Irish Sports Day in Seyring

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Ciara Keenaghan

Feature image: The women’s camogie team

On Saturday 8th August Vienna Gaels, Slovak Shamrocks, and admirers of Gaelic culture & sports joined for a day of exhibition games and fun. Hosted at the Seyring Sportsplatz, Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie were all ímpressively demonstrated by a large turnout of players. It was the first camogie game for Vienna Gaels, and the intensity on the pitch proves the energy required to build a team is already there.

It was a hot, sunny day, and everyone was keen to play games after a long hiatus – Photo: Ray Abery

The event was well organised, including the adherence to current hygiene and safety rules. Not only did spectators get a chance to watch Gaelic sports, but there was also the opportunity to have a go at a long puc. There was also a BBQ and chance to catch up between the games, with live Irish music throughout the day and into the evening.

Shown below: Award winners across different codes

Many thanks to all that organised and took part in the sports day, special thanks go to Ray Laverty for organising, and to the Irish Embassy for generous sponsorship. We were also covered in the Austrian news! https://m.noen.at/sport/korneuburg/seyring-ein-tag-im-zeichen-des-irischen-sports-gerasdorf-bei-wien-irish-sports-hurling-gaelic-football-sv-seyring-218749594#476226,218748241

Vienna Gaels in the news once again – ahead of the curve

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Ciara Keenaghan

Vienna Gaels’ reputation in Ireland is once again strengthened by our feature in this week’s Northern Standard newspaper. The Northern Standard is available as an ePaper @ northernstandard.ie.

Co-chairperson Noel Fitzgerald was interviewed by the paper to highlight Vienna Gaels and our post-lockdown measures. As Austria was one of the countries to go into an early lockdown, it means we are also coming out of lockdown before other countries. Our position means that we can share our successes as well as our challenges with others.

Another article in the same paper focuses on the journey of the Vienna Gaels GAA club, with an interview of one of the club founders, Des Reilly. Des is one of the club’s active members, from helping newer players, becoming one of the most prominent referees within Gaelic Games Europe, as well as representing his native Monaghan.

This follows on from Vienna Gael’s recent feature in the Irish Examiner – again the current Covid-19 situation was the contextual backdrop for the interview.

Vienna Gaels puc about as featured in the Irish Examiner

We are always happy to chat to media, please get in touch with Vienna Gaels if you would like to do a feature or interview.

Thanks to the Northern Standard and the writer of the original articles; Colm Shalvey.
Thanks to the Irish Examiner and the interviewer Colm O’ Connor.
Thanks to Ray Abery for the photographs.

Vienna Gaels triumphant return to training – numbers exceed all expectations

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Ciara Keenaghan

Vienna Gaels have returned to training, with Monday night’s numbers (38) exceeding those prior to the pandemic. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all. On Monday we decided to use our regular Gaelic football training pitch for a combined hurling/camogie training, aimed at all experience levels. The result was a massive turnout from complete beginners to advanced players. The men’s hurling team have successfully grown over the last few years, and on Monday we saw a huge level of interest in camogie, based on the crowd of women that turned up.

Creating an active and varied training session while still adhering to the current social distancing restrictions has been a challenge that individuals within the club have risen to. Credit is due to the coaches and other people who have helped out, including Fiona Fleming, Kilian Smith, Anne Murray, Noel Fitzgerald, Stephen Walsh, and Darren Gilbert.

Following the regulations is also a whole club effort, and Vienna Gaels members have really come together as a community. The measures in place on Monday were sent out to club members in advance, and included the following: arrive in sports clothes, disinfect hands before playing, do not share equipment, respect 2 metres distance between players, train within your smaller group, respect general hygiene rules, and avoid travelling to or from training in large groups. These measures were put together with the aim of having clear guidance for club members, and will be updated as the situation changes.

Socially-distanced beginners group warm-up

Every Sunday there is a casual puc about in Prater open to everyone, hope to see everyone there and at the next hurling/camogie training.

All eyes on Maastricht as footballers aim to continue European success

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Chris O'Reilly

Vienna Gaels will be sending full men’s and women’s teams to the Netherlands this weekend (21 October) for the Pan-European Gaelic football championship.

The business end of the 2017 season began on a bright note with the club’s hurlers winning their first competitive match and eventually their first trophy at the Cultech European hurling and camogie championship in Dresden last month, bouncing back from two group phase defeats to win the plate competition.

Since then, full focus has been on the big ball and putting together two strong sides for a tough task in Maastricht.

Improving on 2016

Senior football awaits the men after dominating the Central/East regional championship this summer. The Gaels have been drawn alongside Rennes (France) and A Coruna (Spain) in Group C of the 12-team competition.

After winning the intermediate title in 2013 and 2016, last year’s outing was hugely disappointing for the ambitious team, but a large increase in training recently means that a lack of fitness is no excuse this time around.

Nine teams will compete in the women’s shield competition this year, which will feature 2016 runners-up Vienna.

A number of the squad’s established players are unable to travel this weekend, but there are some exciting additions to the team which will face Frankfurt and a Rome/Prague/Moscow amalgamation in Group C.

Vienna the new home of GAA handball in Europe

For the third year in a row, the club’s European adventure will extend to November, for the GAA handball team championship. However, after two years of travelling to Italy, Vienna will play host to the competition this year.

Thanks to the support provided by the GAA and the Department of Foreign Affairs, the GAA handball section of the club built two one-wall handball courts at USZ Hietzing during the summer and has been used on a regular basis for training ever since.

The event will take place on 18 November and all European clubs are invited to take part in, regardless of experience.

Information on the sport and taking part can be found here: Vienna Gaels – European One-Wall Handball Championships_Info.