In a crowded Irish bar in Amsterdam on St. Patrick's Day 2003, an Australian and Irishman shook hands and formed what would become the center of the Irish community in The Netherlands; Amsterdam Gaelic Athletic Club. Eight years later, the club has become one of Europe's leading GAA clubs and continues to go from strength to strength.

Play & Work in The Netherlands

Amsterdam GAC has players from nearly every county in Ireland and has seen numbers surge over the past year as a new generation of Irish emigrants search for new opportunities abroad. Club members' work across The Netherlands in a variety of jobs, and the club is in a perfect position to help any individual who is considering a move, to arrange accommodation, work, and most importantly advise on how to make the move to a new country.

Monaghan man and club trainer, Brendan Finnegan has overseen the transformation of the club into one of Europe's strongest senior football clubs, and is delighted with its progress: "With a big increase in both mens and ladies players from every province from home, it's an exciting time for the club and we're determined to use this as a springboard for greater success over the coming years. We will have two mens teams at most tournaments this year, and it's something we couldn't have imagined back in 2003 when we were starting off. We're always on the lookout for new players for both mens and ladies teams, and I'd encourage anybody in The Netherlands to contact us even if they're only based here for a few months, as we've seen with our student players here on placement. It's an opportunity to get fit, travel across Europe, and suddenly be adopted into a whole new community of friends! We pride ourselves on being an extremely welcoming club and anybody who's interested in playing should get in touch and we can help out with organizing accommodation, and work, for those who require it".

Amsterdam Mens & Holland Ladies

The club consists of the Amsterdam Mens and Holland Ladies teams and both have had a number of successes since the formation of the club, including the ladies capturing the European Ladies Football Championship, and the mens team claiming the final European Shield tournament last year overcoming 15 other teams. "The players from both teams have been extremely focused over the past two or three years. We've recently gone to three training sessions a week, and now have a mid-week fitness programme for our members. It was set up by a new player who joined in February and it's great to see how players want to get involved so quickly after joining. We were fortunate to have Derry man and current senior manager of London club, Tir Chonaill Gaels, Mickey Kelly, as part of the club in recent years. He introduced a new coaching and training structure similar to that used by Tir Chonaill Gaels. Mickey helped to bring a more professional aspect to the club, was a key factor of the success we've experienced over the last couple of years, and we're extremely lucky to still have him advising us from his base in London as well as having close links to Tir Chonaill Gaels``, remarks the Monaghan native.

European Tournaments

The opportunity to travel across Europe for monthly tournaments is another attractive perk of the European GAA scene according to Amsterdam Mens captain, Derek Lowry: "When I moved from Kildare to Amsterdam, the opportunity to immediately gain a new network of friends was ideal, as well as to get back to playing gaelic football. At the time I didn't realise how my year would revolve around which European city I would travel to every month. We've played in nearly every region and enjoyed some great weekends in Barcelona, Budapest, Copenhagen, Luxembourg, and Munich amongst others. The players generally take the opportunity to take a few extra days off after the tournaments and I've spent plenty of long weekends exploring European cities with both my own teammates and players from the other teams you meet during the weekend. The tournaments are a great way to travel, while also experiencing a piece of home every month!"

International Club

The club has players from over ten countries including America, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, and New Zealand. David Corcoran, Chairman of Amsterdam GAC, believes the international aspect of the club is one of the most appealing reasons for both Irish and non-Irish to join: "When you move to an international city such as Amsterdam, it's important to embrace new cultures as quickly as possible. There are so many nationalities living here, and we strive to attract as many of them as possible to the sport. Watching non-Irish players embrace the game over the past eight years is a major source of pride for this club - last year our mens player of the year was an English player, whilst the captain of the ladies team is American".

Community

The only way a club can survive in any city is through excellent support and Amsterdam GAC is lucky to have this with both Irish and non-Irish communities in The Netherlands. The club has recently signed a new three year extension to their sponsorship agreement with the Hole in the Wall bar in Amsterdam and their support over the past five or six years has afforded the club the ability to secure excellent pitch facilities with Amstelveen Rugby Club. This past February, Amsterdam GAC moved with the rugby club to two new full sized pitches with a state of the art clubhouse due for completion this year. "We're extremely fortunate to enjoy great partnerships with Hole in the Wall, Amstelveen Rugby Club, and all our other loyal supporters. The new pitches and clubhouse will allow us to host larger European tournaments and ideally we want our club to grow from currently being the center of the Irish community in The Netherlands to being the center of gaelic games in Europe", according to Kerry born chairman.

Social Nights

While Amsterdam GAC remains a sporting outlet, the club is not shy at embracing its social side. Meath native, Deirdre White, PRO of the club and vice captain of Holland Ladies, believes it´s a key component of the club: "We´re always searching for new ideas to our various club events. Quiz nights have always been a regular feature for the club and during the summer, we try to use the great Dutch weather to have as many club bbq´s as possible! It´s a great way to introduce new players to the club while also including their friends and families in the Gaelic community here even if they´re not playing".

Amsterdam Tournament

On the immediate horizon for the club is their annual tournament on Saturday May 14th, where Amsterdam Mens will host round two of the Benelux Mens Football Championship as well as challenge matches for the Holland Ladies against their Benelux rivals in a warm up to their next European Ladies Championship tournament in Barcelona in June.

Contact

Anybody interested in joining Amsterdam GAC, or considering moving to The Netherlands, can contact David Corcoran at [email protected]. You can also check out or club website at www.amsterdamgac.nl and our club blog at www.amsterdamgaa.blogspot Tweet

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