National Film School Graduates Travel Europe for TG4 Documentary
The unique experience of GAA clubs on the European continent is explored in a new programme commissioned by TG4, “Cluiche As Baile”, or “The Away Game” in English. While people in Ireland may not realise, there are dozens of GAA clubs in cities all across Europe – some without any Irish people at all.
IADT Film & TV Production graduates Jack and Cian Desmond from West Cork directed and produced the 50-minute documentary. They travelled to Hamburg, Cologne, Madrid and Galicia, getting to know some of the people behind the clubs – Irish expats, Germans, Spanish, French, Kazakh and even farther afield. The programme follows the players’ journey as they learn a new sport, forge a strong community, and ultimately battle for the pan-European trophy.
The show is narrated by well-known broadcaster and personality Síle Seoige.
“It was a privilege to travel around and meet so many people passionate about Irish sport and culture,” says co-director Jack Desmond. “It was amazing to see how important hurling, camogie and football has become to people who may never have even been to Ireland before!”
Oisín O’Mahony, from Cork, is chairperson of Cologne Celtics GAA. During the show, Cologne hosted the German Cup hurling and camogie finals. “This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” says Oisín, who lives in Bonn, working in marketing. “It’s a good chance to show off what we do as a club.”
In Hamburg, the GAA club was formed as a supportive place for the growing expat community, but faced tragedy with the death of one of their founding members.
Chairman Pádraic says “It’s not just about winning the games, or even the sport itself. There’s a lot more to it.”
The Sebastian Riessbeck memorial cup was named in his memory, and the Hamburg club were determined to win it back at the German Cup held in Cologne.
Also vying for the German Cup was a team from the city of Darmstadt, made up entirely of German hurlers.
Áine, an English teacher from the Gaoth Dobhair Gaeltacht who now lives and works in Madrid, explains why she moved abroad after the pandemic. “Moving away is a good chance to meet new people, and learn a new language and culture.” A fan of the fine weather in Madrid for playing football, she also adds that she has no plans to move home. “The cost of living is a lot lower than in Ireland, unfortunately.”
Madrid has a strong team of young Irish expats, as well as non-Irish people who have picked up Gaelic football. They sent men’s and women’s teams to Galicia to compete for the the Pan-European Gaelic Football championships.
The region of Galicia in north-west Spain is famous for the Camino pilgrimage. It also has a Celtic culture, and an entire Gaelic football league was created by Galician people. The city of A Coruna was this year’s hosts of the Pan-Euro championships. Hundreds of players came from all over Europe, so the pressure was on. To add to the stakes, the finals was broadcast live on local Galician TV.
The programme will premiere on TG4 on Thursday June 1st 2023 at 9:30pm, and will be available to view on the TG4 Player website thereafter. You can find out more about Desmond Bros’ work at www.desmondbros.ie