and
De Valera's Pub, Place Flagey
To receive this newsletter directly, please email [email protected]
Continued on page 2
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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A Review of Belgium GAA in 2010
Ladies Football...continued
The end results were generally the same, but Holland Ladies are out for our blood after too many last-
minute defeats and we won‟t forget our loss to Vienna (who deserved to win every bit as much as we
did) in Budapest, regardless of how it happened in the end. Belgium Ladies A, B and C thoroughly
respect our opposition. Not because it‟s the polite thing to do, but because we wouldn‟t be where we
are if we didn‟t. In 2010, nobody sat back and relaxed, watching the victories roll in – if we had, there
would not have been any victories. There won‟t be any resting on laurels in 2011 either – I‟m proud to
say with confidence that come February, we‟ll have as many people out training as there were when
we finished up last month. That is the only way we have won over the last three years. And it is the
only way we will win again. But for now – we‟ll enjoy the celebrations, after all that work – we deserve
to.
Football
Men's football in Belgium continued to grow from strength to strength
during 2010. From around 30 players running in the freezing cold in BSB in
January and February under the watchful eye of Rochie, to 40 plus
travelling with 3 teams to Maastricht in November, 2010 saw record
numbers participating and two or three teams fielded in three regional and
three pan Euro competition rounds.
We started this year with the definite aim of having a competitive B team,
and this was achieved with something to spare. Under the stewardship of
Johnny Phelan, the year kicked off with an brilliant 3rd place display in
Luxembourg in June, and continued with an excellent group winning display
in Budapest that left the Bs with a chance of claiming the Shield in
Maastricht. Despite some great displays on the day, this proved a bridge
too far but the huge strides taken during the year were there for all to see.
And there was no shortage of silverware during the year either. With Eoin
Sheanon excelling as captain, the Benelux Regional Championship was claimed convincingly after
victories in the Den Haag, Brussels and Luxembourg competitions. The inaugural Nations Cup was
claimed, following a great battle with Luxembourg in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Championship
eluded us again this year but all efforts will focus on that for 2011.
There were many other great occasions in 2011. Clare Island stands out as one of the best. We may
have been few in numbers travelling, but we made up for that in terms of jaegerbombs consumed on
the Saturday night. A great shout to Olof Gill‟s wonderful mother, not to mention the rest of the
islanders, for showing us such great hospitality. The visits of Mike McGurn and Eamonn Ryan on
training weekends were other highlights that spring to mind.
Finally, 2010 saw us bid hello and adieu to a lot of new and old faces. Some old timers such as Tom
Lane, Oliver O'Callaghan, Philip Roche, Ciaran Hudson all said goodbye to Brussels for various reasons
and will be sorely missed. We had short but eventful visits from the likes of Diarmuid Laffan and Marty
'The Fridge' Brennan. Club stalwart Conchur de Barra has left us temporarily to further his career in
Canada. Such turnover is part and parcel of life in a small European club and we are all well used to it.
Lads will be missed, new lads will come on board, but come January, we'll all be raring to go and give
it another lash for 2011.
www.belgiumgaa.com/Find us on Facebook at Belgium GAA and Friends
Continued from page 1
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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A Review of Belgium GAA in 2010
Hurling
We start the year knowing we have to defend our crown without many of the lads who won it: Hartey,
Eoghan K, and Emmet. Rochie‟s ACL affliction stops him playing too, and new euro Chair Willie has to sit
at top tables all over the place so we plan without him. Declan will miss most of it too. Who will replace
them? Happily Crusher comes back stronger than ever and ready to be captain, Conchur returns too in
equally robust order. Then Conor Magner appears on Patrick‟s Day, it turns out Shane plays the game
nearly as well as he talks about it and Sean, Ciaran and John M further strengthen the base. Big Liam
materialises, hand passing the ball further than many can strike it, and Jim delivers on his promise but
his coalition with Keary never comes to pass as injury robs the Chairman of his season.
Instead Kevin manages us in Den Haag on the May holiday weekend, I‟m not there to confuse and a win
is squeezed out with a thin squad drawn from our supposed multitude of players. Best of all, Conor M
and Fergal have their young fellas Emmet and Robert with them on the sideline, and it feels like we
have roots.
The same happens in Luxembourg where we still make Conor A play in goal and he hits the longest
pucks and Kevin masterminds another win. Suddenly non-hurler Timmy O is a star alongside his
mentor, Dave. Pity that less than half us train and pity the half who do, as they endure the dust bowl of
Parc 50 and my thrill-less drills. No end of Adrian‟s charm, doodles and emails can get a better than
modest turnout at training. Olga‟s girls shame us with their application and progress.
Mid June and we go to Leuven for our home tournament and at last we have 2 Belgium teams erecting
tents before 9.00 and its 90 degrees in the shade with 6 teams playing. The As sweep Paris and Zurich
aside but don‟t impress themselves, and the Bs test Den Haag severely and beat Lux, creating an A v B
semi. It turns into a great game with Daire and Dave wrestling and jostling under Liam‟s puck outs until
Keary‟s premature comeback ends with a heart thumping departure and Eoin runs amuck to make it a
Den Haag v Belgium A final. We promote Daire and Dominic from the Bs, but its level at half time when
Daire implores the lads to let the ball in low – they do and he
responds with a hat trick in 5 minutes and all‟s well that ends well.
Home Tournament won and with it the Championship but we have to
go to Zurich to really feel we have earned it. We finally stage a proper
training match and I duck a Daire rasper from 6 yards. Dave rages at
me and he‟s right - the game matters always or its not hurling.
We travel slowly with a tidy 14-man squad but make ourselves
smaller before match time and struggle through the closest
tournament since the legendary Lux win in 2009. In the final, Hough
and Crusher bring us to the edge of victory before Dave‟s calm
accuracy lands the killer blow to the host‟s determined almost
demented challenge. Crusher‟s dignified victory speech reminds us all
why we play. Europe‟s hurlers acknowledge it and celebrate the game
if not our win, but we make up for them and the journey home enters
the annals. 2010 done but will we be ready to rumble in 2011?
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Continued Uphill Battles of the A
Team
Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
4
A Team Football Report
So having gotten Johnny to do my write up for
the last newsletter the powers that be seem
determined to get me writing, although the last
thing I wrote of any note was about 10 years ago,
I‟m more a visual type of chap. Anyway
Maastricht was another disaster in what is now a
growing list of footballing disasters in my
goalkeeping career. Many can‟t understand how
or why we went from Benelux champs to
European Chumps, I don‟t have the answer,
although I wasn‟t playing on the A team in the
Benelux, competition, I‟ll leave the rest for you to
decide if that had any bearing.
So to Maastricht. Possibly the only person who
can hold their hand up after the tournament and
say that they played at their best was Eoin, who
was closer to me than Crusher and Burkey on
numerous occasions. That doesn‟t bode well for
corner backs, as it turned out, those omens were
correct. He also scored some great points and
played a role in others.
I like playing Luxembourg, we tend to win the
games and it was no different this time as we ran
out convincing winners in our first match of the
championship, not sure of the score but Mr
Barrett has it detailed in his blog (http://
footballingjourneymen.blogspot.com/2010/11/
and-then-it-was-done.html).
Next up was Den Haag, personally I have never
been on the winning side against them, and
partially due to 1 dodgy short kickout that trend
has not changed. So 1-4 to 2 points at half time
things were looking bad, we picked ourselves up
in the second half and James O Dowd scored
some great points, 5 in all. Still we lost by a point
and that as far as I was concerned was very
worrying. I had been watching some of the Paris
matches and they looked good, they had already
beaten Den Haag in their first game.
So as it turned out, match 3 of the group stage
was “do or die” against Paris Gaels. Unfortunately
and of late no real big surprise, we died. We got
off to a great start, 2:2 to 1 point after about 7
minutes, then they came back and scored 3 really
sloppy goals. We lost by a point, and ended up
playing Luxembourg again. We won this game
comfortably, but for me this was no comfort at
all. So we finish our year with a whimper and look
forward to a couple of months to rest and to
contemplate a new year where hopefully our
fortunes will change. See you next year for the
first day of training and bring the balls Dave.
Reportage by Brendan Lynch
www.belgiumgaa.com/Find us on Facebook at Belgium GAA and Friends
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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B Team Football Report
Bs-Not There Yet, But Getting
There
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We all assembled beside the ING bank in Schuman at 7am on a dark, cold and wet wintry morning. This time we weren‟t about to board a plane or a train, or even have in store for a nine hour journey
on the fun bus. Instead we had a short spin down the motorway to Maastricht. For Johnny P‟s Shield army, what we had to do was clear – win the Maastricht tournament and we would be crowned
European Shield Champions. Hopes were high we would achieve this as we travelled with what was arguably the strongest Belgian B panel ever.
We were drawn in a group that also contained Amsterdam, Rennes and Lyon. First up it was a
disoriented Lyon team who only just managed to get 11 players on the pitch. The Belgian team showed no mercy though and racked up a large score in conditions that ensured we would play the
rest of the day in rain soaked jerseys. Enda Rice and Michael Hough got the pick of the scores, with Collie Byrne also winning a lot of dirty ball around midfield.
Next up it was Rennes – a former Championship team who had just thrown away a substantial half time lead against Amsterdam in their first game. This game proved to be a much tighter affair with the Belgian team slow to come out of the blocks.
We were scoreless at half time but that soon changed after Keary provided the Hough with a sublime diagonal pass to leave him with the
simplest of finishes to the back of the net. Enda
tagged on a long range free and the Hough once again came up trumps at the end with his second green flag of the game. This left the final score at 2-1 to 1-3 and a win by the slenderest of margins.
This set up a winner-takes-all clash with
Amsterdam to decide who would top the group and qualify for the semi finals. Thankfully the weather had improved by this stage, and we even saw some glimpses of sunshine during the match. Amsterdam
were obviously still hurting from the defeat we inflicted upon them down in Budapest as they came at us hammer and tongs right from the throw in. We were 2 points to 1 down at the short whistle
and well in the game. Unfortunately we then started to panic and started hitting hopeful balls forward instead of the patient build-up we had used in the previous two matches. With five minutes to go we were only 2 points down and started to push
forward in search of the green flag we needed. This inevitably left a few holes at the back and Amsterdam tagged on 2 late points to push their winning margin out to 4 points, as the goal we
craved for never arrived.
Needless to say the mood in the panel had dropped significantly as the realisation that the dream was now gone and the best we could finish was 5th set
in. We played St. Malo next and lost by two points in a game that featured some very questionable refereeing decisions. Finally we played against Guerande. With the shackles off and the realisation that this would probably be the last game of
football we played in 2010 we played some of our best football of the day, winning the game comfortably in the end.
Then it was finished. Unfortunately it didn‟t turn out
the way we had all hoped it would but the Belgian B team has made great progress this year and it can only be onwards and upwards for next year. If we continue to build on what we have put in place this year who knows what 2011 may have in store.
Reportage by Andrew Shorten
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Going Boldly To Where No Cs
Have Gone Before
Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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C Team Football Report
Some managers are lucky enough to be sent to
the stands, I for my sins got sent to goals. That
assignment coupled with my poor eyesight and
sketchy memories are the reasons for the
unconventional reporting style submitted
herewith. Suffice to say, it doesn't do justice to
the monumental efforts put in by Europe's best
and most historic C-Team on the 6th of
November in Maastricht.
Game 1: Liffre. You know its going to be a
challenging day when you meet most of your
team mates for the first time in the dressing
room 30 minutes before your first match.
However, there was a definite sense of purpose
about the lads. There were no great expectations
on us and most of the guys were just looking to
get stuck in and play some ball.
Our opponents had given the B-Team the run
around on a number of occasions last year. The
strategy was simple - defend, defend and then
defend some more. Martin, JP and Pat were
tenacious in defence, hardly putting a foot wrong.
Cathal, John H., Paul and Mike were linking up
nicely between midfield and the forwards. We
held our own in the first half, only going in a
point or two down. There was a definite feeling
that the game was there for the taking. The
second half went much the same way as the first.
In the end we finished 2 points down.
Game 2: Prague. Fast forward time. I was told
to keep the report to 713 words or they will feed
me to the monster that lives under the stairs in
Dev's.
Prague were runners up in the last
tournament in Budapest and were looking to
go one better this time
We held our own in the first half going in a
couple of points down
We conceded a couple of soft goals in the
2nd half which took the wind from our sails
and we ended up going down by those couple
of goals.
The stand out performer was John N. who
took up a job shadowing Prague's top
marksman. I don't think he scored from play
which is testimony to the how much of a
damned nuisance John can be when he puts
his mind to it.
Notable moments included Kitch regressing
to his Mayo clan roots by punching, kicking,
biting and pulling the hair of anything that
moved. Also Gearoid for manfully trying to
block fists, footballs & opposition runs with
his face.
Game 3: St Malo. This game started off rather
predictably with a "Haka" from our French
opposition. This was respectively observed by all,
including Carlo whose tribes cultural rituals
include baring ones bottom to an opponent
*think Braveheart but hairier*.
To say it was a classic is an understatement. We
started sluggishly going in 1-4 down after the
first half, with a flukey goal really hurting. What
happened at half time can never be talked of
again but a fire was lit in the bellies of the lads
for round 2. The team threw caution to the wind
and points were starting to land from all angles
including a peach from Eamonn. St Malo were
rattled. As they panicked we became more
composed in front of goals. The end result was an
historic win for the Cs by the smallest of margins.
It‟s an over used cliché, but the team did become
greater than the sum of the individual parts over
a day. What a day for the parish.
Epilogue. Prague were group winners with us,
Liffre and St Malo finishing as joint runners up.
Unfortunately our points difference meant we
didn't get to qualify for more games. Except, that
is, for Matti. He impressed the St Malo team so
much they poached him to replace an injured
player for the rest of the Tournament. What he
did next can also never again be spoken of.
The Team. Carlo Walker, Cathal McCabe, Conor
Aylward, David Kitching, Eamonn Farrell, Gearoid
Murphy, John Harkin, John Nganga, JP
Mulherin, Martin Crowley, Matti Bertrand, Mike
Lucey, Pat Barrett, Paul Hagan.
(Editor‟s note: the C team is pictured with the B
team on page 5.)
Reportage by Conor Aylward
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
7 To receive this newsletter directly, please email [email protected]
Photos from Maastricht
Maastricht Football Tournament
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A Tale of Three Teams
Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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Ladies Football
For the first time in our history, Belgium GAA
ladies descended upon Maastricht in full force,
with not one, not two, but three teams competing
in the day‟s competition. The men‟s contingent
also travelled with three squads, meaning that
over 70 representatives of Belgium GAA invaded
the Dutch city, an outstanding achievement for
our club!
Overall it was a very successful day for all of the
ladies‟ teams. An Bheilig probably had the
hardest group to compete in on the day, facing
opposition like Rennes, Holland and Munich. The
team, however, put up a valiant fight under the
leadership of captain Niamh Kennedy, and lost a
very close match to Rennes by 1 point. The fact
that Rennes was in the same group played to An
Bheilig‟s advantage, as due to insufficient
numbers in the Rennes panel, three of the girls
combined with the Belgian team and remained
with them for the rest of the day. After a day of
exciting matches Ah Bheilig beat Paris Gold in
their final game, securing 7th place in the
competition – which is a great performance for a
team that was playing together for the first time
this year!
Belgium B also performed consistently well
throughout the day. My super-assistant Steph
helped me out in coaching Belgium B as due to
the fixtures it was impossible for me to be on
more than one sideline at any given time...
however, the Bs, captained by Jess O‟Flynn, put
up an excellent fight in every match, winning
their final group game and winning their final
game of the day against Viking Gaels to be
placed 5th in the competition – yet another
fantastic performance!
Belgium A once again dominated the tournament,
beating all opposition in the group stages, and
winning an exciting semi-final against Holland to
go on to face Paris in the final for the umpteenth
time this year. There is not much to say, apart
from that Belgium A, led by captain Caoimhe,
played an outstanding final comfortably beating
Paris, which was a great way to finish the season.
Congratulations should also go to Ciara Farrell for
winning Player of the Tournament for the second
time this year.
With 29 players, it is impossible to mention
everyone here. But if you will allow me to wear
my „coach‟s hat‟ for a second, I will say this:
It is not about who is on which team, or how
many matches a team wins. What makes Belgium
GAA ladies so special is that each and every one
of them is committed and determined to do their
best for the club, no matter what team they are
on, or what position they play in. Belgium A
supports An Bheilig, An Bheilig supports Belgium
B, Belgium B supports Belgium A and so on and
so forth...Sending three teams to a tournament is
something which I am pretty sure has never been
done in the history of ladies Gaelic football in
Europe and it is something which each
representative of Belgium GAA ladies present in
Maastricht that day should be proud of. As coach,
I would like to say thank you for a fantastic
season, and I hope to be back playing next year.
Reportage by Laura Whiskerd
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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Ladies Football
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From Mayo to Maastricht
It all began in the Mayo
sunshine. We may have
spent little more than 24
hrs on Clare Island but
the unseasonable March
sunshine, the flaithiúlacht
of the islanders and
indeed our first victory of
the season all made the
epic journey worthwhile.
From playing in the
shadow of Gráinne
Mhaol‟s castle to rocking
it up in the community
centre to drinking tea
with Olof‟s mammy,
„ t w a s i n d e e d a
memorable weekend.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y
E y j a f j a l l a j ö k u l l
intervened to disrupt the
Belgium ladies next
engagement in their
campaign to conquer
Europe for the third time
running. Despite the indomitable leadership of
Maria “the Bros” Brosnan who mustered the
troops to head Valencia via Frankfurt, there was
no stopping the volcano and the journey came to
an abrupt end in the lovely vineyards of Mosel,
Germany. A night of mojitos in Brussels helped
somewhat to assuage the disappointment.
May saw Belgium GAA host its first home football
tournament and a successful one it was too. The
ladies fielded two very strong teams and the As
came away with a great victory after a
comprehensive victory over Paris in the final. After
an afternoon spent terrorising the backlines of
Europe, Belgium‟s Ciara O‟Farrell was deservedly
awarded Player of the Tournament.
And so to Paris, the bugbear of Belgium ladies.
However, this year spurred on by birthday girl
Caragh‟s request for Paris‟ head on a plate, or
alternatively the Paris trophy, and inspired by
Gráinne‟s leadership, the day was Belgium‟s. Paris
also saw the departure of Bros, serenaded on her
way with a memorable on-pitch rendition of “Bad
Romance.” Lady Gaga eat your heart out.
Tournament one of two in Maastricht came next
and was another successful day for Belgium
ladies, captained that day by Sylvia McCarthy.
Memories from the day: Laura‟s lovely sandals,
Anay‟s abuse of the Lux team. But also one of the
toughest matches of the championship in a hard
fought final against Holland.
It may have seemed impossible that the
tournament in München could live up to the
previous year‟s, but so it did. Clipboard Man
validated the German stereotype of efficiency;
there was Barry‟s tea, there was a hall full of food
and beer, and as always, lost souls wandering
around Kultfabrik. Most importantly of all, the best
fullback in Europe and our favourite Corca
Dhuibhne woman was finally acknowledged for
another excellent performance on the field agus
bronnadh duais Laoch na hImeartha ar Ghráinne.
Budapest is probably the tournament we would all
like to forget, but should remember because of
the important lessons learned, most notably, to
play the whistle. We did manage to put
disappointment far enough behind us, however, to
carry on a singsong til the early hours and then
board a bus for sightseeing the next day at some
unholy hour.
In between rounds of the championship, a small
band of Belgium players travelled to London under
the captaincy of Sinéad Fitzsimons to play Tara
ladies in the “Exiles‟ Cup” which the Tara ladies
won in Parc 50 last year. This year, despite
playing an unfamiliar 11-a-side and a somewhat
more physical game than encountered on the
continent, the ladies brought the cup back to
Brussels.
Second time round in
Maastricht and we
were delighted to field
three teams all of
whom finished the day
victorious in their
respective finals. What
better way to close the
season?? Goals for
2011? 4 in a row and
a clean sweep of all
tournaments . No
pressure ladies!
Reportage by Caoimhe Ní Shúilleabháin
4432.4 miles (approx) and one European championship later…
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
10
Youth GAA in Belgium
The Kids are Alright
Damn it but with all the bad news from home, the
doom and gloom, the long dark evenings and the
lousy cold weather, it can be hard enough to be
upbeat these days. We don‟t even have Davy
Barrett‟s training to take our minds off things.
So if you‟re in the market for a tonic, if you want
to give your spirits a lift, or if you just need your
regular fix of Peil during the official GAA closed
season, you could do an awful lot worse than head
out to the BSB „elephant‟ pitches every second
Sunday to see – or better still help out with – the
next generation of young footballers going
through their paces, tearing up and down the
pitch with an O'Neill's no. 3 ball, and having a
great time to boot – notwithstanding the
challenges occasionally posed by the Brussels
micro-climate.
It genuinely warms the heart to see 30+ children,
learning, practicing and then utilising in matches
all the key skills of our game.
A little bit of background. Known as the EC
GAELIC CLUB / BRUSSELS, the club has been in
existence since about 1980, starting out
essentially as a men's senior club in the pioneer
days long before the European County Board and
Pan European Championship. Over the years, it
has evolved into a youth GAA club.
Our current membership is primarily young Irish
boys & girls who have grown up either in Ireland
or in Belgium but we also have many other
nationalities playing. We cater for 5 year olds up
to mid-teens. We have three groups based on age
and experience so that each child is getting the
right coaching for his or her level and, more
importantly, getting lots and lots of time on the
ball.
This season we got off to a cracking start on 3
October, with Cork coach Eamonn Ryan taking the
session and imparting his knowledge to the young
players – and to some of the coaches too it has to
be said – with enthusiasm, energy and passion,
even though this was his fourth coaching session
of the weekend. And the response since then has
been equally enthusiastic, both from the young
players themselves and from their parents, with a
good number helping out with coaching and
organisation – and a few going into goal to
Reportage by Fergal Mythen
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
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Youth GAA in Belgium
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reconnect with their long-dormant inner Paddy
Cullen or Martin Furlong and pulling off some
extraordinary saves.
We really want to build on this tús maith – with
even more children participating – so get the
message out there to your friends and colleagues
if they are looking for a fun, sporting outlet for
their children. We also want to keep improving
our coaching sessions, making them as varied
and interesting and enjoyable as possible. So if
you want to help out for just a single session or
for the season, you would be really welcome, as
would your ideas and inputs into our coaching
drills. [confession: occasionally we have
plagiarised some of Barrett‟s copyrighted drills
but the kids keep getting confused with all the
cones and intricate jinxy moves; maybe we‟re not
explaining the drills correctly].
Our forthcoming sessions are on the following
Sundays from 2 to 3.30 pm – 23 January, 6
February, 20 February and 6 March, with further
dates to be added up to the end of June 2011.
Details are on the club website: www.playgaa.be.
Looking ahead, the challenge for the Club is to
press for the development of a European youth
tournament or competition which would give our
players a clear focus for their efforts, just as the
development of the adult football and hurling
competitions has spurred the promotion of our
games across Europe over the past decade.
Over the years, the Junior Club – under the
stewardship of Liam Breslin, Denis and Kay
Sheehan, Joe Murtagh, Caoimhin Ó Ciaruain and
others – has trained teams who have participated
in Feile Peil na nÓg tournaments in Dublin,
Galway, Tipperary, Carlow and Limerick. And on
many occasions we have hosted visiting teams
from Ireland (including a most enjoyable visit
from my own club, Whitehall Colmcilles U-13s),
as well as playing games in France, Spain,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
However, the inauguration of an officially
organised, annual European competition –
providing regular opportunities to play teams at
similar stages of development in reasonably
accessible locations – would be of huge benefit to
our young players. So over to Chairman Willie
and the County Board Convention in Stockholm in
December!
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
12 www.belgiumgaa.com/Find us on Facebook at Belgium GAA and Friends
Event: Belgium GAA End-Of-Season Dinner
Date: Saturday 27 November 2010, 7.30pm to 10am
Location: De Valera’s Bar, Place Flagey, Brussels
Who was there?: Everyone who is anyone on the
Belgium GAA circuit.
What was drunk?: Or should it be Who was drunk? The
bar went through 20 bottles of Jägermeister. Inside
sources say that the brand is in negotiations for a
sponsorship deal with the club. It faces strong
competition from another fierce contender, Vedett,
whose sweatbands were worn by many club members.
Winners on the night?: Some say that everyone is a
winner on nights like this, but in Belgium GAA’s case,
this was true. A table laden with medals, trophies and
plaques greeted guests on arrival, and many members
left with more than one medal to their name. Additional
acknowledgements went to honourable members,
including coaches and officers, while the distinguished
Player of the Year awards were presented to Caoimhe
Ní Shúilleabháin (Ladies Football), Niamh Kennedy
(Camogie), James McGrath (Mens Football), and David
Barrett Esq. (Hurling) (pictured on the right). Mr. Barrett
was also recognised as Club Person of the Year,
bringing a proud blush to the Corkman’s cheeks. A final
award went to another Corkman, Conchur de Barra, in
honour of his dedication to the club and his imminent
departure from Belgian shores (profile of Mr. de Barra
on opposite page).
Music: Among other offerings, the 1st Christmas tunes
of the festive season
Sartorial observations: All were decked out in their
finest feathers, but the most standout fashion statement
was made by one C. Byrne, who sported a voluminous
grey cardigan. Said cardie caused quite a stir, in
particular when worn later in the night by at least 2
people at one time.
They said: “Why are the paramedics here?”, “It’s
WHAT time?”, “Why are the cleaners here?”, “Is that
daylight?”, “Where will we go for breakfast?”, “Thank
god, it’s a year until the next dinner”.
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Volume 1, Issue 8
13
Christmas 2010
Player Profile
Player Profile - Conchur de Barra
Who are you?
Conchur de Barra, aka The Bull, aka the Grand Marshal :)
Where are you from?
Bride Rovers, Co. Cork
Where do you work?
I am currently unemployed and looking for bar work in Toronto.
Why did you join Belgium GAA?
Because I met Fergal Mythen in The Old Oak (getting the plug in there) and was impressed by his love
of the game.
What is your favourite European GAA tournament and why?
It would be the Belgian tournaments, if only we didn't have to put up the tents. It‟s great to see so
many from the parish out in one day, wearing the proud grey, red and salmon of Belgium.
Who is your Belgium GAA hero and why?
Gráinne Ní Fhlatharta, legend!
Who is your overall GAA hero?
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, he is the GAA, and a great man, I had the privilege of chatting to him on one
of my Niall Mellon Township Trust visits in the shanty towns in South Africa.
What do you see as the main differences in the Belgium GAA of 2004 and 2010?
it just gets better and better, another year on, another year better, having seen Brussels hurling club
go from a few lads in the park to the biggest team in Europe.
What words of encouragement would you give a new member joining our esteemed club?
Get involved in any way you can in the club, either helping set up trainings, organise events,
fundraisers, committee work. If you are injured, don't make the mistake of sitting it out on your own.
The GAA is one of the best social introductions you can get to the city.
Conchur de Barra. Player. Sponsor. Treasurer. The man wears many hats in Belgium GAA, but has
recently replaced them all with a cowboy hat (plus cowboys boots and buckle), as he moves his life to
Canada for a year. Belgium GAA bids him farewell with the final player profile of the year.
To receive this newsletter directly, please email [email protected]
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Players News & Events
Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
14
2011 Annual General Meeting - Call for Fresh Blood The Belgium GAA AGM will be held on Tuesday 25 January 2011, at 19h00 in the European Parliament
(room JAN 6Q1). An email with further details will be circulated to all members at a later stage.
Anyone who wishes to become active on the Committee should contact Kevin Keary on
[email protected]. It is important to have fresh involvement so all members of the club - new
school, old school or any school - are welcome to express their interest in the positions available.
Looking forward to 2011, we will have a discussion at our AGM about our plans for the year, with issues
such as whether to bid for a Pan-European football tournament high on the agenda. Any new ideas for
change in the club to be submitted via motions to our Secretary, Becky Mattes at
European County Board Convention, December 2010
The club was strongly represented at the recent annual ECB convention in
Stockholm, with Belgium GAA clubman Willie Cashin returned for a 2nd year as
Chairman of the European County Board. Kevin Keary was also returned as
Club Development Officer and Conchur de Barra was elected Sponsorship
Officer. Dave Barrett and Becky Mattes stepped down after a year each as
Coaching and Games Development Officer and Camogie Officer respectively.
European GAA is very strong, with 20% year on year growth over past 3 years and a total of 45 clubs
active across 17 different countries in continental Europe. The Convention debated and passed a series
of motions related to the management of this rapidly growing organisation.
With regard to the structure of the season, their will be no big changes across the 4 codes. Belgian
delegates argued to scrap the Nations' Cup and revert to the 2009 status of 4 Pan-European Football
rounds, however this met with resistance and it seems that some modified form of the Nations' Cup,
possibly as a 7-a-side competition, may be put in place for 2011.
Of great interest is a plan to host a Pan-European round (most likely in mens and ladies football) in
Limerick in October, as part of Limerick's status as 2011 European City of Sport. Delegates made it
clear to the County Board however that this should not result in extra expense above and beyond the
norm for travel to a "normal" Pan-Euro tournament. The Board officers gave a commitment to come
back with a concrete proposal including sponsorship. This could be a huge opportunity to increase
awareness of European GAA back in Ireland so is to be welcomed, but nevertheless will have to be
carefully controlled so that participation is high and cost is low. All delegates argued for the Competitions Control Committee to come forward with a finalised calendar
as early as possible in 2011 so we can start planning our trips for the year, booking flights etc. As soon
as this is agreed, club members will be immediately informed via Code Officers.
One of the key motions passed from a Belgium GAA perspective was the introduction of a penalty for
teams who refuse to play 3rd-4th 5th-6th etc play-offs. Teams will now forfeit all tournament points for
refusing to play, except in exceptional cases of injury and so on. This was a key point for Belgium GAA
going into the Convention, as we travel in large numbers to all tournaments and want to see as much
game time as possible for our club members who have taken the time and effort to travel. Thanks to
Colin Byrne and Becky Mattes for their key role in moving forward this motion. There was a lot of talk about developments in hurling, with indoor hurling/camogie being played at
9,000 feet in Switzerland this year. The club will look into source indoor hurling/camogie gear in 2011
as it could be a great way to get early season training going.
Refereeing Course Anyone interested in getting involved in refereeing should contact Becky
([email protected]), a Ladies' football refereeing course will be organised in early 2011.
News & Events
www.belgiumgaa.com/Find us on Facebook at Belgium GAA and Friends
Got news to add? Contact Sylvia McCarthy on [email protected].
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Christmas 2010 Volume 1, Issue 8
Live the Dream with Belgium GAA
Club actively seeking new members
Just moved to Belgium or thinking of taking up a new sport?
Joining Belgium GAA will provide you with:
1. Physical and skill based training with one of the best clubs in Europe. All skill levels catered for, open
to young and old alike.
2. A network of expats working across many different sectors.
3. Plenty of organised social events and drinking opportunities.
4. Reduced rates on one of Brussels‟ best gyms
5. Travel in large groups to exotic destinations across Europe for tournaments. Let‟s just say - the
nights have been wild.
We also always need volunteers to help with tournaments, coaching, refereeing, fundraising and
general mischief-making to keep everyone on their toes.
At Belgium GAA we like to consider ourselves a 'welcoming' club. Our attitude is that whether you are
Irish or from outer Mongolia, your participation is vital. The more the merrier and anyone who puts in
the effort is greatly appreciated.
Gaelic Football
Colin Byrne [email protected] GSM: +32 476 073 079
Camogie
Sylvia McCarthy [email protected] GSM:+32 493 712 678
Ladies Football
Jane Brennan [email protected] GSM: +32 484 162 140
Hurling
Adrian Hiel [email protected] GSM: +32 472 517 038
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Contacts
Training and Tournaments: No more training or tournaments until
January/February 2011. If you would like to be
added to the team mailing lists, please contact
the current team officers, who will keep you up-
to-date on future developments.
Photo Credits and Thanks to: Colin Byrne, Dave Barrett, Lorraine Baldwin, Alec
Elliot, Fergal Mythen, Sinead Ní Mhaoilmhichíl,
Stephanie Dunn, and Sylvia McCarthy. If you
have photos that you would like to add to the
newsletter, please don‟t hesitate to contact
Stephanie Dunn ([email protected]).
Last Newsletter of 2010: This is the last newsletter until February/March 2011. Thank you all for your support in getting
this project off the ground this year, and if anyone is interested in contributing next year, please
don‟t hesitate to contact Sylvia McCarthy ([email protected]) or Stephanie Dunn
To receive this newsletter directly, please email [email protected]
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