10
- 11 June 2006 - Brussels
- EHL Tournament
BRUSSELS
HURLING CLUB TOURNAMENT REPORT, June 10th 2006
In
30 degrees celsius temperatures, five teams squared off in Brussels
for the honour of lifting the Charlie McCreevy Cup. Teams from
Zurich, The Hague, Luxembourg and two from Brussels competed under
the watchful eye of Limerick referee Jason O’Mahony.
While a very game Brussels development squad was beaten in all
its games it was a proud day for the host club to be able to field
2 squads, ten of whom were camogie players. It was especially
noteworthy how tight and competitive most of the matches were
and it is clear that standards are rising in the European Hurling
League. In this context it was great to welcome back into the
hurling fold the Luxembourg team who did very well to reach the
final where, unluckily for them, Zurich came out on top on a 6-14
to 3-4 scoreline.
The host club had some measure of consolation when one of its
key forwards, Will Cashin, received the player of the tournament
on the back of some very consistent performances, especially during
what may have been the match of the tournament, when Zurich pipped
Brussels A with a last-minute goal to win on a 4-10 to 4-8 scoreline.
With three more legs of the European Hurling League still to be
completed in Munich, The Hague and Luxembourg Zurich are in pole
position to retain their European title but there are now several
other teams snapping at their heels.
On a typically hot continental summer’s day it was fantastic
to see people born in countries as far afield as Canada, Kenya
and Belgium taking with such enthusiasm to this most Gaelic of
sports. It was also great to see a camogie exhibition match played
during the tournament, the first-ever time camogie has been played
in Europe.
Afterwards, Michael Murray from European Commissioner McCreevy’s
office presided at the awards ceremony in, of all places, The
Michael Collins pub! Commissioner McCreevy, though noted more
for his football skills, is the Brussels Hurling Club’s
Patron and has shown himself to be a real friend to Gaelic games
in Belgium.
Brussels
A 3-7 v. 3-03 Den Haag
Brussels B 0-05 v. 5-11 Zurich
Brussels A 3-04 v. 2-08 Luxembourg
Den Haag 9-11 v. 0-02 Brussels B
Brussels A 4-08 v. 4-10 Zurich
Den Haag 1-05 v. 1-07 Luxembourg
Brussels B 0-03 v. 3-10 Luxembourg
Den Haag 3-03 v. 3-09 Zurich
Brussels A 5-13 v. 1-02 Brussels B
Zurich 6-14 v. 3-04 Luxembourg (FINAL)
CO.
EUROPE V. SETANTA of DONEGAL, 11 June 2006
SETANTA
2-10 - CO. EUROPE 2-05
On
Sunday, 11 June 2006, a Co. Europe Hurling team took to the field
for the very first time, in Brussels, Belgium. Providing the friendly
opposition on the day was the Setanta Hurling Club of Crossroads
Killygordon in Donegal and it is to their immense credit that
they flew to Belgium at their own expense to participate in this
historic fixture.
The European team was drawn from players representing Brussels,
The Hague, Munich and Zurich and consisted both of players born
in Ireland as well as those born in other hurling strongholds
such as Canada and Switzerland! The same players had spent the
previous day locked in fierce competition at the Brussels Hurling
Tournament so it was quite a unique experience to line out with
each other. Unfortunately, the lack of playing familiarity gave
Setanta a distinct advantage and their superior teamwork handed
them a 2-10 to 2-05 victory. Europe had moments of enterprise
and skill but their priority now will be to have more frequent
training sessions and challenge matches.
Ultimately Co. Europe hopes to compete in the Nicky Rackard Cup
although there will be several logistical bridges to cross before
this comes a reality. One of the key issues to be addressed is
the absence of full-size hurling or football pitches in Europe
(teams currently play 11-a-side on rugby pitches) but the enthusiasm
with which the launch of the Co. Europe squad was greeted gives
one real hope that this is an obstacle that can be overcome.
The creation of a European hurling team is a very significant
step on the road to promoting the sport throughout Europe and
to strengthening solidarity between the hurling clubs that lie
scattered many hundreds of miles apart. To see Europe run out
at Croke Park or Semple Stadium is a distant but realisable dream,
especially if we work together. Ní neart go cur le chéile!
19
March 2006 - Brussels
Brussels
v. Den Haag
4-4 - 3-2
On
a cold but sunny Sunday, the first challenge game of the season
took place and gave an opportunity for some new faces to the club
to shine. DH arrived with only 6 players, including Podge Doyle
formerly of BHC, so Tadhg Gavigan and Conor Barry of BHC played
– and impressed - for the visitors.
The
8 men and 1 woman of Brussels took a while to get into their stride
but gradually they began to move the sliotar around nicely. Particular
highlights were the striking and blocking of Dave Barrett and
Brian Dennehy and the 2-goal poaching of Shauna Mullan. The bravery
and commitment of Ben Kinara, in his first-ever game of hurling,
were also praiseworthy.
The
game, ably refereed by James Gavigan, was played in a good atmosphere
and afterwards members of both teams retired to “The Old
Oak”. BHC looks forward to a full calendar of games in 2006
pleased to have recruited some good new players and optimistic
for the season ahead.
Scores:
Shauna Mullan (2-0), Conan Mac Oscair (1-1), Dave Barrett (1-1),
Brian Dennehy (0-2)
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8
October
2005 - Brussels - EHL Tournament
Tournament scorelines
Zurich 1-3 / 0-5 Munich
Brussels
2-5 / 1-3 Den Haag
Munich
2-13 / 0-6 Brussels
Zurich
8-4 / 4-8 Den Haag
Munich
4-12 / 1-6 Den Haag
Zurich
1-10 / 1-5 Brussels
Munich
1-14 / 1-6 Zurich
Players and supporters had a most enjoyable weekend and it is
to be hoped that the Brussels Hurling Tournament will become an
established fixture on the European GAA calendar.
The
Charlie McCreevy Cup and medals were presented in The Michael
Collins, a well-known Brussels pub and landmark, by Brian Nason
the Irish Ambassador to Belgium and by Michael Murray from Commissioner
McCreevy’s Cabinet. Dickie Murphy was also presented with
an award by the home club in recognition of his fine refereeing
during the day.
The
2005 edition of the Poc Fada na hEorpa competition, organised
by Eoghan Ó hAnnracháin (formerly of Luxembourg),
was held prior to the final and was won by the Zurich full-back,
Gabriel Cosgrove.
In
the course of an eventful day Brussels recorded their first-ever
EHL victory, Zurich and Den Haag shared 12 goals in a scoring
bonanza and Mick O’Connell of Munich displayed the top form
that eventually led to him winning the player of the tournament
award. Tightest game of the day was the very first match, a one
point win for Zurich over Munich. That scoreline was reversed
with interest in the tournament final when Munich won the McCreevy
Cup on a 1-14 to 1-06 scoreline.
Four
teams - Brussels, Den Haag, Munich and Zurich - took to the field
under the watchful eye of 3-time All-Ireland Finals referee, Dickie
Murphy. Players from more than 10 countries strove valiantly to
win the Charlie McCreevy Cup, the tournament trophy being sponsored
by the Irish EU Commissioner for the Internal Market.
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20
August
- The Hague- EHL Tournament
While
the third weekend in August 2005 may be remembered by most hurling
folk for the epic All-Ireland Semi-Final between Galway and Kilkenny,
for those whose vision extends past Jones Road and into Europe
it will the hazy recollections of a weekend in Den Haag that will
bring a tingle to the spine. After the Tribesmen slew the Cats,
no lesser man than Len Gaynor, said that it was the greatest game
of hurling he had ever seen. That hyperbole couldn't be extended
to affairs in Dan Haag but no one who was in attendance could
have failed to be impressed by the skill, commitment and determination
shown by hurlers from all across Europe.
After a convincing victory in Munich, Zurich came to the third
round of the European Hurling League, hosted by Den Haag GAA club
in the WRC grounds, as warm favourites. The home team, who had
expanded their panel since the Brussels tournament, were quietly
confident, while Brussels and Luxembourg were hoping to build
on the progress they have been making recently. Munich had been
expected to send a team but in the end only four players were
able to travel. The main reason for the Munich "no show"
was the number of GAA tournaments scheduled for the months of
August and September. If the games are to thrive in Europe greater
consideration must be given to players, especially dual players,
when dates are being arranged. Nevertheless the Munich boys joined
with the other teams and all made a contribution to the day.
The opening game of the day saw Zurich lay down a marker with
a comfortable win over Brussels. Some of the Brussels lads were
just happy just to have made it to Den Haag after a brush with
the Belgian Police, another example of the colourful stories which
are part and parcel of European GAA weekends. In recent years
the men from the Alps have established themselves as the Kilkenny
of European hurling. Under the guidance of Gabriel "The Rock"
Cosgrave and including a sprinkling of Swiss players, most notably
full-back Timo Powling and forward Ken Tschudin, the reigning
European Champions are a very strong side with powerful backs
and a lethal forward line.
Home side Den Haag knew that a good start against Luxembourg would
be crucial to their chances. The previous weekend the two sides
had met on the football field in Copenhagen where the men from
the Grand Duchy were victors but Den Haag gained a measure of
revenge, winning by 1-10 to 5 points. They followed up this win
with another victory over "local" rivals Brussels guaranteeing
a place in the final. Den Haag's half backs Derek Butler and Eddie
Moulds were the launch pads for many of their attacks while the
skill and industry of midfielders Des Breen and Shane Hogan guaranteed
a supply of quality ball to their forward line.
Luxembourg, playing in their first tournament of the year, rolled
up their sleeves and tore into Zurich in the early stages of their
game. Shouts of orgasmic ecstasy greeted every Luxembourg score
but in the end they had no answer to the deadly Zurich forwards,
particularly, the baby-faced assassin, Damien Bowden who banged
in some vital scores.
In their final game, another Benelux derby, there was never more
than a puck of the ball between Brussels and Luxembourg but in
the end it was Luxembourg who prevailed to claim third place.
The group games were all hard fought affairs, excellently officiated
by Ger Delvin from Armagh and Europe's own, Tony Bass and after
two wins each it was Zurich and Den Haag who contested the final.
The final was a fitting showpiece for what had been an excellent
day's hurling. Two evenly matched sides strained every sinew in
pursuit of the prize. Zurich, aided by a strong wind started the
better and picked off some excellent points. A goal just before
half time consolidated Zurich's lead but with the wind a major
factor Den Haag were still very much in the game. The turn around
saw a change in fortunes and it was Den Haag who were the stronger
side in the second half. With time running out and trailing by
five points Den Haag moved their goalie, Denis Reidy, into full
forward where he made an immediate impact driving home a goal
to reduce the margin to just two points with minutes remaining.
Den Haag had chances to narrow the gap to the minimum as the final
second seconds ticked away but failed to do so. In the end it
was Zurich who had the final word, star forward and "Player
of the Tournament" Damien Bowden latched onto a long ball
and drove the ball past Paddy Ryan in the Den Haag goal to give
his side a five point win and ensure that there wouldn't be cow
milked in Zurich that night.
With one round of matches remain, in Brussels in October, Zurich
sit proudly on the top of the table but with the quality of hurling
from all sides improving they can take nothing for granted.
The final whistle in the hurling did not mean the end of the competition,
not while Mary Gavin is about. There was still the long puck,
the long kick, the tug-of-war, the shot-put and the Craggy Islandesque
"Egg Throwing" Competition to be completed. Andy Smith
from Den Haag gave the home fans something to cheer about by coming
third in this thrilling test of skill and dexterity ensuring that
Westmeath ended the season with some silverware. After all that
excitement there was nothing to do but retire to the bar for the
presentations and a singsong.
Finally thanks to everyone who made the day possible. Derek Butler,
Mary Gavin and Des Breen for their excellent organization, ably
support by a host of Den Haag club members who flipped burgers,
put-up nets, assembled marquees and fished sliotars out of canals.
To our hosts WRC who keep the beer flowing all evening, to the
refs, to DPS who sponsored the trophies, Paul O’Brien for
providing the evening entertainment and to all of the teams who
travelled to participate in the tournament.
3-10
Zurich v Brussels 0-3
0-5
Luxembourg v Den Haag 1-10
2-7
Den Haag v Brussels 0-3
0-5
Luxembourg v Zurich 3-8
1-8
Luxembourg v Brussels 0-7
FINAL
1-6
Den Haag v Zurich 2-8
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2
July 2005 - Munich - EHL Tournament
The
2005 European Hurling League (EHL2005) pucked off in Gartenstadt,
Munich on Saturday July 2nd. Strong teams from Brussels, Den Haag,
Zurich and Munich battled it out for valuable Euro points and
to claim the "Stuart Ryan Cup" under very Irish-y summer
weather conditions (bucket loads of rain followed by warm sunshine).
Once
everybody managed to find a helmet, the round robbin system of
games provided some fine displays of this great game of ours,
complemented by plenty of broken hurleys, battered shins, swollen
fingers and stiff muscles, but absolutely nothing our physio and
acupuncturist, Martin and Majella couldn't mend. Zurich and Munich
proved to be the strong teams on the day setting up a repeat match
of the Euro final last year.
After
Eric had us all well warmed up, Sir Patrick Martin called the
team and tactics and the ball was thrown in by referee Kieran
McGuinness. The first half was a close and hard contest with a
scoreline of 2:3 to 2:1 at the interval in favour of Munich but
nothing between the two in terms of effort and pocession. However,in
the second half Munich took the game to Zurich with a blitz of
fine points from Sean O Keeffe, menacing solo runs from Mick O
Connell, outstanding defending from captain Noel Stubbs, veteran
Josie Casey, Michael O Brien and man of the match, Charlie Jameson
to set up a comprehensive Munich win with a final scoreline of
2:10 to 2:3.
A
great performance by the panel of players on the field throughout
the day, the Club off the field, and importantly a solid effort
by all in the Muddy Boot afterwards.
Well
done Munich Hurlers and many thanks to due to Andy O Shea
Tournament Score sheet
Munich
2-6 Den Haag 0-4
Brussels 2-3 Zurich 1-7
Munich 0-10 Zurich 1-8
Brussels 2-2 Den Haag 2-7
Munich 2-10 Brussels 1-1
Den Haag 2-3 Zurich 6-9
Final
Munich 2-10 v Zurich 2-3
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15
April 2005 - The Hague
The now customary Biblical flood did little to dampen the enthusiasm
of the hurlers from Den Haag and Brussels when they met in a challenge
match in Den Haag in the middle of April. With the inaugural European
hurling league due to begin this summer both sides were looking
to get a morale-boosting win.
In atrocious conditions both sides found it difficult to develop
any kind of fluency. The pitch in WRC was a real paddy-field in
both senses of the word, i.e. full of Irishmen and suitable for
growing rice, but it did little to contribute to a free flowing
game.
Aided by a strong breeze Den Haag were well on top in the early
stages. Colm O'Sullivan popped over a couple of points that were
a deserved return for some good play. The Den Haag half back line
of Derek Butler and Eddie Moulds were the launch pad for many
of their side's best attacks. Des Breen was causing problems to
the Brussels defence and Billy Flynn, from Nijmegan via Sweden,
was threatening to tear Brussels apart.
A half time score of 0-4 to 0-0 was due in now small part due
to the excellence of Willie Hempenstall, from the hurling "stronghold"
of Wicklow, in the full back line. Given that Wicklow senior hurlers
recently lost a challenge match to New Ross NS U-13 "B"
camogie team by 3-15 to 0-4 it is surely time that the county
selectors took a look at this Den Haag stalwart! Willie was admirably
assisted in the full-back line by Andy Smith who was a county
minor for Westmeath back in the days of Wanderly Wagon on black
and white tellies. In mid-field Marion was ensuring that Brussels
star Aine wasn't having her usual influence while goalie Graham
Merriman was glad that the strong wind made it look like he could
poc the ball further than 10 year old girl.
In the second half Den Haag where hindered by the loss of Maeve
Buis, who got a slap of a hurl on the arm which will ensure that
hubby will be dealing with wee Sean's nappies for a few days.
In the half forwards the tenacious Turk, Tarik Gunay, was pulling
on anything that moved and occasionally hitting something. He
contrived to set up Des Breen for a couple of chances that helped
Den Haag add to their lead.
However midway through the second half a long speculative ball
into the Den Haag square wasn't dealt with by the full-back line
or goalie and Brussels had a goal to put themselves back into
the game, trailing by 0-6 to 1-0. Den Haag came surging back and
another O'Sullivan point meant that with only minutes remaining
they had a comfortable 4-point lead.
Despite what results in this year's NHL would suggest hurling
is nothing if not unpredictable and Brussels came storming back
with another goal to ensure a grandstand finish that would have
had Micheal O Muircheartaigh struggling for superlatives. Brussels
equalising point was scored by some Canadian punter who improvised
an overhead strike that was cross between a lacrosse stroke and
graceless Tony Cascarino back header (btw since Rule 42 was changed
it is now possible to mention half-Italian cockneys who played
football for Ireland and our sacred games in the same article).
The "Who shot JR?"-esque drama was completed when Willy
from Brussels swung over the wining point with virtually the last
poc of the game.
All the players came off the field looking like they'd been mud
wrestling with the Pontypool front row but the sporting manner
in which the game was played and general good humour meant that
hurling was the winner. All right Brussels were the winners but
hurling came a close second.
Until we meet again! (btw, the next match will only be played
in a country whose annual rainfall is less than a small egg-cup)
Finally, thanks to Orson McMahon for risking getting his good
runners mucky by refereeing the game and helping with the goals.
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4
December
2004 - Paris
Brussels
v. Paris
8-4 - 2-0
Sat.
04 Dec was the second match of the season for my club, the Red
Branch Knights. We were away to Paris. You see, the coolest thing
about hurling is that the clubs are all found in sexy places like
Brussels, Paris, The Hague, Luxembourg, Munich, Zürich, and
Limerick. Ok, so they’re not all sexy. So I can brag to
my friends back home that I play in the European hurling league,
kind of like the Champions League for football minus some 10 billion
euro or so and any public interest whatsoever. And we will soon
receive club jerseys with Red Branch Knights in Irish on the back
so that nobody understands what the h*ll is written there. For
all anyone knows, we could have written “Feck off, you dirty
sod. We eat pieces of sh*te like you for breakfast.” But
our opponents wouldn’t be able to say “you eat pieces
of sh*te for breakfast?” in response because they would
have no idea what we wrote. Ha! We’re not as slow as you
think!
In
typical Irish fashion, the organisers of the match insisted upon
a 1.30 kick-off. And in typical Irish fashion, we arrived around
3.00. Only 1 ½ hrs late. But we did mange to play the match.
We were a bit intimidated at first, seeing as though the opposing
team actually had uniforms as opposed to our rag-tag collection
of red t-shirts, one of which represented a crappy English football
club managed by a Scottish *rsehole who shall remain nameless.
Let’s just say that he can be referred to as Alex F. Wait,
wait, that’s too obvious. A. Ferguson. That’s better.
The
Brussels Hurlers got off to a crackin’ good start, racing
out to like an 18-0 lead. 3-point goals were being scored left
and right. Too bad for them their goalkeeper was utterly incapable
of moving in those 2 directions. Yours truly even got in on the
action with a lovely drive that sputtered and sprinkled its way
over the goal-line. Paris didn’t have a clue what hit them,
especially considering that they beat us last time like 345 to
2. I like to think that my addition to the team was the key to
the turn-around.
Second
half saw less scoring, although Paris did manage to get onto the
board. Yours truly was truly delighted to score a point from some
60 yards out. He also basked in the number of nice compliments
he got from his more seasoned colleagues on the quality of his
performance. I think that caffeine injection in the form of a
Red Bull (banned in France, incidentally) may have had something
to do with it. In the end, we managed to humiliate Paris by the
score of 8-4 to 2-0. In English, that means we won 28 points (8*3
+ 4) to 6 (2*3 + 0). Take that, cheese-eating surrender monkeys!
By Jarrett
Reckseidler
Conan
Mac Oscair: 3-1, Fergal Mythen: 2-2, Chas Seadon: 1-0, Camilla:
1-0, Derek Kelly: 1-0, Jarrett Reckseidler: 0-1
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23
October
2004 - Brussels
Brussels
v The Hague
4-8 - 1-4
Willie
Cashin: 2-4, Conan Mac Oscair: 1-2, Fergal Mythen: 1-1, Aine O'Regan:
0-1
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"Is
the ref going to finally blow his whistle?...
No, he's going to blow his nose!"
Radio Kilkenny commentator
