| Gaeil Páras CLG | ||
| Founded: | 1995 | |
|---|---|---|
| County: | Europe | |
| Nickname: | Les Bleus | |
| Colours: | ||
| Grounds: | Stade Louis Lumière | |
| Playing kits | ||
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Paris Gaels GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Paris, France. It was the first Gaelic games club in continental Europe to be affiliated with the GAA. [1]
Gaelic games have a long, anecdotal history in Paris. The first recorded mention of Gaelic Games, was during the French revolution in 1789, when Irish priests from a seminary in central Paris were arrested while playing hurling on the outskirts of Paris. They were released soon afterwards after a translator had correctly explained that they were playing a game and not carrying out any military training or parades.
The club was founded officially in 1994 by Peter Gavigan, Liza Power, James Griffin et Sylvie Flemming, but joined the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1995 [2] becoming the first club to do so in continental Europe. However, Irish expats in Paris had been playing hurling and Gaelic football on a regular basis since the early 1980s. The mid-90s in Europe saw Gaelic clubs being set up in nearly every capital city in Europe and the creation of the European County Board. Paris Gaels members were instrumental in the creation of the European County Board, but also in assisting the newer clubs to get up and running.
The mix of people involved at the time were students, publicans, teachers, embassy staff and other professionals working for companies such the Irish Trade Board, Aer Lingus and some other non-governmental organisations. Much of the club's early activity was coordinated around the former Irish College in Paris, site of the current Centre Culturel Irlandais. In the summer of 1993, in the Champagne region of France, a Sports day was organised between Irish residents in Paris and the Luxembourg Irish association. A Gaelic football match was also organised by the Aer lingus GAA team and some of the Irish residents of Paris participated in that match. Two of the Irish residents from Paris involved that day were Peter Gavigan and Tom MacIntyre, decided that a sports society of some sort would benefit the Irish community in Paris.
"Basically, when mass was over we used to jump on the metro to go to Vincennes, while Sonny Delaney who had a car would pick up the gear from the pub Connolly's Corner and meet us out there" - Ann Donnelly - founding member.
The first official match of the club was a hurling fixture against Den Haag GAA, in May 1994 in La Courneuve, won by Paris. The players representing the Paris Gaels on that day were; Michael Maher, John O'Rourke, Enda Breen, Terry Devers, Peter Gavigan, Paul Carlile, Sonny Delaney, Hugh Liston, Tom Hillary & Liam Connolly. Buoyed by the success of the match against Den Haag, the Paris Gaels decided to go on the road. A club in Brussels had started, taking advantage of the growing number of Irish émigrés working in the EU institutions. In October 1994, at the British School of Paris, the Paris Gaels played Brussels GAA. It was also the first time that Paris played in their own jerseys. The match was a very tight affair, the half time the scores were level, but Brussels pulled away in the second half. The Paris team that lined out on that day were : Peadar Duignan, Johnny Hamill, Eddie Casey, John Ruane, Jim O'Mahoney, Peter Gavigan, Hugh Liston, Finoin Brown, Willie Fingleton and Padraig Fennessy. A bout of flu had kept Sonny Delaney, James Griffin and Michael O'Haodha out of action.
The trip to Brussels was also a memorable occasion as for the first time, the Ladies Football team played in a friendly match, the team that lined out were : Peter Gavigan, Liza Power, James Griffin et Sylvie Flemming, Ann Donnelly, Bridgit O'Connor, Helen Galvin, Maureen MacSharry, Phyllis Harte, Ann McSweeney and Aisling Long.
"Back in the early 90s, we hadn't the same kind of technology that exists today. There was no facebook, the internet was just being born and not many of us had a mobile phone either, but the one place where you could always meet Irish people was every Sunday at 11:30am for mass at the College des Irlandais, and it was there that the Paris Gaels GAA club was born."
At the start of the 2010s, the club went through significant changes. Up until 2009, most of the members and players had been Irish émigrés and students. However as Gaelic games, in particular Gaelic football became more and more popular in France, [3] new clubs started to appear in towns and cities like Lyon, Clermont, Niort, Rennes, Bordeaux and Toulouse. The sport started to attract many new French players coming from sporting backgrounds such as soccer, rugby, basketball and Olympic handball. Paris was no exception, when in 2009 approximately 15 new French players enrolled playing in both the men's and ladies team. At present, the majority of Paris Gaels players and members are from France or outside Ireland, while maintaining a sizeable contingent of players born in Ireland or with Irish backgrounds.
The club maintains a solid training schedule throughout the year, running weekly or biweekly training sessions in Gaelic football, hurling & camogie and handball at various locations around the city and suburbs of Paris.
The club's principal sponsor is Hannon Transport, an Irish logistics and haulage firm from Aghalee, County Antrim, which maintains a hub in Rungis, in the southern suburbs of Paris.
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, Gaelic handball and rounders. The association also promotes Irish music and dance, as well as the Irish language and it also promotes environmental stewardship through its Green Clubs initiative.
Gaelic games are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the sports, are both organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Women's versions of hurling and football are also played: camogie, organised by the Camogie Association of Ireland, and ladies' Gaelic football, organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. While women's versions are not organised by the GAA, they are closely associated with it but are still separate organisations.
CLG Na Fianna is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Glasnevin, in the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It caters for the sporting and social needs of many connected residential areas adjacent to its location through the promotion of Gaelic games — Gaelic football, hurling, camogie, handball and rounders—and the traditional Irish pursuits of music and dance. Céilí music and dancing is a regular feature in the club hall, while informal music sessions are a regular feature of the members’ bar.
The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The county board is also responsible for the Antrim county teams.
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The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Wexford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Wexford. The county board is also responsible for the Wexford county teams.
The Roscommon County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Roscommon GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Roscommon.
The United States County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or USGAA, is one of the 3 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in North America, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the United States. The county board is also responsible for the United States county teams.
The European Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Gaelic Games Europe is one of the international units of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), and is responsible for organising Gaelic games in continental Europe. Gaelic Games Europe is also responsible for the European Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and ladies' Gaelic football teams which compete every three years at the GAA World Gaelic Games.
The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or London GAA is one of the county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London. The county board is also responsible for the London county teams and schools.
The New York County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, or New York GAA is one of the three county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in North America, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the New York metropolitan area. The county board is also responsible for the New York county teams.
Gaelic Games Canada (GGC), or the Canadian GAA (CGAA), is responsible for Gaelic games across Canada, overseeing approximately 20 clubs. It has the same status as one of the county boards of Ireland and is one of over thirty regional GAA executive boards throughout the world. The board is responsible for Gaelic football, hurling, camogie, rounders, gaelic handball, and ladies' Gaelic football teams in Canada.
Sean "Goggie" Delaney was a Gaelic games sportsman from County Laois, Ireland.
Although many hurling clubs exist worldwide, only Ireland has a national team. Ireland's national hurling team and the Scotland shinty team have played for many years with modified match rules in international composite rules—much like international rules football brings together Gaelic football and Australian rules football. This match is the only such international competition.
The Lancashire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Lancashire GAA, is one of the county boards outside Ireland and is responsible for the running of Gaelic games in the North West of England and on the Isle of Man. With Scotland, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, London and Yorkshire, the board makes up the British Provincial Board. The Lancashire board oversees the Lancashire Junior Championship, the Lancashire Junior League, and the first and second division of the Pennine League.
The following is an alphabetical list of terms and jargon used in relation to Gaelic games. See also list of Irish county nicknames, and these are very interesting.
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