On Saturday, Belgium A won the (men's) hurling tournament and Holland won the (women's) Camogie tournament in Luxembourg.
The Gaelic Sports Club Luxembourg (GSCL) were hosting the European Hurling and Camogie Championship Round 1 competition at the Stade Jos Becker in Rameldange, home of the Hostert U.S Football Club,
All matches were played over two 12.5 minute halves, with the finals comprising two halves of 15 minutes each (Camogie 13 minutes each), with 9-a-side teams.
Competing in the hurling were eight (men’s) teams - from Amsterdam, Belgium (2 teams), Berlin, Darmstadt, Den Haag, Dresden and Luxembourg; and the camogie saw four (ladies’) teams - from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In all there were some 100 competitors on the day.
The Camogie final was an extremely tight affair, with the score 0-0 at half time. Everything changed, though, in the second half, with scores aplenty at both ends of the pitch. In the end, Holland prevailed 11-10 over Belgium.
In the hurling tournament, Luxembourg won the 3rd place play-off 6-11 to 0-3 against Belgium B. In the final, which was preceded by the teams being piped onto the pitch by Liam Higgins and the playing and singing of the Irish national anthem, Amsterdam raced into a quick 4-point lead thanks to a goal and a point in the opening minute; however, Belgium A quickly levelled and kept the pressure on their opponents. At half-time the score was 21-6, with the second half seeing more of the same. Final score 33-8.
The event was expertly organised, thanks in part to the excellent facilities in Rameldange which comprised two pitches, changing rooms, a covered stand and a bar. After the on-the-pitch activities had completed, the prize-giving was held, with the winning teams being presented with trophies, the winning players received medals, and the Best
Player awards were presented, prior to the tournament meal in the clubhouse before everyone headed to the Blackstuff.
The tournament was organised as art of the Irish community in Luxembourg's Centenary Commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising, with a lecture being organised next Wednesday 20 April, and a film being screened next sunday 24 April 2016. For further details, see http://www.chronicle.lu/categorieslivingcommunityembassies/item/16467-irish-community-commemorating-1916-easter-rising-with-lecture,-documentary-film-and-gaelic-tournament.
Photos by Geoff Thompson - for full photo album (on Facebook), see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.861820833929223.1073741905.238112732966706&type=3
