“Last February, training was cancelled as Borussia Dortmund wanted the pitch.” Fair enough.
There’s barely a corner of the globe where the GAA hasn’t exerted an influence and one of the biggest growth areas in recent years has been the Middle East.
The Asian Games continues to go from strength to strength year on year, while clubs from Qatar, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have already been represented in the Around the World in 80 Clubs series to date.
With 16 senior teams between men’s football and hurling, ladies’ football and camogie and a membership that is expected to swell to 300 when a new batch of teachers arrive in September, Dubai Celts is one of Asia’s biggest teams.
They train in the state of the art Dubai Sports City – visited by West Ham, Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund last season – and are pretty successful too, having recently been crowned Senior League Champions for 2015-16.
With so many members, there’s quite an active social scene too, which Chairperson Stephen Twomey and club member Paul Downes were more than happy to elaborate on when we caught up with them recently.
Needless to say, one particular club member will remember to conduct a more thorough check on his bag the next time he goes through airport security.
Focus on Dubai Celts
Club: Dubai Celts GAA
Year established: 1995
Number of members: 250 Members
Biggest rivals: Abu Dhabi Na Fianna
Biggest representation from a club/county in Ireland: Big crowd from Wexford and Kerry. And, of course, Kerry would have to do something different and set up a specific society known as the MEKS – Middle East Kerry Society. They even hold an AGM!
Most famous ever member: Peter Domican, former Connacht Senior Championship winning Captain of Roscommon as well as the proud owner of All-Ireland Club Medal with St. Brigid’s. He’s also affectionately known as “The Training Dodger”.
Most memorable moment in the club’s history: It would have to be the miracle in Al Ain last year, when the Senior Men’s A team were beaten by the Senior Men’s B team to win the tournament after extra-time & settled in golden score.
Also, the B team lost one team member early on due to injury. And, not to forget our very own ladies beating the dominant Abu Dhabi team this year for the first time in a looooonnnng time.
Most eye-catching scoreline in the club’s history: 0-2 – 0-1. It was like a game of chess. Jose Mourinho would have been in his element!
Player who makes the longest commute to training: Pete Campbell for sure. Some say he travels an hour and 30 minutes to training, but after a few pints he’ll tell you it’s a seven-hour round trip!
Most dedicated club person: A few contenders, like Niall Healy & Diarmuid O’Donovan – both dual players – but Conall Chivers has been known to take dedication to another level, even in a training match.
A regular winner of ‘who can roar the loudest at team mates?’ he has given a baby toe and more to the Celts. Will be sadly missed, as he departs to the Emerald Isle this year. Also, he rigged the Annual Dubai Celts Masters Classic by picking a scratch golfer! A winner at all costs…
Player who could have made it big if love/career/drink didn’t get in the way: Shane Fowley. Enjoys a few pints and pies but is deceptively quick and (kind of) accurate.
Biggest character: Paulie Downes from Dublin. Also trades under the pseudonym Paulie D.
The 6’ 3” Dub has been known to break a few hearts in the Persian Gulf. “Many lads wanna be me and many chicks wanna do me,” is his motto, spoken in a thick Dublin accent.
24 going on 44, he really is as soft as a teddy bear. He also has the shortest hamstrings known to man, one long stride and bang… sniper takes him out from the skyline!
Loudest in the dressing room: Hurlers Liam Kelly or Cormac O‘Regan for their blue steel escapades.
Number of romances that started in the GAA club (feel free to name names): Too many to name, but there has been a few marriages from the club!
Duck to water award – Best new player who had never played GAA before: Fiona Turnbull from Scotland has impressed with her Gaelic football skills. Would put many lads to shame. From a hurling perspective, it would have to be Colm Hunter from the north.
Most annoying person in the club WhatsApp group social media: Tom King. Loves social media. #MyDubai #Instacool #Mayo #Trending #Boom #LOL #DubaiCeltsILoveYouForeverAndSocialMediaHashTag #Sound
Best story involving a club member that’s fit for print: It would have to be our very own Ruairi Finan trying to bring a steak knife through airport security on the way to Bahrain.
Ruairi “the banter panther” Finan likes himself a nice juicy orange. He brought his school bag on a recent excursion to Bahrain for a Middle East Championship Game and forgot to empty it beforehand.
He has a fetish for oranges during school time, so he always keeps a very sharp knife in his bag in order to peel it.
Forgetting he had the knife, he confidently strode through security only to be surrounded by cops. A woman at airport security searched through the bag and couldn’t find anything, so she emptied the bag and there was a silver steak knife concealed at the bottom.
Out popped the knife and Ruairi nearly had a heart attack, envisaging having to do five years in the fun house. She laughed, put it in the bin and told him to be more careful in the future.
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