by Justin Parks | 12, Jul, 2011 | Club News
Yep! Its on! The GAA summer camp in Marbella is in full swing and lo and behold we have the hardest working man in Ireland, currently making out hes the hardest working man outside of Ireland, yes, its the one and only, Benny Tierney!
Benny gives us the low down on the GAA Summer Camp in Marbella, Spain 2011 and takes the opportunity to describe how he puts 100% (more) effort in than anyone else on the planet.
Well done Benny!
** It has been reported on the National Spanish News today that the sales of factor 150 sun cream have rocketed since Benny Tierney arrived in Spain. From what we can see it looks more like he might need to add a few more zeros to that to save that soft Armagh complexion!
by Justin Parks | 6, Apr, 2010 | Club News, Games and Results
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
by Justin Parks | 1, Mar, 2010 | Games and Results
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
by Justin Parks | 29, Nov, 2009 | Club News
A few will be saying its about time I pulled my finger out and got the site sorted and finally, after much cajoling, threats, and bribes in the form of free drink, I succumbed. Its here in all its Costa Del Sol glory and you better like it.
The site has a load of features but firt and probably most important is the Email subscription button on the top right of the page. Click that, add your email and you will be kept up to date with all the new information surrounding the club as and when it happens. While this will mean there are no excuses for missing training, it also means you wont miss any nights out on the tear.
Backing that up is a calender… strangely enough its on the calender page. Who would have thought.
It will have the days we are training on or travelling to tournaments marked there for ease of use for the illiterate bunch of loonies that make up the GAA team and purely for convenience for our highly respected and esteemed sponsors who support us so well. (You know who you are!)
You have been warned!
Next up is the photo gallery I’m working on at the moment. I have some photos to hand but would love more. As you can see on the Gallery page there are a few albums covering the last couple of years that the club has been about and these need filling so if you have any photos please send them over to info@costagaels.com!
Thats about it at the moment, There will probably be more features finding their way onto the site as things progress so stay tuned and I’m looking forward to training agin next weekend.
Later all!
by Justin Parks | 17, Feb, 2009 | GAA Legends
The Annual GAA Legend Charity event is beign held in Spain this year in April, so its just around the corner. More info to come asap as I get it in.
Yep! Its on! The GAA summer camp in Marbella is in full swing and lo and behold we have the hardest working man in Ireland, currently making out hes the hardest working man outside of Ireland, yes, its the one and only, Benny Tierney!