As we prepare for the Francie O’Connor Cup and the German Hurling and Camogie Cups, a group of Celts went to Strasbourg last weekend to represent us there at an invitational tournament. This tournament was, surprisingly, our first time playing on French soil.
Thanks to Laura for putting together this report on what several of the players said was one of the most fun Celtics‘ trips they’ve experienced!
We got word in January that we were invited across the border to do battle against the French. This was still unconquered territory for us Celts, having never played there before. With a full tournament schedule ahead of us in the coming weeks and months, not everyone was able to commit, so we were a small contingent in the end, with two camógs, Laura K and Kat, and three hurlers, Malte, Niall C, and Anto. Anto had the shortest distance to travel, with only a hop, skip and jump from Heilbronn to Strasbourg. For the rest of us, this was a weekend trip which needed a bit more travel and preparation.
Laura, travelling from Cologne, and Malte and Kat, both travelling from the Frankfurt area, all arrived at around the same time on Friday afternoon. Malte was nominated as our guide and guided us to the hotel. In an act worthy of an award for the great organisation, Laura had booked a hotel which was not only walking distance from the train station, but also just 100m from Adamson’s Irish Pub, which was to host the afters on Saturday night.
However, this great example of Laura’s German efficiency was soon to be cancelled out when we realised that the booking for one of the rooms had not gone through. Luckily, the hotel was able to rebook the room and accommodate us.
We picked up Thomas, the Austrian hurler from Munich GAA, at Adamson’s, and he joined us on a stroll around the Altstadt. Malte had been promoted from Guide to Guide/Translator as we explored the beautiful town of Strasbourg. He led us to an elegant French wine bar and used his impressive language skills to order us wine which fitted the criteria of each of our wishes (and which Laura subsequently spilt on the table of the elegant French wine bar, bringing much shame to the club).
At this point, we became aware that Niall’s train delays were quite severe, and he was very much in danger of missing the last connection at Karlsruhe. Concerned as we were, it didn’t affect our appetites, and we decided to navigate our way through the intricate one-way system of the elegant French wine bar to the exit and head to a restaurant.
Malte had decided to resign as our Guide, so we were forced to rely on Google to find a place to eat. We settled on a restaurant with good reviews and ordered Flammkuchen and other local delicacies.
Meanwhile, back on the German side of the border, our fears were confirmed, and Niall missed his connection at Karlsruhe by a mere minute. Ever the optimist, Niall found his silver lining in a bar showing the Schalke v St. Pauli match and booked a later bus.
In Strasbourg, Thomas had taken over the role of Guide; his extra day in the town having qualified him for the role. He led us to a local bar he had visited the evening before, where we sampled some of the beers on offer.
Niall faced yet another delay on his trip, as an international incident involving a passenger without a passport and a complicated English/German/Russian/French three-way translation between the passenger, some amateur interpreters, and the bus driver unfolded before his trip could proceed. He eventually made it to Strasbourg and the bar, much to our relief.
After breakfast at the hotel, we made our way by tram to the pitch, which was overlooked by the European Parliament. Anto completed his hop, skip and jump from Heilbronn and arrived shortly after us. Our friends from Darmstadt, with whom we would play, joined us at the pitch-side for warm-ups. Kat and Laura were to play with the Darmstadt camógs, and Niall, Anto and Malte would join a team with Thomas and the Darmstadt hurlers.
We all donned the Darmstadt jerseys, which saved a lot of confusion as the Strasbourg jersey is uncannily similar to our own Cologne jerseys, right down to the similarly named sponsor.
We started the day with umpiring duty before the hurlers took to the grass. The camógs had their turn next, with Kat playing in the forward line and backs and Laura playing mostly midfield and in the backs. Due to the low number of camogie players, it was decided that each team could have a hurler to play in goal. Anto stepped up to the job, as he did not make a hop, skip and jump from Heilbronn just to sit around!
In the latter half of the day, the camogie teams were changed, and Cologne combined with the French teams and Shauna from Munich (who had previously reigned terror against us with a bombardment of goals). We felt very European in Parisian jerseys and German shorts next to the European parliament.
We had great fun playing and getting to know players from other teams. Anto, Malte, Niall and Kat all got on the scoreboard with goals, and Laura was compared to a brick wall by an opponent (I’m still not 100% sure if that’s a compliment or not).
We made our way back to the hotel, where we had a snack and recovered before going to Adamson’s. There was great food and craic at the pub with the other teams, and we got some insider tips about Strasbourg from an interesting local Liverpudlian character.
Our train back wasn’t leaving until early afternoon on Sunday, so we had some time to get breakfast in a little vintage café with a very stylish bathroom and explore a bit more. It was lovely to walk around and then rest our tired legs sitting by the river. Kat was brave enough to reach out and take a selfie whilst managing not to drop her phone in the river.
After strolling around a bit more, we relaxed at a café and watched some people move furniture and boxes into the building next door and discussed the level of efficiency. Eventually, our time in Strasbourg had to end, and we picked up our bags from the hotel and made our way back to the train station.
Our first tournament and trip of the year have given us some great experiences and amazing memories. We can’t wait to see what else 2024 has in store for the Cologne Celtics.
Merci mille fois to Strasbourg Gaels, as well as Naoise and Maud from Paris Gaels for all of the organisation and hard work and an absolutely amazing tournament.
Thanks also to the players from Strasbourg, Darmstadt, Munich, Switzerland, Paris, Clermont, Lyon and Toulouse for playing with and against us. Hopefully, we’ll see you all soon!
Thanks, Laura, for the great tournament recap. This tournament was just the first of what promises to be a very busy schedule for the Cologne Celtics in 2024! Our home tournament is coming up in 10 days‘ time (Francie O’Connor Cup Preview), and the German Cup 2024 will follow soon after that in hurling and camogie, while the Benelux Gaelic Football tournaments will also soon be underway.
If you would like to get involved with the tournament action, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us and join the team! We are always on the lookout for new members, full adult playing members, social members, and youth players – men and women, boys and girls. Everyone is welcome at the Cologne Celtics!
Top Image: strasbourg-houses-alsace-city from pierre9x6 (Pixabay)
Cologne Celtics 