Maastricht – The capital of European GAA

This week, JOE visits the Dutch town of Maastricht to hear about the only full sized GAA pitch on continental Europe and the club’s plans for the future.

By Dave Barrett

For the last three years, the first Saturday of November has seen men’s and ladies teams from all over Europe descend on the small Dutch city of Maastricht.

They have been coming in greater numbers each year, all with the purpose of competing in the finals of the European Gaelic Football Championship. One can only marvel at the sight as more than 30 teams compete on five pitches over a full day.

The day’s finals are played out under the floodlights on the main pitch. It’s not just any old pitch though. Aside from possessing a state of the art, synthetic surface, it is also the only full sized GAA pitch on continental Europe.

Our vision is to develop the Maastricht ground into the Croke Park of mainland Europe!

One of the club's founders, Tipp man Shay O’Doherty, tells us how this pitch development came about. “When we started the club in 2005 we quickly realised the need to have local people involved and to be part of the local community as is the case with GAA clubs in Ireland.

“We officially registered with the city council as a sports club. This gave us access to the city council and they were positive towards us from the start.”

Early success raises profile

After successfully hosting a number of tournaments and having been crowned 2006 European Shield champions, the city started to take notice and the timing was good. “The rugby ground, which is our home base, became a focus of the city’s plan to develop multi-purpose sport facilities,” explains Shay.

Opportunity knocked when the city enquired about the requirements for Gaelic Games. “After lobbying the benefits of having a full size GAA pitch we were delighted when the city agreed to our proposal to make provisions for it.”

Fighting their corner

What makes this even more remarkable is that the club is probably the smallest in Europe. Tipp man Shay, along with Dubs Tony and Chris Marley, were the men who first hatched the plan for a club back in April 2005 over a couple of pints in John Mullins’ Irish Pub.

Shay explains how it came about: "I was working in the local pub with Chris one evening. Tony Bass walked in and started talking about European GAA. After work, and a few pints later, the thought of playing GAA in places such as Barcelona seemed like a great idea and it all went downhill from there really!”

Despite a promising start with success in the 2006 Shield, the club has faced a constant struggle to keep the show on the road.

"Maastricht is the smallest city in Europe with a GAA club and has very few Irish living here,” adds Shay.

“After Holland got to last year’s World Cup final, soccer further entrenched itself in the locals’ minds. It is a constant battle to get people interested and then to hold on to them as there tends to be a lot of expats that pass through and students that only study in the city for a short period.”

Settling in Maastricht

Maastricht has a hold of Shay and he is now settled there.

"I’ve been here 10 years. It’s a lovely city, not too big and not too small. I’ve managed to settle in quite well and have a lot of friends and contacts.” Mercedes-Benz have their European contact centre in the city and it is there that Shay earns his crust and it’s likely to stay that way.

After a 16-year break from GAA, Shay is now a mulitple medal winner and referee

“They have recently committed themselves to another ten years in Maastricht, so I could be here a while.”

Shay has been making up for lost time and is now very prominent on the European scene.

“After a 16-year GAA break, I now have a European medal for football and hurling. I’m also one of the new wave of European referees and serve as Men’s Football officer on the County Board so anyone playing GAA in Europe is sure to bump into me at some stage.”

Forget warm weather training in Malaga, Maastricht is where it’s at

Tony Bass is still in situ and together, the lads continue to plan the growth of the club and the full sized pitch is an integral part of that plan.

"Having the only full sized pitch in Europe is a great honour and we do plan to use it more,” says Tony.

“With its excellent surface, floodlights and changing facilities it can be used all year round and we hope to develop it into an ideal training base for Irish clubs or counties that fancy a trip to Europe."

From hosting tournaments over the last few years, the lads have developed good contacts with local hotels and can thus offer visiting teams all the support necessary for a successful training weekend.

Shay, through his role as football officer on the County Board, wants to see a 15-a-side European representative team in action at the venue in 2011. "One of my goals for this year is to see the first full county Europe team play a home fixture, in my adopted home of Maastricht.”

Up until now Europe has only fielded a sevens county team. “The plan is to pit the European selection against an Irish or English team once the season concludes in November. Our vision is to develop the Maastricht ground into the Croke Park of mainland Europe! It is quite central in Europe with good rail and road connections and various airports within close range, unlike Croke Park which only has one!"

Future of the Gaels

A club must be active on the field of play to sustain itself in the long run and Shay wants to grow player numbers in men’s and ladies football this year. “The search for new players is never ending, with any Irish accent heard in the city being approached to play GAA. The university is also targeted and players of other sports are approached to give it a go. This year we hope to field both men’s and ladies teams in European competitions.”

Watch out for the white and red of the Maastricht Gaels.

For more information on Maastricht Gaels, visit their website here.

Dave writes a regular blog about playing GAA in Europe. You can find it through the following link - www.keepingitlit.com.