Closing the gap: How the GAA scene is thriving in Europe

ST BRIDGET'S Killashee of Longford made an unusual trip for the opening game of their Leinster Junior Football Championship at the weekend.

Not Mullach Íde near the capital, nor An Móta in Westmeath, but the lesser-spotted Dutch town of Maastricht, some two and a half hours’ drive south east of Amsterdam and over 1,000km from the Leinster coast.

After flying out to Brussels on Saturday morning, Killashee took on the finest continental club Europe has to offer – Amsterdam GAC, who have represented Europe GAA in the Leinster JFC for the last two years.

This year, they put up a commendable fight. Amsterdam were leading with five minutes to go, but a late goal prompted a strong finish from Killashee, who ultimately took a six-point victory with a final score of 2-15 to 2-09.

Having won Europe’s premier 15-a-side championship, Amsterdam had earned their right to represent the continent in the club competition, while Belgium Ladies will compete in the All-Ireland Ladies Junior Championship preliminary round against Oisín CLG of Manchester, the All-Britain champions, on October 24.

Yet it is not only in the Netherlands and Belgium where GAA is thriving – it’s happening all over the continent. This Saturday, over 400 players from 35 teams will gather in Vienna to compete in the Pan-European Gaelic Football Finals in what will be the 14th instalment of the annual competition.

For the second time in the last four years, Vienna Gaels GAA will host the event, and although the cost of running the tournament appears to have increased since they last staged it, the club have pulled together to make sure it goes ahead.

“Hosting the biggest event of the year with almost 500 players has turned out to be more costly than in 2012,” club member Chris O'Reilly, who coaches Vienna Gaels' Ladies team, told The Irish Post.

“Europe GAA have provided some support for costs, such as hosting VIPs and medals and some balls, but the vast majority of the cost has been footed by the club. We will recoup a lot of the costs through team registration fees though.”

One of the great draws of playing GAA abroad is that you only really need a ball to get up and running, the rest can be improvised, as is the case for many teams based around Europe. But Vienna Gaels have dug deep to ensure an authentic GAA experience will be had by teams visiting the Austrian capital this weekend.

“We'll have real goalposts on the main pitch at the Pan-Euros, although a typical tournament here would feature soccer posts with pipes attached to create GAA goals, but actual GAA goals are becoming more frequent around Europe,” explained O'Reilly.

“We used to train on a soccer pitch and our imaginations would have to suffice. However, since last year we've used a modern AstroTurf rugby pitch and that makes the Gaelic football experience a lot more realistic. Competing in and winning the 15-a-side championship is a long-term goal for our club but the 11-a-side format is more popular and frequently played in Europe and that is where our primary focus is.”

Although the thought of trekking around Europe in order to fulfil fixtures may seem daunting to some, Vienna Gaels actually rely on it to attract new players to the club. In the last 12-15 months alone the club has played in Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Spain, and hosted a number of other tournaments themselves.

“These trips are a huge selling point for players and they add hugely to the already strong social side of the club,” added O'Reilly. “The Irish community in Vienna is quite strong. There are many Irish people working for international organisations here and as English teachers, while there are also some working in Irish bars.

“I routinely hear about and from Irish people moving here, so it's certainly a popular destination and those who come here typically find it difficult to leave. As far as the Vienna Gaels are concerned, we are a very welcoming club for anyone looking to get involved in the sporting and social side and I believe that attitude has helped foster a great community spirit among Irish people here.

“I'd say we have about 60 per cent Irish at our club, with the rest being Austrian natives as well as British, Australian and a few other nations. We've taken in more Austrians than usual in the last year, particularly younger players, which should prove to help in the long run.”

The innovation doesn't stop at attaching pipes to soccer goalposts; they do likewise with handball nets during the cold winter months, enabling an indoor form of Gaelic football.

“We applied for a grant from the GAA to set up a winter league in December and January, which we ran alongside our neighbours Slovak Shamrocks. Last year we had three Saturdays in Vienna and three in Bratislava.

“There were four teams of men – two from Vienna and two from Slovakia – while there were three ladies' teams too, all playing six-a-side. The matches between the two Vienna teams were intense to say the least and this was only the beginning.

“The league was a resounding success and everyone was delighted to have football over the winter months. It also sparked quite the rivalry among the Vienna men for the rest of the year.”

Considering the lengths these clubs go to in order to uphold Irish traditions, and in some cases re-invent them, it's no surprise that they're proving more and more competitive in the club championships with each passing year. In O'Reilly's view, it's only a matter of time before a major breakthrough is made.

“Belgium Ladies' victory over a British side [Liverpool Wolfe Tones] in last year's All-Ireland JFC championship was an incredible achievement and it shows that the gap is slowly being closed. Opportunities for European sides to compete with Irish and British sides certainly aids development and it gives the clubs at the very top of European football something to aim for.

“The gap is still massive, naturally, but it's only a matter of time before a European club like Amsterdam, Guernsey or Belgium takes an Irish scalp at junior club level.”

For Vienna Gaels, the focus is more immediate – putting on a successful event this weekend and building for next season, but they're open to the prospect of hosting a British club at their headquarters in Austria at some stage further down the line.

“The club will field two men's and two ladies' teams in the Pan-Euros and a few of the guys are also planning on playing some hurling next season,” concluded Kildare native O'Reilly, who played for Maynooth back home.

“With the addition of new branches of the club, it's really an exciting time for everyone involved, and I'm certain we would be open to having a London club over at some point, or even playing a match over there.”