EuropeanIrish.com News Stories

Maastricht Gaels, supported by the ECB, will host a foundation level football coaching course with two coach tutors from Dublin on Saturday, November 24th, between 10:00 & 17:30.

The couse is targeted at those who would like to introduce those interested in bringing gaelic football into schools etc. The principal objective is to qualify coaches to teach 8-12 y.o’s.

Both coaches are qualified tutors.
Damian Byrne is a former Dublin hurling goalkeeper and one of the first full-time coaches in the GAA. He was recently appointed Hurling Development Manager for Dublin and is currently a senior county team selector.
Ken Fitzgerald is full-time coach with a leading Dublin club and coach of a third level (DLIADT) college football team.

The course will be broken into a theory session in the morning and a practical skills session in the afternoon. A light lunch (soup/sandwiches) will be available. Copies of the slides etc will be made available. Participants should wear a tracksuit and bring football boots.

Please let Tony Bass (Secretary ECB) know as soon as possible if your club has anyone interested in attending.
Or indeed if you wish to introduce Gaelic Football or Hurling to a new area in Europe. Contact Tony at maastricht GAA club - details here:

http://www.europeanirish.com/Sport/GAA/gaaclubs.html

1. European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships - Oct 2007 Acrobatics 24 October 2007
Qualification: 24 Oct:
Judges : Irish Jackie O’Herlihy, Jim O’Leary,
Age Group Women’s Pairs:
Ireland PAIR 1: O`BRIEN Kim, LEHANE Leigh, came 11th
Ireland PAIR 2: MURPHY Michelle, MONGAN Rebecca came 19th in Europe.
Ireland TRIO 1 WHELAN Ciara, BARRETT Hannah, O`BRIEN Jessica came 21st

JUNIOR WOMEN’S PAIR
Ireland PAIR 1: BARRETT Mary, RENNICK Sara came 12th

FINALS AG WOMEN’S PAIR
Ireland PAIR 1 IRL O`BRIEN Kim, LEHANE Leigh came 8th
2.
2007 Northern European Championships 04 October 2007 Venue: Dublin City University All Disciplines
3. Kim O’Brien and Leigh Lehane Finalists in European Age Groups, Amsterdam 2007
Kim O’Brien and Leigh Lehane from Ballincollig Gymnastics Club have made finals in the 11-16 age group in the European Age Group Championships. Michelle Murphy and Rebecca Mongen (Tuam All Stars)also
http://www.irishgymnastics.ie

4. Ireland competed at the World Championships on September 3rd in Stuttgart Germany
Ireland competed at the World Championships on Monday, September 3rd. Drawn in subdivision 4 on the first day of the men’s qualifiers, they competed alongside teams such as China, Belarusia and Bulgaria. Paired with Austria, in front of a packed Porsche arena in Stuttgart cheered on by a small but noisy set of Irish supporters, the Irish team of Mathew Cosgrave, Luke Carson and Wayne Healy turned in a fine performance….
details
5. Junior World Cup, Tumbling Finals & results Poland 2007
Congratulations to Jessie McFadden and Aoife Kiely from the International Performance Group who made finals in the Junior World Cup event in Poland this past weekend the 30th August - 2nd September.
…
…. details

6. Aphrodite Cup 2007 Cyprus
Congratulations to Artistic National Squad members Sarah Wedel and Aimee O’Driscoll for their performances at the Aphrodite Cup in Cyprus last weekend. Despite the heat, both girls performed well in …

 details

7. European Youth Olympic Festival
03-Aug-07
Gymnasts Emma Gorman (City of Lisburn) Aimee O’Driscoll (Douglas) and Rebecca Wallace (City of Lisburn) travelled to the European Youth Olympic Festival from the 18th – 28th July in Belgrade, Serbia.
…
…details

8. World Cup Junior Event - Belgium - Fliffis Cup

The Tumbling International Performance Group have done it again. Four out of the five gymnasts who went to this prestigious Junior World Cup Event made finals. Gillian Clarke (Millenium GC), Jenny Ryan (FIBE GC), Karyn Twomey (Ballincollig GC) and Jessie McFadden (Killeevan GC) all came in the top eight in the prelims to make finals.
…details

http://www.irishgymnastics.ie/irish_gymnastics_results.cfm

A 4 year old girl turned to her Dad -
“Dad” she looked puzzled ” how do whales play football !”

This weekend that’s about where the joke ends -

Republic of Ireland plays Wales in Cardiff.
Watch this match live across Europe:

http://www.europeanirish.com/Sport/GAA/liveirishsport.html

 
Irish players - many with a string of international caps, have declared themselves unfit, injured and unavailable for selection.

Richard Dunne, Stephen Kelly and Andy O Brien have all pulled out of the Millinnium Stadium clash.

Don Givens caretaker boss - having stepped up from the U21 role, contacted Ian Harte and Kevin Foley of Sunderland and Wolves. Both withdrew with injury.

With no manager, are the players half-hearted?

Were the players half-hearted even with a manager in place?
Who is needed to turn this tide for Ireland?

A new player? or a new manager?

With Steve Finnan, Paul McShane and John OShea  all available, it may not be too bad.
Ireland needs to win on Saturday to guarantee 3rd place inth group.

Failing that Ireland’s rankings and seeding for the next World Cup draw would drop - and face a team with potentially 3 or 4 teams better than Rep Ireland. 

How do you think Ireland will play on Saturday? will irish win, or will Wales win - under similar pressure to the Irish - ?

7-9 Dec Poland INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL ‘MIKOLAJKI FOLKOWE’, Lublin, Poland.
26-Nov Russia The Dartz 20.00 Red Club (SPb, Poltavskaya 7)

13-Nov Austria ”Irish Trad. Session
Cafe Concerto , Lerchenfelder Gürtel 53, 1160 Wien”
20-Nov Austria ”Irish / Scottish Trad. Session
Highlander Pub, , 1090 Wien”
30-Nov Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. BRUCK / Mur Bundesförsterschule
1-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. BUCHSCHACHEN Dorfscheune
2-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. BLEIBURG Altes Brauhaus
4-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. FELDKIRCHEN Amthof
5-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. LIENZ
6-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. GÖTZIS Am Bach
7-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. VÖLS Seidemann
8-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. SAALFELDEN Kunsthaus Nexus
9-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. RIED KIK
11-Dec Austria ” 21h00 - Irish Trad. Session
Cafe Concerto , Lerchenfelder Gürtel 53, 1160 Wien ”
11-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. ST.PÖLTEN Bühne im Hof
12-Dec Austria Festival - Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007. BAD ISCHL Leharkino
1-Dec Czech Republic The Bottlewash Band  Sýpka Brno - pořádá Skotský pes

19-Nov Czech Republic ”Barry McCabe Prague
Czech Republic”

Barry mc Cabe in Prague on the 19th.
Do not miss this great Irish blues guitarist..

Barry McCabe Czechs in
19-Nov Czech Republic ”Barry McCabe Prague
Czech Republic”
http://www.barrymccabe.com/tourdates/upcoming
Barry has been booked to play the Prague International Blues Night. He will be appearing in the Vagon Club. It’s a very good club. People like Sugar Blue (played on Miss You with the Stones), Ten Years After and Carl Palmer band have all played there. The support band is on at 9pm (21.00hrs) and Barry & band will be on stage at 10pm (22.00hrs) - tel: +420-2-21085599 - mail: vagonclub@seznam.cz
Always check with venue before travelling.

Gaelic Football in Munich Germany,
Scoring goals and points in Budapest, Hungary,
Danish Capital Denmark playing Austria’s Vienna in the Central and East Europe Men’s Gaelic Football  Region.

First up was Budapest hosted 2 visiting teams - from Munich and Vienna,
Budapest came out on top with victories over both.

Vienna ladies defeated Budapest to claim the first trophy of the year.

Next onto Vienna, again with the same 3 teams playing, Munich Colmcilles came out on top, with Vienna in second place.

München Colmcilles 2-9 – Vienna Gaels 0-4   
München Colmcilles 6-7 – Budapest Rangers 1-8   
Vienna Gaels 5-7 – Budapest Rangers 1-8   
München Colmcilles 5-10 – Vienna Gaels 1-4   
Team white 0-5 – Team red 1-4   
In Munich

Copenhagen travelled down, Budapest did not travel to this one.
So Munich Copenhagen and Vienna battled out for the honours.

Munich defeated both other teams quite comprehensively to progress to the final,

In the encounter between Vienna and Copenhagen, it finished all square 2-04 to 1-07.

It required a Play-off between the pair, for a place in the final.
This time Copenhagen won by the narrowest of margins 1-05 to Vienna’s 1-04.
Munich won the final 2-08 to 1-02 over the Danish visitors.

So in the final standings, each team copunting their best 2 rounds out of the 3 played  - Munich came out on top with 50 (2 wins), Budapest 2nd with 41 points (1 win and a third place), with Vienna on 32 (with 1 second and a third), while Copenhagen from just 1 appearance came out with 20 points (one 2nd place).

The 2007 European GAA
Men’s and Women’s
Regional and All-Europe
Championships & Shields

are all available on an easy to follow spreadsheet - with scores, points per tournament, and matches and tournaments  played.

Thanks to Mike Cryan of Paris Gaels GAA and European GAA County Board, for compiling the comprehensive details from the year.
Step 1. Go to: http://europeanirish.com/Sport/GAA/index.html

Step2. Click on
European Men’s and Women’s Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie - Championship, Shield, European Regional and all-Europe competitions
CLICK HERE NOW

Step 3.  Read the Spreadsheet - check page 8

The 2007 European GAA
Men’s and Women’s
Regional and All-Europe
Championships & Shields

are all available on an easy to follow spreadsheet - with scores, points per tournament, and matches and tournaments  played.

Thanks to Mike Cryan of Paris Gaels GAA and European GAA County Board, for compiling the comprehensive details from the year.
Step 1. Go to: http://europeanirish.com/Sport/GAA/index.html

Step2. Click on
European Men’s and Women’s Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie - Championship, Shield, European Regional and all-Europe competitions
CLICK HERE NOW

Step 3.  Read the Spreadsheet -

Page 2 has the Championship and Shield Results from each tournament.

Page 3 has the Hurling Results, showing how Den Haag captured the Hurling Championship ahead of Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris and Zurich.

Page 4 has the Ladies Championship Tournamnet Results - from each match played across 7 Rounds in 2007.

The 2007 European GAA
Men’s and Women’s
Regional and All-Europe
Championships & Shields

are all available on an easy to follow spreadsheet - with scores, points per tournament, and matches and tournaments  played.

Thanks to Mike Cryan of Paris Gaels GAA and European GAA County Board, for compiling the comprehensive details from the year.
Step 1. Go to: http://europeanirish.com/Sport/GAA/index.html

Step2. Click on
European Men’s and Women’s Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie - Championship, Shield, European Regional and all-Europe competitions
CLICK HERE NOW

Step 3.  Read the Spreadsheet -
How to read the spreadsheet-
First page : Pan European Rounds Summary -
featuring the Mens Championship Rounds’ tables
Hurling: Round 1 in Bruxelles, Round 2 in Luxembourg, Round 3 in Zurich and Round 4 in The Hague - with these 4 teams plus Paris taking part.
The Ladies Football Championship Standings shows the results from 7 rounds in Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Munich, Copenhagen, Maastricht, Paris and Barcelona, with teams also from Rennes, Vienna, Madrid, and Den Haag teaming up with Amsterdam to form the team Holland.
The Men’s Football Championship & Shield  had 4 rounds
in Copenhagen, Maastricht, Paris and Barcelona
Teams played from Luxembourg, The Hague, Paris, Jersey and Budapest played for the Championship.
In the Men’s Shield GAA clubs from  Rennes, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Maastricht, Barcelona, Madrid, Nantes, Pamplona, Valencia, Luxembourg B, and Paris B played this year.

The Republic of Ireland, managed by Pat Fenlon, with Alan Matthews & Pete Mahon part of the backroom team, will kick-off their campaign against Slovakia in Dalymount Park this Tuesday, November 13th (kick-off 7.45pm). Fenlon’s squad will then play Northern Ireland away in the spring and complete the group stage next autumn at home to Belgium.

http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2610

The preliminary judging panel and the final judging committee will make their selections employing the following criteria:

a) suitability of the song for the ESC
b) quality of the singer/performer(s)
c) experience of the singer/performer(s)
d) stage appeal of the entry

The composition of the final judging committee selecting the six finalists will reflect songwriting, performance arts and television production and will be chaired by Bill Hughes, who has extensive experience of television and stage production in both music and dance and is a keen follower of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurosong 2008 will be a high quality live entertainment show, to be held in a venue to be announced, in February 2008. The RTÉ Eurosong producer and team will work with each of the six finalist acts in advance of the Eurosong 2008 television show, to prepare them for performing for the TV audience.

Ireland’s entry for the ESC 2008 will be selected from the six finalists by a public televote to be held on the night of Eurosong 2008, the winning entry to be the one that gets the highest number of televotes on the night.

Following selection of the winning entry, RTÉ will appoint a producer/creative director and team to work with the songwriter(s) and performer(s) to mould the winning song and performance for the ESC in May 2008, it being recognised by the songwriter(s) and performer(s) that while RTE will obviously consult with them in this respect RTÉ is obliged to retain final decision and control over the arrangement, performance, staging and recording of the winning entry for the purposes of ESC 2008.

http://www.rte.ie/tv/eurovision2008/

The views of a new Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) consultative committee setup in the wake of Ireland’ s dismal result in the 2007 show, has recommended 3 things:

1. bigger productions
2. it has become a performance contest,
3. as much as a song contest.

National competition

A New strategy is being adopted - according the RTE, they ” will be selecting our ESC 2008 entry by means of a national competition, to be called Eurosong 2008. This approach will not be unlike the National Song Contest of previous years, but will encourage innovation not only in music but also in visual presentation, in keeping with the ESC contests we’ve seen in recent years.

With that aim, RTÉ is inviting entries that include the song, the singer(s) and any proposed performance/staging details. In this scenario, it is expected that song entries will have singers attached when the entries are being submitted and that singers submitting entries will have agreed with the song composer that they will perform that song composer’s entry.

The closing date for entries will be at noon on Monday, the 21st of January 2008. Entries should be submitted to Fidelma Kelly, RTÉ Entertainment, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. ”

http://www.rte.ie/tv/eurovision2008/ for more details

EP News Plenary Session ( Strasbourg ) 12-15 November 2007 :

More sport in schools to tackle child obesity

On Monday evening, Hungarian MEP Pál Schmitt and ex-olympic fencer will present a report on behalf of the European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee which points to the importance of sport in schools.  According to the Culture Committee’s study, the average time allocated by primary schools to physical education has fallen from 121 to 109 minutes and the number of children in the EU who are overweight or obese is estimated to be rising by more than 400,000 a year.  300,000 children are obese or overweight in Ireland .

The European Parliament’s report emphasises that physical education should be carried out together with information campaigns aimed at children and their parents on the need to adopt a health lifestyle and on the health risks linked to an unhealthy diet. MEPs also emphasise the need for better sports facilities and recommend using EU structural funds to create sports facilities in disadvantaged areas.

Irish MEPs on this issue: Liam Aylward (FF - East); Kathy Sinnott ( Ind - South); Eoin Ryan (FF - Dublin )

Greece
2-5 Dec Greece INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA OF INDEPENDENT FILM/VIDEO MAKERS ARISTOTELOUS 32 STR. 54631 Thessaloniki

Denmark
9-18 Nov Denmark CPH:DOX Danish Film Institute Gothersgade 55 DK-1123 Copenhagen

November 16, 2007 / November 17, 2007  “GRACE” FALUDI INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR FILM FESTIVAL   Budapest, Hungary
http://www.europeanirish.com/All_Events.htm

5-18 Nov Czech Republic  CZECH GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL MEZIPATRA Smejkalova 75 616 00 Brno
24-25 Nov Czech Republic  ANTI-ANTI-FEST 111 21 Prague 1

Anti-Anti-Fest is a festival showcasing short films in any medium except film. This is the third Anti-Film Festival. This event will also include a salon for anti-digital (film), and anti-moving image (still photography), making it an “Anti-Anti-Fest.”

The festival is open to the public
The festival has a competition

CZECH GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL MEZIPATRA November 2, 2007 / November 18, 2007 

Czech gay and lesbian film festival Mezipatra is a specialized competitive film festival that shows films dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.

The festival is open to the public
The festival has a competition

Organiser 

Smejkalova 75

616 00 Brno

Czech Republic
Tel : +420 775 616 055
Fax : +420 549 212 728

http://www.europeanirish.com/PubsShops/businesses.htm

06-09 Nov Trade Mission to Bucharest and Sofia Bucharest, Sofia, Bulgaria & Romania
13-16 Nov Productronica 2007 Munich, Germany
14-Nov   Insight into Telephonica Workshop, Spain
16-18 Nov Germany Enterprise Ireland Trade Events:  ComPaMed 2007 Duesseldorf
3/Oct- 3 Nov Russia Enterprise Ireland Trade Events:  Education Fair to Russia & Kazakhstan Moscow & Almaty
27-28 Nov Slovakia Enterprise Ireland Trade Events:  Trade Mission to Slovakia
22-26 Nov Machinery Technology Study Visit Northern Italy & Austria

Sofia & Bucharest Trade Mission
Enterprise Ireland will host an outward mission to Bucharest and Sofia. The mission will provide an excellent opportunity for lead generation and market development in Romania. Key buyers and partners will target relevant clients in software, environment, consultancy and electronics sub-supply

Productronica 2007 Munich
The Electronics Division will host a study visit to Productronica Trade Fair for clients operating in this sector. Productronica provides a comprehensive, consolidated and transparent look at the market for electronics production and the special technologies used in micro-manufacturing. It examines the industry’s entire value-added chain – from development to services – with unique depth and completeness. Participants will discover the latest innovations in electronics, Research & Development and production equipment. The visit will also provide an opportunity to network with potential new customers.

Machinery Technology Study Visit Northern Italy & Austria
Description:   Enterprise Ireland clients operating in the furniture machinery sector are invited on a study visit to Northern Europe. Participants will gain an understanding of current and future innovations in the sector via factory visits. This in turn will help them to develop business strategies which are based on new technologies enabling them to develop products which have higher added value and improve productivity. For further information please email contact below.
Details

http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/

6-Nov Austria Austro-Irish Society - Irish Meeting Point - Darts Evening at Molly Darcy’s Irish Pub Vienna
7-11 Nov Austria Berg abenteuer filmfestival graz
7-10 Nov Austria INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN & ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL GRAZ
1-Dec Austria Austro-Irish Society - Annual Christmas Dinner

Check out Austro-Irish Society for details -

Austro-Irish Society
Österreichisch - Irische Gesellschaft
outings, slideshows, Pubquiz, lectures, dance, music
 www.austro-irish.at

Ireland finished their Polonia Cup Campaign off with two hard fought victories against tough opposition.  First up was a strong Estonian team.  But despite some close fought matches, Ireland deservedly won through 4-3 with one of the best performances being the mens doubles victory from Owen Marron and Luke Moore.
In their final match, Ireland played Hungary….
Details & Report:

http://www.badmintonireland.com/content/templates/news.aspx?articleid=654&zoneid=2

Luxembourg, Paris, Rennes, Budapest win at European Gaelic Football Finals

Luxembourg are Men’s Gaelic Football Champions of Europe, having been runners-up 4 times in the last 5 years.
2007 European Ladies Gaelic Football Champions are Paris.
Rennes from Brittany, have impressively won the 2007 Men’s Shield, after extra time.

Barcelona Gaels hosted the last round of the European Championships today.
In the Men’s Championship, Budapest Rangers stole the show.
It was supposed to be a 3-horse affair with Den Haag, Paris and Luxembourg. Budapest had not read the script, and after travelling 1500km, started the day with a shock comprehensive 2-09 to 0-05 win over Paris Gaels, before defeating favourites Den Haag 0-06 to 0-05.

Luxembourg and Budapest Rangers reached Final, ensuring that Luxembourg secured the overall 2007 European Championship. But the Barcelona Championship tournament went to Budapest in the Final, Rangers winning by 2 points, in a scoreline 1-3 to 0-4. I guess they were just more Hungary!

2007 European Ladies Gaelic Football Champions are Paris.
Paris comprehensively defeated Luxembourg in the Final 2-14 to 1-6, but it was their group displays of courage and skill with 1 point wins over Holland and Luxembourg earlier in the day which really secured Paris this title.
Holland and Paris were tied for the overall European Championship coming into this Tournament, leading 3rd place Maastricht, and the 2006 champions Luxembourg. Munich, Vienna, Barcelona, Rennes and Madrid Ladies have all contributed in no small measure to this thrilling skilful 2007 Championship.

Rennes from Brittany have impressively won the 2007 Men’s Shield, defeating Copenhagen from Denmark by just 1 point, after extra-time, in the Final.
Maastricht (Holland), 2006 Shield Champions could only manage 3rd place this year. Barcelona, Madrid, Nantes, Pamplona and Valencia picked up valuable points and experience for the future, in this year’s Championship, many making their debut here today.
A few of the GAA teams playing today had no Irish players at all - Rennes, Barcelona and Maastricht teams are made up of predominantly non-Irish players.

It will be remembered as the day Budapest came to town and stole the crown, Luxembourg did enough to win the Men’s Championship, Paris secured the Ladies Championship, winning the Final in style, and Rennes came from behind to win the Final and win the 2007 Shield.

Men’ Championship Finals Results
Paris
Luxembourg
Den Haag
Budapest

Final
Budapest Rangers 1-3 0-4  Luxembourg

Group Matches
Luxembourg  0-4 0-5  Den Haag
Paris   0-5 2-9 Budapest
Den Haag  0-5 0-6  Budapest
Luxembourg  1-12  1-2 Paris
Luxembourg  3-6 1-10  Budapest (1 point win for Lux)
Den Haag  3-4 0-4  Paris (also 3rd place playoff)

Ladies Championship Final Tournament Results
Final
Paris Gaels  2-14 1-6 Luxembourg

Semi Final
Luxembourg  1-5 1-3 Barcelona
Paris Gaels  2-14 0-1 Maastricht

Group matches
Paris   2-2 1-3  Holland
Luxembourg  4-7 0-1 Rennes
Barcelona  2-7 1-1 Munich
Maastricht  2-2 0-1  Madrid
Holland  4-6 0-1 Rennes
Paris   1-6 1-5  Luxembourg
Munich   0-2 1-4 Madrid
Barcelona  0-11  1-2 Maastricht
Paris   2-4 0-1  Rennes
Holland  3-6 4-4 Luxembourg (1 point win for Lux)
Barcelona  1-5 0-1 Madrid
Munich   1-1 3-2  Maastricht
Men’s Shield 2007
Barcelona  Amsterdam
Maastricht  Rennes
Copenhagen  Madrid
Valencia  Pamplona

Final
Copenhagen  0-12 2-07  Rennes
(1 point win for Rennes after Extra Time)

Semi Final
Copenhagen 1-6 2-0 Amsterdam
Barcelona  1-5 2-3 Rennes (1 point win for Rennes)

Other playoff results include debuts by
Pamplona 5-3 2-3 Valencia
##

In Europe, Gaelic Football outperforms Irish Soccer and Rugby

While Irish Soccer and Rugby hit rock bottom this autumn, Gaelic Football has risen to new heights in Europe – mainland Europe.

This weekend, November 3rd, Barcelona hosts the Gaelic Football European Championship Finals.
300 players from 20 Men’s and Women’s teams will arrive from Spain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Hungary to play 40 Gaelic Football matches.

Tournaments across the Continent, have been contested keenly throughout the year, Saturday’s tournament is the Final of the season, with the European Men’s & Ladies’ Championships, and the Men’s Shield being decided.

Men’s top prize will be contested by Budapest, Paris, Luxembourg and Den Haag.  A last minute point separated Luxembourg and Den Haag in October’s tournament.

Barcelona V Munich - just one of the fascinating encounters, with eight teams competing for the Ladies Gaelic Football Championship.

Men’s Shield leaders Amsterdam (Holland) may be pipped for the overall European Shield Title if Rennes (Brittany) wins the Shield Tournament this weekend.
Copenhagen Team travels 1757 Km for this Tournament.

The success of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Europe “is down to the passion of 100’s of players who travel regularly, at their own expense, by plane and train, to play with pride for their European GAA Clubs. This can cost a player more than €3500 in a year.” according to Siasy Collins, Editor of Europeanirish.com, 10 years reporting on the GAA in Europe.

“The event is hosted and organized exclusively by the playing staff of Barcelona Gaels’ men’s and women’s teams, comprising over 60% local Catalans”  described Mick McGrath, Secretary Barcelona Gaels. “The Iberian region will have representatives from Barcelona, Madrid, Pamplona and Valencia. More than 600 spectators will watch the Finals” added Chairman Stephen Garland.

Top officials from Croke Park Dublin, including Director General of the GAA, Liam Mulvihill, will attend, marking the largest GAA event ever on the Continent.

 “There is an increasing number of non-Irish players now playing Gaelic Football in Europe”, Tony Bass, European GAA County Board Secretary explained. “In the Maastricht GAA Club, for instance, the mix is 50/50 Dutch to Irish players”

At a time when Irish Soccer and Irish Rugby are at their lowest, Gaelic Football has never been stronger in Europe than it is today, with over a 1000 players in 25 Clubs!

For further details on the European Gaelic Football Finals in Barcelona, this Saturday 3rd November, download the Official Programme:
www.europeanirish.com/Sport/GAA

 
Barcelona hosts European Gaelic Football Finals
- Photo by Gabriel Roche
 

500 Irish Festivals in Europe:
http://www.europeanirish.com/Music/festivals.html

Guinness Irish Christmas Festival 2007 Austria
MOSAIC ALLSTARS (IRE/USA) & PROVIDENCE (IRE)

http://www.weltenklang.at/tours.php?lang=en
 Fr 30.11.2007 BRUCK / Mur Bundesförsterschule
 Sa 1.12.2007 BUCHSCHACHEN Dorfscheune
 So 2.12.2007 BLEIBURG Altes Brauhaus
 Mo 3.12.2007 FELETTO UMBERTO (I) Auditorio - tbc
 Di 4.12.2007 FELDKIRCHEN Amthof
 Mi 5.12.2007 GRAZ Brücke
 Do 6.12.2007 GÖTZIS Am Bach
 Fr 7.12.2007 VÖLS Seidemann
 Sa 8.12.2007 SAALFELDEN Kunsthaus Nexus
 So 9.12.2007 RIED KIK
 Di 11.12.2007 ST.PÖLTEN Bühne im Hof
 Mi 12.12.2007 BAD ISCHL Leharkino
 Do 13.12.2007 SALZBURG OVAL - Die Bühne im Europark
 Fr 14.12.2007 LINZ Posthof
 Sa 15.12.2007 Waidhofen / Th. Igel
 Mo 17.12.2007 KORNEUBURG Gwölb
 Di 18.12.2007 LAA / Th. Festsaal BG
 Mi 19.12.2007 WIEN Metropol
 Do 20.12.2007 WR.NEUSTADT Stadttheater
 Fr 21.12.2007 ALLAND Fiddlers Green
 Sa 22.12.2007 OSLIP Cselley Mühle