30 June 2010 – The Quartering of Belgium

Background: the illustrious captain of Belgium GAA’s Mens Football A team, Eoin Sheanon, took it upon himself to rally the troops during the unexpected mid-season off-season of European football, by organising the very first Belgian Interclub League. With a wealth of players to choose from, the players were divided (very evenly*) into 4 teams: Munster and Europe; Dublin and France; Connaught, Ulster and Non-Aligned Territories; and Leinster and the Americas. Here is his account of the first fixture, on Wednesday 30 June.

The Dublin versus the West game was a real humdinger and a tale of two halves. The West dominated the first half with Giller marshalling midfield and Francis in flying form scoring three points from play. In the second half Alec and Diarmuid, with the outside of his boot, completely controlled the centre of the park. Hudson had a fantastic second half keeping Francis scoreless but despite O'Dowd keeping the scoreboard ticking over, the West needed a hero. Cometh the hour, Cometh the man, and the self described Antrim Maradona, Oliver O'Callaghan was on hand to get in between the Davide, our imported Dub who hadn't put a foot wrong and Fergal who had been solid all evening to fist home an unlikely winner and rescue a well-deserved point for Liam-Kelly-less West. Special mention to Paul Hagan who won a heap of possession around the half forward line and Alan Rowan who really got going in the second half but Man of the Match has to go to Oliver O'Callaghan with the never-say-die attitude that earned his team the draw.

Leinster v. Munster was a scrappy affair with Munster edging it by just two points. Munster went in 5 points up at the break and looked like they were coasting. Collins hit some great points and Barrett seemed to be always in the right place at the back. Shane Griffin was keeping good tabs on Jim though and Leinster fought back gallantly with a great goal by Collie Byrne setting up a frantic final few minutes. With Leinster getting right back into it, up the field came Timmy with a fantastic goal that in the end killed off the Leinster comeback. Timmy was excellent for the 40 minutes and takes the Man of the Match.

* Editor’s note: the editor is from the Munster region. Make of it what you will.

Belgium GAA Take Double Honours in First Home Tournament

Monday 10th May

Belgium GAA took a clean sweep of cups in their first home tournament on 8th May.

Former President of the GAA Sean Kelly MEP presented the cups to captains Caoimhe Ní Shuilleabháin and Eoin Ó Seanáin on an historic day for Belgium GAA.

Belgium Ladies won Round 2 of the 2011 Euro-Ladies Championship, comprehensively beating Paris in the final by 3-7 to 0-2

Belgium B Ladies beat by 1-6 to 2-1 Holland to take third place.

Belgium A footballers beat their arch-rivals The Hague in the final of the Benelux Regional Round 3, on a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-5.

In the Ladies' decider, Belgium established an early lead with goals by Maria Brosnan and Ciara Farrell. In an exhibition of football never before seen on the Continent of Europe, Cavan star Ciara Farrell adorned the final with some exceptional forward play.

The general teamwork was a sight to behold with Emer Kelly, Grainne Ni Fhlatharta, Sylvia McCarthy and Aisling Fenton keeping things watertight at the back. Midfielders Caragh O'Connor and captain fantastic Caoimhe Ní Shuilleabháin linked play in the middle and the forward line were clinical in front of goal.

Excellent link-work by full forward Maria 'the Bomber' Brosnan opened up acres of space on numerous occasions and corner-forward Barbara Wynne chipped in for a point from the right in the second half.

In the men's final, the intense rivalry between Belgium A and Den Haag was renewed, with the two sides meeting in the final for the third time in succession.

Belgium had been motoring well all day, meanwhile an injury-depleted The Hague had to work hard to reach the final, leaving the home side favourites to take the honours.

However it is never so simple in matters between these rivals and an early flurry of points by Eoin Sheanon from play and James O'Dowd from frees was matched by Danny Craven from dead balls, leaving Belgium only a point to the good at half time 0-5 to 04.

An inspiring speech by Jim McGrath at the break saw a riled-up Belgium side immediately get on the scoreboard, the Tipp man putting his money where his mouth was by immediately pointing from 15 yards.

From there on in it was Belgium all the way as a series of excellent points put daylight between the sides. The deadly boot James O'Dowd once more put The Hague men to the sword.

Meanwhile at the back, David Collins was putting in a vintage performance on The Hague talisman Craven and debutant Diarmuid Laffan was fielding some great ball, also chipping in with a well-taken score.

The now traditional Belgium-Hague shamozzle saw Olof Gill get a clout to the snout and The Hague's Declan Bonner walk to the line.

In the end, Belgium were well on top and delighted the large home crowd by finishing off victors by 0-11 to 0-5.

The evening's festivities were crowned by Belgium taking a clean sweep of all trophies, Belgium captain Eoin Ó Seanáin taking the Player of the Tournament award for his "honesty and integrity" if not for his footballing ability. Meanwhile there was no doubting the merits of Ciara Farrell taking the award for the ladies.

All in all another great day for Belgium GAA!

Belgium GAA Ladies and Mens Football Tournament - 8 May 2010

On Saturday 8 May, Belgium GAA will host its first tournament of the year, which will take place in the Catholic University of Leuven/ Louvain (more information on getting to the pitches below).

Updated information: This is the link to the schedule (mens and ladies) for Saturday - http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t2ocrKNmLGps2Veejaxk0Xw&output=html

This is the first time that Belgium GAA will host a round of the Ladies Football European Championship, and a round of the Benelux Mens Football Championship, so we are pulling out all the stops.

Everyone is invited to join in the day, club members and non-members alike. So if you fancy fresh air, sunshine (fingers crossed), the chance to get out of Brussels for a day, good food and drink, and the opportunity to see teams from all over Europe tearing into each other in a bid to win medals, trophies, honour and glory, then Leuven on Saturday is the place for you!

This competitive spirit will continue into the evening in De Valera's bar in Place Flagey, sponsors of Belgium GAA. Here, from 22h, you can enjoy the other side of European GAA, the side that makes speeches, sings, and dances its socks off until the early hours of Sunday morning.

If you can't make it this month, never fear! Next month, on Saturday 26 June, we will do it all over again, except this time, we will be hosting a round of the European Hurling and Camogie Championship.

For more information, please visit the Belgium GAA and Friends Facebook page or the Belgium GAA Ladies and Mens Football Tournament event page.

Pitch Information:

If you are travelling by car

• Leuven (Flemish spelling) / Louvain (French spelling) is situated about 10 km outside the Brussels Ring. Click here for the exact location of the pitches.

If you are travelling by train

• Trains go from all the main Brussels train stations to Leuven approximately every 30 minutes. The journey from Gare du Midi is 25 minutes. This is the link for information on the train schedule: http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/
• Click here for a map of the distance between the train station and the pitches (2.7km). If you are playing, it may be best to get a taxi from the station.
  

Belgium Hurlers Win in Den Haag

Monday 3rd May Belgium Hurlers, European Champions in 2009, continued their impressive run of success on May 1st last, clocking up their 7th tournament win in a row and their first of 2010.

Belgium won the final by 1-8 to 1-5, with a goal by captain Phil Cushen the difference between the sides in the end.

The day began badly for Belgium, who were without 12 starters from 2009. In the group game against Den Haag, the concession of 2 sloppy goals saw them lose by 2-3 to 0-5. 3 points by Davy Barrett, with 1 each from play by Phil Cushen and Jarrett Reckseidler amounted to Belgium's tally.

Next up were Luxembourg in a make or break tie. Belgium huffed and puffed before putting away the Lux challenge with a series of pointed frees from top marksman Davy Barrett. Also on the scoresheet were Phil Cushen and Shane Ryan. Solid defending by Fergal Mythen and Yann de Kesel kept the Luxembourg threat to a minimum.

The final offered a chance to undo the damage inflicted by Den Haag earlier on. This Belgium team is not used to capitulating having dominated Europe for over a year now and Saturday proved no different.

A titantic tussle between Sean Simpson and Phil Cushen at midfield set the tone for proceedings, with the DH man notching up the lion's share of his teams score, with the Crusher scoring the only goal of the day for Belgium.

Den Haag established an early foothold with the aforementioned Simpson scoring a goal. Half time Belgium were down 1-3 to 0-4 with Davy Barrett scoring 2 points, The Crusher scoring 1 and Limerick's Conor Magner scoring a great point from the left.

The first half was also marked by a couple of shamozzles, with Belgium's Dad's Army leading the way in the trenches!

Belgium upped the tempo in the second half, grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. Phil Cushen pilfered the ball 35 yards out on the left, broke through 2 tackles before angling a shot to the top right corner of the net, bring Belgium level.

Shane Ryan found his shooting range with an excellent score from out on the right before Davy Barrett added to points to seal the deal.

Belgium came away with silverware once more in a struggle which brought back memories of a great battle between these two rivals in Luxembourg in 2009.

Credit to all who travelled on the day, which featured assured performances from debutants such as Conor Magner and old hands such as Adrian Hiel at the back.

Belgium Gaelic Footballers Take Honours in Den Haag

Monday 12 April - Belgium Gaelic Footballers Take Honours in Den Haag

The men of Belgium GAA recorded a famous victory on Saturday last in the final of the 2nd round of the Benelux Championship in extra time over hosts and 2009 European Champions Den Haag.

The final score was 2-11 to 1-9. The result was only put beyond doubt with two minutes of extra time remaining, with Kilkenny man Pearse O Caoimh notching the decisive goal.

There is very little to separate these two teams, who have dominated European football over the past couple of years. The game started thus, with James O'Dowd of Belgium and DH's Danny Craven exchanging a series of points from play and from dead balls. Jim McGrath and Alec Elliott also finished off well-worked moves to leave Belgium one up at 0-5 to 0-4 at half time.

The first half finished on an ugly note with a vicious assault on Tipp man Jim McGrath by one of Den Haag players, which the referee unfortunately missed.

Den Haag started brightly in the second half, scoring two points in a row. Former Offaly Senior Club Footballer and Morgan Parra lookalike Dave Collins tagged a point back for the Belgians, however Den Haag rattled the men in grey with a goal from Down native Craven.

With the clock ticking down the intensity of the game reached a new level, with some of the most keenly contested and best exchanges of play that European football has seen to date.

Belgium came storming back into it. A well-worked move saw Belgium skipper Eoin O Seanáin dragged down in the area for a penalty. Clareman and debutant James O'Dowd, who hadn't put a foot wrong from dead balls all day, stepped up to slot the ball beyond the Den Haag goalkeeper.

Nevertheless the game was not over yet with Sean Simpson of Den Haag scoring an equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game.

Extra time ensued, and weary bodies were thrown into the fray for one last battle.

Olof Gill and Eoin O Seanain exchanged points with Danny Craven before James O'Dowd put Belgium 2 up with 2 minutes remaining on the clock. As tired bodies on both sides struggled manfully to win the crucial breaks, the ball was worked down the left wing with Pearse O Caoimh slotting in from the left to scuff a 15 yard kick past the Haag goalkeeper.

The ball trickled into the far corner of the net and the crowd erupted in delight - Belgium had taken a famous scalp, winning the Den Haag Benelux Tournament for the first time ever.

In what is only the 2nd Round of a 4 Round Championship, the sides are level heading for the May 8th Belgium Tournament in Leuven, with Den Haag victors in Amsterdam.

All is still to play for in what is turning into an epic battle between Belgium and Den Haag footballers.

Will you meet me on Clare Island?

Wednesday March 17th Paddy's Day and the drinking is easy, but the hearts and minds of Belgium GAA's finest are set on the Clare Island Tournament this Saturday 20th March.

Belgium GAA men travel to the soft and craggy isle off the coast of Mayo this weekend seeking to retain the Richard Hayes Memorial Cup. The three-way tournament features the hosts, Clare Island, Belgium GAA and Roger Casements of Coventry.

The same clubs field in the Ladies' Tournament, with our all-conquering Belgium GAA ladies travelling in strength to try and wrest the crown from the Champions, Roger Casements.

In what promises to be an intriguing three-way tussle, the home team Clare Island ladies will be hoping to upset the apple cart, but Caoimhe Ni Shuilleabhain's Belgians will be strongly fancied.

Our intrepid travellers will depart Roonagh Pier at 10am on Saturday morning. A long day of football, Gale Force Westerlies, pints of the famous 'Special', soup and sangwiches and boogeying the night away to the Saw Doctors awaits.

As the saying goes, "Up the Wesht!"

Meanwhile, tournament organiser Olof Gill is facing somewhat of a dilemma:

"It will be tough challenge for us," said Gill.

"Which team are you talking about?" asked your puzzled reporter.

"Ah well, eh, I'm confused...honesht to God" said Gill, who is facing a torrent of abuse no matter which jersey he pulls on on the day.

Reports from within the Belgium GAA camp suggest Davy Barrett is lining up a spectacular ambush on Gill, should his colours change.

"I'll knock him as far as Inishturk, like", Barrett is reported to have said.

When contacted, Mr Barrett refused to comment.

St Patrick's Day Festival in Parc Cinquantenaire This Sunday March 14th!

Belgium GAA and FC Irlande are once again jointly organising the fantastic and fun St Patrick's Day Festival in Parc Cinquantenaire in the heart of Brussels from 11:30 til late this Sunday 14th March.

Festivities will include BBQ and Bar, fun games for all the family, Gaelic Football, Hurling and Soccer, as well as music and general merrymaking...hail, rain or shine!

In the evening the festivities will continue with gusto in Bar 1898 on Rond Point Schuman with traditional Irish music, dancing and even more merrymaking!

It promises to be another famous event marking one of the highpoints of the year for the large and vibrant Irish community and friends in Brussels.

All are welcome and don't forget to invite your friends and family.

Further info: www.paddysday.be