Gaelic games are sports originating from Ireland and are often called after its main organisation, the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA. These include Gaelic football, hurling (and its female counterpart camogie), Gaelic handball and rounders. Especially Gaelic football and hurling are widespread sports in Ireland, being at least as common as association football in the rest of the world. There are club competitions and county competitions in both sports, with the finals being held at Dublin's legendary Croke Park stadium. Croke Park is the home of Gaelic sports, it being the fourth-largest stadium in the whole of Europe at a capacity of 82300.
How to explain Gaelic sports? Well, before we write some dry text, let's dust off YouTube videos from 2009/10. There are newer videos about Gaelic football, but apart from the Dreamscape music of early YouTube, this video still shows very well what makes Gaelic football such a beautiful and great sport. Have a look (link to YouTube). And that same lad also made a video about hurling, thankfully without the song Dreamscape, aptly named "The Fastest Game on Grass" as hurling is considered one of the fastest field sports on earth. Have a look here (link to YouTube). And if you are tempted to try these sports, consider yourself lucky as there are several GAA clubs in the Rhinelands and neighbouring regions. Try it, visit your next GAA club and you'll love it.
GAA sports in Germany
- Cologne Celtics, currently training at Bezirkssportanlage Bocklemünd, Heinrich-Rohlmann-Straße 1, 50829 Köln
- Düsseldorf GFC, currently training at the Sportplatz ISD of the International School of Düsseldorf, Nagelsweg 115A, 40474 Düsseldorf
- More info about GAA in Germany: www.germangaa.de