by Costa Gaels | 20, Nov, 2012 | Club News
Rarely has a Gaelic football match in southern Spain seen such a large attendance as last Sunday’s match between the Costa Gaels and the Gibraltar Gaels – particularly in weather conditions more akin to a typical Irish weekend morning than one on the sunny Costa del Sol.
Admittedly, most of the crowd were members of the Marbella and Almeria rugby clubs – who were to play a league match after the Irish showcase – but they were glued to the thrilling spectacle that took place in the mud and torrential rain. Huddled against the elements under the canopy of Marbella Rugby Club, the crowd witnessed an exciting match between two well-drilled sides.
The appalling weather contributed to a fiery encounter that saw the referee have to break up more than one confrontation between opposing players as tempers flared in the pouring rain.
The home side started the brighter, going ahead by a point within the first two minutes. However, further early pressure yielded no scores and a rare foray into the Costa half by Gibraltar saw a goal for the away side against the run of play. Buoyed by the goal the Gibraltar team settled into the game, but was not to be outdone by a resilient Marbella side. As both sets of players became accustomed to the conditions points were traded on an even basis and despite a late goal by the Costa Gaels, Gibraltar went in as slight leaders at half-time.
The rain continued to hammer down as the teams took to the treacherous pitch for an electrifying second half. In contrast to the first half, Gibraltar came out with all guns blazing, scoring a blitz of points within a number of minutes and capitalizing on an innocuous, floated free-kick into the box that somehow found its way – untouched by anybody through a sea of bodies – into the back of the Marbella net. The roaming Gibraltar no. 10 posed most problems for the Costa team, scything through midfield at ease, though poor finishing saw most of his efforts drift wide.
Aware that a chasm was opening up in the score-line, the Costa Gaels rallied with an impassioned comeback. Some aggressive midfield play allowed their forwards the freedom to attack and the Gibraltar goal come under a five-minute assault that miraculously yielded only one goal. A saved penalty and three point-blank stops from the Gibraltar keeper kept his team in the game, though he did let one through during the sustained Costa attack. Another penalty a few minutes from time was converted by the home team and took the match to 3 goals and 5 points apiece. With no further scores, the match finished in a deserved draw.
Typically, the heavy rain abruptly stopped as the players left the field to a rapturous round of applause from an overjoyed Spanish crowd. Soaking wet and coated in mud, whatever animosities had transpired on the pitch had abated with the rain, and both sets of players joined for a post-match barbecue and drinks.
The Costa Gaels will travel away to meet Seville on December 15th, with Gibraltar making the same journey a month later.
by Costa Gaels | 14, Nov, 2012 | Club News
It´s 29 degrees on a Saturday morning in mid-October. A geko on a pitch-side advertising hoarding basks in the searing heat, oblivious to the group of twelve sweaty footballers running some hand passing drills only a few feet away. On the sun-drenched bleachers of the sports grounds in the tiny village of Ojen on Spain´s Costa del Sol, a curious crowd has gathered – all male; a mixture of old and young – to marvel at a sport they know nothing about.
They are as oblivious to the rules of Gaelic football as the lazy lizard is to the training session currently underway. A few of the kids comically try to replicate the hand passes they are watching. “No puedo hacerlo” – I can´t do it,” – one of them says.
The Costa Gaels, based in the popular holiday resort of Marbella, are pioneering the most Irish of sports in Spain, one of only eight GAA affiliated football clubs in the country.
“There are more and more Spanish turning up to watch each game, interested to know what we´re doing,” says Costa Gaels chairman Gordon Loughane. “We´ve had some Spaniards come down and train with us before, but generally they back off because of the physicality of the game. But sometimes they get a kick out of playing a different sport. They tell their friends and interest spreads.”
But it´s not just the Spanish who are becoming interested in the GAA. Akilless Haider, a burly, imposing 44-year-old Iraqi, is the Costa Gaels goalkeeper. Having fled Baghdad after Operation Desert Storm, Akilless worked a few jobs before ending up as a barman in an Irish bar. It was while working one Sunday afternoon that he saw his first Gaelic football match. “It was Tipperary versus Kilkenny and the bar was packed,” he recalls. “I was watching this weird game and couldn´t believe the interest in it. At first I didn´t understand the rules but from talking with the customers I gradually got a grasp on what was going on. I was hooked. When I heard there was a club based here I wanted to get involved. That was three years ago and every Wednesday and Saturday I´m the first person to show up to training. Always. The bloody Irish are always late.”
Akilless is right. Among the late Irish contingent this morning are a Ryanair pilot (no “another on-time Ryanair flight” fanfare heralds his arrival), a psychiatric nurse, an IT specialist and numerous barmen. This morning sees the first session for 18-year-old Ben Stam from Holland, decked out in a Donegal jersey. He´s young and he´s fit and he takes to his first involvement without a problem.
“The number of foreign lads getting involved in GAA sports down here is growing,” says Gordon Loughane. “”When we started ten years ago it was mainly Irish lads, but now we´re getting a mix of every kind. We´ve had Australians, Kiwis, South Africans and even Swedes playing for the Costa Gaels.”
The crowd on the sidelines continue to watch, a few them generously offering the occasional “Olé!” when the ball finds the back of the net. The hangovers get sweated out and they pack up their gear, utterly exhausted, to scattered applause from their bemused Spanish audience; the newest aficionados of one of Ireland´s oldest and beloved games.

Originally posted in the IRISH INDEPENDENT – Wednesday 14th November 2012