Website: Madrid GAA

The Barcelona Gaels and San Agustín de Guadalix are the Stars of the Show

Madrid, May 9th, by Aisling Daly

The third round of the 2010 Iberian Gaelic football championship was held this Saturday, the 8th of May, in Spain’s buzzing capital, Madrid. The Harps, the hosting team, spent days preparing for the arrival of the other participating teams, the Barcelona Gaels, San Vincent of Valencia, the Naomh Fermin Pamplona men, the Seville men’s team, and the ladies team of San Agustín de Guadalix.

The tournament was a good demonstration of the growth of Gaelic football in Spain. The Seville men’s team, new to the Iberian League this year, made their first trip to play in Madrid.

Other newcomers in the tournament were the ladies of the recently formed team from San Agustín de Guadalix, in the North of Madrid, who came to the tournament with only 5 players and made quite an impact. The best example yet of the increasing popularity of Gaelic football was the Madrid men’s team, who had so many players that they needed to split into an A and a B team in order to give everyone the opportunity to play. The two referees of the tournament were Guillaume Kerrien and Eoin Campbell, who was participating in his first match in the European GAA League.

So it was that around 9.00 on Saturday morning, sleepy looking players from around the country made their way to the Cantarranas pitches. Travelling out was made difficult for quite a few people, especially the two referees, as the ash cloud from a recently erupted volcano in Iceland made a second appearance over Spain, and there were major resulting delays in air travel. In the end however, everyone made it and a big sigh of relief was heaved. The Harps were also relieved to find that the weather provided ideal conditions for players, with lovely cool, but sunny day enjoyed by all.

All the players of the tournament were honoured by the attendance of the Ambassador, Justin Harman. After several photos were taken and all the teams were changed, warmed-up and ready to go, Ambassador Harman performed the throw-in, and the first match of the day began between the Barcelona men and Pamplona.

Although Barcelona were the victors of this match, scoring a goal and 7 points, to Pamplona’s 3 points, Pamplona put up a strong fight, showing with every tournament their increasing ball skills. Running alongside this match on an adjacent pitch was the first ladies game between Valencia and Barcelona. The fight was evenly matched on this side of the field as well, with the Barcelona ladies coming out the winners by a narrow margin of 3 points. Next up for the men was Madrid’s B team and Valencia, with Valencia stamping out a victory of 8 points to the Harp’s 2 points.

Iberian Championship 2010 – Round 3 – Tournament Report

Back to the ladies and it was Madrid against newcomers San Agustín de Guadalix. Although the Harpettes were victorious in the match, the improvement of the ladies of San Agustín de Guadalix could be seen with every passing minute. The players’ past experience in playing on high-ranking handball and soccer teams equipped them with the speed, strength and ball skills required to play Gaelic football. Up next for the men were Pamplona and the young players of Seville, who took a high scoring victory of 3 goals and 8 points to Pamplona’s 2 points. Over on the ladies side, Madrid remained on the pitch and fought out a clear victory over the Valencia girls.

Back to the lads and it was Valencia vs. Madrid’s team A, with Valencia stamping out their win. Back again to the ladies side and it was Barcelona vs. San Agustín, followed directly by Valencia vs. San Agustín, with San Agustín showing their increasing talent and ability and taking clear wins in both games.

On the lads side Seville’s swift strides gave the Gaels a good run around, but Barcelona stood their ground and came out victorious. The following men’s match proved to be an interesting spectacle for all with the Madrid men’s A and B team facing off, and the resulting tension running high. Madrid A proved to be the better team in this game, scoring a goal and 5 points while the B team didn’t manage to score any.

It was now on to the next round for both the men and ladies teams, with the women progressing to the final match and the men to the semi-finals. The main contenders in the semis were Barcelona vs. Madrid A and Valencia vs. Seville. Madrid A vs.Barcelona proved to be a hard fight for both sides, with the Barcelona men coming out once again victorious. The game between Valencia and Seville was also closely matched in ability, with Valencia winning by a margin of four points. Following this Madrid B and Pamplona contended for 5th place, with Pamplona taking a clear victory and winning by two goals.

The ladies final proved to be quite an eventful one. Both teams fought at an evenly matched pace, with the final whistle catching the Harpettes off guard and leaving them with the sinking realisation that they had lost their home tournament to the newcomers. The men’s final between Barcelona and Valencia was probably the most hard-fought and evenly matched game of the tournament, with extra time being needed to decide the champions. In the end Barcelona pulled through, winning by 3 points. A fairly even match was played after between Seville and Madrid A, who fought for 3rd place. In the end Madrid A took the lead in a points shoot-out, securing 3rd place and leaving the Seville team in 4th.

As the matches wound down, all the players headed home to clean up and rest and then arrived for the meal and celebrations looking fresher and sporting varying shades of pink and red, thanks to the day’s persistent sunshine. The trophies for the winning teams were accepted by Niall Brennan for the Barcelona Gael’s men’s team and Menchu for the ladies of San Agustín de Guadalix. Following this it was time for the referees to present the awards for player of the tournament, which were given to
Niall Brennan of the Barcelona men’s team and Martina Rooney of the Madrid Harpettes. All teams then went on to celebrate their according wins, awards, losses, triumphs, weak points and otherwise with a long night of dancing and general merriment.

Iberian Championship 2010 – Round 3 – Tournament Report
The Madrid Harp’s would like to give special thanks to Ambassador Justin Harman for attending the tournament and opening the day’s events, as well as the two referees, Eoin Campbell and Guillaume Kerrien, who both travelled far to attend and refereed all matches in a very professional and agreeable manner. A big thank you also goes out to our team president, Itziar Alberdi, for the great efforts she went to in order to ensure the tournament was a success!

Looking forward to seeing you all back in Madrid in 2011!

Aisling

Complete results below:
Men
Barcelona 1-7
Pamplona 0-3

Valencia 0-8
Madrid B 0-2

Seville 3-8
Pamplona 0-2

Valencia 3-2
Madrid A 1-3

Barcelona 2-3
Seville 1-2

Madrid A 1-5
Madrid B 0-0

Semi-Final
Barcelona 0-4
Madrid A 0-1

Valencia 2-5
Seville 0-7

3rd/4th
Madrid A 0-1
Seville 0-0 (Points Shoot-Out)

5th/6th
Pamplona 2-5
Madrid B 0-5

Final
Barcelona 1-10 Valencia 1-7 (AET)

Ladies
Barcelona 0-5
Valencia 0-2

Madrid 1-5
San Agustín 0-1

Madrid 3-8
Valencia 1-2

San Agustín 4-3
Barcelona 1-3

San Agustín 3-8
Valencia 0-4

Madrid 3-5
Barcelona 0-5

Final
San Agustín 3-4 Madrid 1-7

I have been meaning to add this to the site ofr ages now.  A great write up about the days events by Dermot Corrigan in Seville.

Better late than never I guess!

Marbella GAA tournament report – Dermot Corrigan of Eire Og Seville

Gaelic Football is a form of football played mainly in Ireland where, although a strictly amateur pursuit, it is the most popular sport in terms of both playing numbers and attendance levels.

Played correctly, it is a fast, hard game requiring a combination of skills incorporating kicking, catching, running, tackling and hand-passing. Teams of 11 or 15 players attack H-shaped goal posts, with one point awarded for kicking or punching the ball between the posts and over the crossbar and a goal worth three points awarded for getting the ball under the bar and into the net.

Last Saturday saw local team Marbella Costa Gaels hosting the second round of the 2010 Iberian Gaelic Football Championships.

An exciting day’s action featured 14 games played in the picture-postcard setting of Ojen village, culminating in Sant Vincent Valencia securing the men’s title and Madrid Harps emerging victorious in the ladies’ final.

Six teams took part in the men’s competition, including Barcelona Gaels, Naomh Fermin Pamplona and – making their first ever championship appearance – Eire Og Seville. The action began with a plucky Pamplona team featuring a majority of Spanish players edging a tight encounter with Marbella 0-5 to 0-4, before Valencia outclassed an under-strength Seville team by 4-4 to 0-2. Barcelona then beat Pamplona by 0-6 to 1-0, before Seville showed more of their mettle in a tight game against Madrid that finished 1-5 apiece.

Barcelona secured their place in the semi-finals by ending Marbella’s interest in a close fought encounter which finished 1-10 to 3-0 to the Catalans. Valencia then turned on the style to beat Madrid 3-8 to 1-3, a result which nevertheless allowed the Madrilenos to progress to the semis on points difference.

Meanwhile in the ladies, three very evenly-matched teams were battling it out to reach the final. After Barcelona had beaten Madrid by 2-5 to 2-3, Valencia edged out Barcelona by 0-1 to 0-5 and finally Madrid dispatched Valencia by 3-8 to 3-3. After some deliberation the superior points difference of Madrid and Valencia saw them advance. The ladies final featured some excellent scores from both teams, before a late goal saw Madrid take the title on a scoreline of 1-10 to 3-3.

The first men’s semi-final saw a fired up Madrid team overcome a shellshocked Barcelona by 2-10 to 0-2. In the other semi Valencia withheld a spirited Pamplona effort to win by a single point, 0-7 to 0-6. Madrid continued their strong momentum by taking an early lead in the final, before Valencia powered into the game with two goals before half time. The second half saw the Valencianos make their superior teamwork and fitness pay in a comprehensive 5-6 to 0-5 victory.

At the awards ceremony later that evening in the Claddagh Irish Bar in Marbella, referee Tony Bass awarded the Most Valuable Players awards to the richly deserving Adam Whyte of Valencia and outstanding Y of Madrid. A strong feature of the tournament was the excellent contribution from players of all nationalities, with the Spanish contingent playing key roles in both winning teams.

Any Costa del Sol based players (male or female, Irish, Spanish or any other nationality) interested in getting involved are welcome to email info@costagaels.com or contact Gordon on 664 246 054. The Costa Gaels have weekly training sessions with all newcomers welcome. For anyone based in Seville, Eire Og Seville are always looking to recruit new players and can be contacted by emailing secretary.seville.europe@gaa.ie

Photo’s by Owen Farrell – www.doubleexposurephotography.ie

This Saturday the 13th of March (unlucky for some so they say!) is the day when teams from all over Spain including Madrid, Barcelona, Pamplona, Valencia and Seville converge on the Village of Ojen to play the Marbella leg of the Iberian GAA League.

The day will be packed with Football including Mens and Ladies games and with ten teams in total that’s going to make for one very strict schedule as we aim to play the final and play-offs for the 5 o’ clock finish time. The games and time schedule is listed below in so far as the first rounds anyway and the end of the day:

After all the games are sorted, some of you might need to have a wee drink and some grub. (I say some of you…you know I mean all of you!)  The food is being arranged at Matambre, just around the corner from the Claddagh Bar and past Beckitts restaurant where we have quite a tasty of selection of Tapas and Munchies.  In case you get lost, heres the bars and places we recommend when your in town.

An update from the the results for the GAA Valencia tournament held on Saturday 27th of March.

Tournament begins

The Throw-in for the 2010 Men’s Iberian Championship took place today in Valencia. It was at a new venue this year, Puçol, in the heart of the orange fields just north of the city and 4 teams took part; the hosts Sant Vicent, Naomh Fermin from Pamplona/Iruña, Barcelona Gaels and Madrid Harps.

Valencia began well, squeezing past a tough Madrid side, before meeting their match in the next game against Barcelona. Madrid recovered well from that early defeat to beat both Pamplona and Barcelona. So they then qualified for the final along with Barcelona, with Valencia narrowly eliminated on points-difference.

The Matches Continue

Despite losing to Madrid a little earlier in the group game, Barcelona rallied strongly in the final and took an early lead thanks to some clinical free-taking. In what was the best game of the day, Madrid narrowed the lead to less than a score with only a couple of minutes to go, but couldn’t quite get there, and so Barcelona have picked up where they left off last year, winning the first round and going into an early lead in the Championship.

A special mention of our referee for the day, Patrick Stassen from Maastricht who made his tournament debut. He left the game flow whenever possible and the day was all the more enjoyable for that.

The championship now moves onto Marbella in 2 weeks, where today’s four teams will be joined by Costa Gaels (Marbella) and Seville. The Ladies Iberian Championship will also begin there, with Valencia, Barcelona Gaelettes and Madrid competing.

Today’s results in full:-

• Madrid 0-6
  Valencia 1-4
• Barcelona 3-13
  Pamplona 0-2
• Valencia 0-3
  Barcelona 4-9
• Madrid 4-11
  Pamplona 0-1
• Valencia 11-7
  Pamplona 0-1
• Madrid 2-8
  Barcelona 0-3

Valencia Tournament Final:

• Madrid 1-08
  Barcelona 0-14

Just had confirmation that the friendly game against Seville will be going ahead on Sunday at 1pm in Ojen.  If your playing, shine yer boots and if yer not playing then put a note in your diary to come to Ojen and watch the game. If the guys can get in touch with either Justin or Gordon and see about arrangements for getting to Ojen in advance and in good time (like 12:30 at the latest) that would be great.

Directions to the Ojen pitch are on this page.