2024 was another incredible year for the Cologne Celtics GAA Club. Tournament victories – including the German Hurling Cup! – a trip to Ireland, incredible developments in Gaelic football, LGFA and camogie, rivalries renewed, friendships made, and many, many battles across Europe. In this article, our chairperson, Laura Kennedy, looks back at what was another great year for the club.
If you want to see how the club has developed over the past few years, you can read our other Yearly Reviews for 2023, 2022 and 2021 here:
Firstly, thanks to everyone who has contributed to the running of the club in 2024. We are a volunteer organisation whose members and committee sacrifice their free time to organise and carry out all of the club’s events, from training and tournaments to making sure our paperwork is in order and our bills are paid.
This year we took part in 9 hurling/camogie competitions and 7 Gaelic football competitions, including two tournaments which we hosted.
Hurling and Camogie
- Strasbourg Friendly Tournament
- Francie O’Connor Cup, Cologne
- German Hurling and Camogie Cup, Hamburg
- GGE Round 1 Amsterdam
- GGE Round 2 Stockholm (camogie representation only by the club)
- GGE Round 3 Munich
- GGE Round 4 Vienna
- GGE Round 5 Eindhoven
- Monagea/ Tournafulla Friendly, Limerick
We can be especially proud of our achievements in camogie in 2024. The attendance at training and at tournaments has been exceptional. Male members make up about 70% of adult membership, but the camógs have been dominating in numbers. This shows the dedication and determination of the players.
We also won a significant amount of camogie silverware this year, winning the shield in three GGE rounds and the cup in one. We are especially proud of sending full teams to both Hamburg and Munich. We were lucky to have great players like Alanna, Caitríona and Alex join us, but the improvement and development of our homegrown players has been outstanding.
The hurlers were not without their own silverware, winning the German Cup in Hamburg and the plate in Amsterdam. The decline in numbers and participation from our experienced players is unfortunate, but again, it has been great to see so many new players taking part. Our players have great potential to play a big part in the upcoming Eurogames (2025) and World Games (2026).
Our first tournament of the year was a friendly in Strasbourg. Katharina, Laura, Malte, Sligo Niall, and Anto took part. We had a great time on and off the field. Thank you so much to Strasbourg and Paris for organising this.
A few weeks later, we hosted the second annual Francie O’Connor Cup. We welcomed Annaghdown GAA, including our former member Ciarán Harkin. We were also joined by our friends from Darmstadt, Leuven and Eindhoven. Despite Laura’s best efforts to ruin Annaghdown’s chances by plying them with alcohol on Friday night, the Galway lads were skilled enough at drinking and hurling to win the trophy from the 2023 winners, Eindhoven, in the final. Eindhoven were not to leave empty-handed, though, as their camógs were successful against Leuven in the camogie final. It was the first year that we had included camogie in the tournament and the debut of several of the Cologne players. We are already looking forward to the 2025 tournament.
A few weeks later, we travelled with full hurling and camogie teams to Hamburg for the German Cup (counting Düsseldorf Eoin as one of us, an honour he has earned by joining us regularly throughout 2024), an accomplishment we had never reached before. Our numbers were helped by the arrival of the Erasmus girls, Caitríona, Alanna and Alex, who would play with us for the first half of the season. A very close and hard-fought final ended with a well-deserved tournament win for the Cologne Hurlers. The camogie final also ended with a battle between Cologne and Hamburg, with Hamburg emerging as the victor. Our new arrival, Alanna, was the winner of the MVP.
We headed for the first GGE round in Amsterdam already with 3 tournaments under our belts. Both camógs and hurlers joined players from Leuven for this round. It was a successful day for us, with the hurlers winning the plate and the camógs winning the shield.
The next round was in Stockholm, a fair trek from Cologne, with only Laura making the journey. She joined Viking Gaels, beating Luxembourg in the final, and, for the first time in Cologne’s history, being part of a cup-winning team at a GGE hurling/camogie round. Thanks very much to Viking Gaels for letting Cologne share in their success.
In July, a full camogie team and 5 Cologne (plus one Düsseldorf) hurlers travelled to Munich. It would be our last GGE round to feature the Erasmus Camógs for 2025. In the days just before the tournament, we were worried about numbers, as corona had reared its ugly head again, as well as some other issues, and unfortunately, Caitríona had to drop out, with Laura and Phoebe only confirming their attendance at the last minute. Anto, Sebastian, Jan, Oisín B., Cork Killian, and Düsseldorf Eoin joined with Leuven for some tough games in the blistering heat (which turned into a thunderstorm by the end of the day). Katharina, Julia, Phoebe, Svenja, Annika, Annie, Alanna, Alex and Laura made up the camogie team who went on to win the shield again in this round.
We travelled to Vienna in September, after the summer break. Frank, Oisín B. represented Cologne, along with Düsseldorf Eoin, and teamed up with Eindhoven, while Kat, Svenja and Laura donned Luxembourg jerseys for the day. We were disappointed to have a few late dropouts, and the lads struggled with the lack of available subs but were delighted to play with our Eindhoven friends. The girls were once again successful in winning the shield.
We had been looking forward to the final round in Eindhoven, as the driving distance to Cologne made it possible for more people to attend. A lot of the people who joined were attending their first tournament, including Jasper, Oli, Jeyson and Lia. There were 8 Cologne/Düsseldorf hurlers who were joined by a few of the Swiss lads. The 6 camógs, missing our Erasmus players who had returned to Ireland after Munich, were joined by our good friends from Leuven. For the first time this year, we finished the round without picking up any silverware but still with high spirits and hopes for 2025.
Our year concluded with a trip to West Limerick. Frank put in many hours of work to make this happen and was assisted by Malte and Kat in the organisation. Not only did we get to study Frank in his natural habitat, but it was also a great opportunity to reconnect with our club alumni now living in Ireland (Alanna, Alex, Sarah B., Sarah P., Cork David Ryan, and Chris, who joined us on the Saturday, as well as our friends from Monagea and Annaghdown, including our own Ciarán.
The training session with Adrian Clancy in October was a big advantage for everyone who took part. We were delighted to have such a good turnout, especially from the camogie team, and will give us a head start with our preparation for the 2025 season. The training session was organised together with GGE Camogie Officer Shauna Coen and GGE Coaching Officer Anna-Marie O’Rourke, with financial support from GGE.
It is especially great to see our new and developing players competing against experienced Irish players and holding their own. It is inspiring to see such improvement in players like Annika, Svenja, Oisín B., Kildare Dave and Annie, to name but a few. I am anticipating great things for us in 2025.
Gaelic Football and LGFA
- Benelux League Round 1, Amsterdam (no LGFA participation by the club)
- Benelux League Round 2, Eindhoven (no LGFA at the parallel tournament in Dendermonde)
- Benelux League Round 3, Maastricht (LGFA cancelled at this round)
- Benelux League Round 4, Maastricht
- German Football Cup, Düsseldorf
- Benelux Autumn League Round 1, Cologne
- Benelux Autumn League Round 2, Leuven
Our men’s footballers were not to be outdone and won the plate for their efforts in the Benelux League in the spring. They participated in every round of that tournament and remained competitive while facing big clubs with fully Irish panels. Tobias’s work in his premier year as Gaelic football officer has been tireless, and it is clear that this code will continue to improve in future years. Numbers have increased dramatically, allowing us to field full teams at some tournaments.
There is also significant promise for LGFA, which has always been our weakest code. We had good numbers in tournaments in the latter half of the year, and they are also coming away with a win, as Alanna played alongside the Groningen Team, which won the Benelux League Round 4 in Maastricht.
We opened the season by sending Santi and Tobias to Amsterdam, where they joined Düsseldorf. It was to be our last round with Santi, whose departure was a massive loss to the club (and to Jameson Irish Pub, where he worked behind the bar). The lads joined Düsseldorf, as we generally do.
We had good numbers for men’s football attending the next round in Eindhoven. Tobias was joined by Mexican Alex, Clemens, Cork David Ryan, Cork Killian, Max (making his debut), and Oisín B. and Michael, who were both to become reliable participants at tournaments throughout the season. We joined Düsseldorf again. After waiting around for our final game against either Maastricht or the Hague, we were awarded the plate after both other teams withdrew. It wasn’t how we wanted to win but it was nice for the lads to get some silverware to show for their efforts.
Round 3 took place in Maastricht. We had a couple of late dropouts, but Clemens, Oisín B., and Kildare Dave made their way to the Netherlands that morning. The lads were fortunate to play with experienced players from Amsterdam, and all did very well, getting a lot of game time. It was a successful day, and they got to the final, where they lost to a strong Eindhoven team. It was fantastic to get a few wins against very competitive teams under our belts, and we enjoyed ourselves a lot.
We returned to Maastricht with bigger numbers a few weeks later. Our 8 men’s footballers joined with Leuven. Unfortunately, Düsseldorf’s Big Mike was to join the Hague footballers, so we didn’t have our usual Rheinland alliance, but we are always happy to play with the Leuven lads. We were very tight for numbers, and when we picked up a few injuries, we struggled to field a full team and had to borrow from other teams, so we had a changing panel for each game and played some matches without any subs. Understandably, given the circumstances, we had disappointing results and finished the day without a win. For the first time this year, we also had fielded LGFA players, although, regrettably, they were separated, with Alanna playing for Groningen and Kat playing for Craobh Rua. Both teams made it to the final, with Alanna contributing massively to Groningen winning the round. We were delighted to hear that the men had earned the Benelux Football Championship 2024 plate win; a huge achievement for the lads, for Tobias, whose leadership was outstanding, and for the club.
After the summer break, we returned to playing and took part in the German Cup in Düsseldorf. We fielded a full men’s team and four LGFA players, our first time ever fielding a full men’s team without joining up with Düsseldorf. Although the scoreboard did not reflect our efforts, we remained competitive and made our opponents work for their scores. LGFA is traditionally our weakest code, so it is encouraging to have more players taking part.
We renewed our footballing efforts by hosting the first Benelux Autumn League round at the end of September. This was the biggest event our club had ever hosted, with 175 players from 4 countries taking part. 8 men’s teams and 4 LGFA teams descended on Cologne. For the second time in four weeks, we fielded a full men’s team and had 4 Ladies Footballers. Our new and developing players had plenty of game time, and it was great to have a Benelux football round on home turf. In addition to our players, we had an army of volunteers on hand to ensure the smooth running of everything. We had to undertake a number of beer runs, and our pitch organisers and refreshment sellers were also kept very busy.
Jeyson, Tobias, Oisín B., Drogheda Cillian, and Svenja travelled to Leuven for the second round, where they joined the Maastricht men’s and ladies’ teams. The men reached the final, narrowly losing to Craobh Rua by just a point. Svenja and the Maastricht girls reached third place in the ladies competition. Thanks very much to Tony, Manus, and the rest of Maastricht GAA for taking our players under their wing for the day.
This was to be our last tournament of the year, as we didn’t send any players to the final round in Den Haag. We owe a lot to Tobias’s efforts. The Benelux region has very high football standards, with many clubs fielding fully Irish, experienced teams. It is remarkable that a small, developing club like Cologne is now fielding a full team. We have a high level of participation from non-Irish players, and I expect we will make a strong impact in the international category as part of Team Germany.
Youth
We have no fewer than 18 underage players registered with the club. Unfortunately, this year, we didn’t hold or take part in any events for them, but Ger led a number of well-attended training sessions, where our youngest players continue to show great potential. A couple of our youths are on the verge of breaking through onto the adult team, and we expect them to have a big impact on the future of the club.
Thank Yous
As a club, we want to thank everyone who stepped up to help organise and run the two events we hosted. The now-annual Francie O’Connor Cup was very enjoyable, and it allows us to build connections with teams in Europe and Ireland. The Benelux Autumn League round was our biggest event to date. We were lucky to have a fantastic group of volunteers, including people who are quite new to the club and who went above and beyond the call of duty for this.
Thank you to our code officers, Frank, Tobias, Julia, and Ger, for building our hurling, football, LGFA, camogie, and youth teams and for the time you give to the club, organising events, tournaments, training, and corresponding with your counterparts from other clubs.
Our website and social media continue to amaze. The creative genius and motivation of Kat and Oisín is beyond comparison. I want to urge anyone who attends tournaments and events to assist by writing or contributing to an article or by taking pictures. With more content, I’m sure we could attract unprecedented attention and help take the club further.
I want to say a massive thank you to the trainers for giving up their time week in, week out, in good weather and in bad (when the pitches don’t close). I am very grateful to them, who give up a lot of their time for the club. They never fail to motivate and inspire us. Thank you Jan, Tobias, Frank, Niall and Ger.
As this year draws to a close, I hope motivation is high for 2025, and we can expect good numbers at Bocklemünd. Thank you to everyone on the committee who has carried out boring, unglamorous tasks behind the scenes. This is greatly appreciated. Please send my apologies to your families and employers for having such a demand for your time and attention.
Thanks as well to our sponsors for helping fund our adventures around Europe and making sure we have equipment.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh to the Gaelic Games Europe, Benelux and German GAA committees for all your guidance and support and the organisation of tournaments, which we loved taking part in. And we would also like to thank the clubs who hosted us at tournaments, as well as the referees.
Thank you to everyone who has attended training, social events, and tournaments. You have made this year a great success.
Kölle Abú! Onwards and Upwards to 2025!
Thank you as well, Laura. You deserve enormous credit for your leadership and drive within the club over the last few years.
If you would like to join the Celtics in 2025, please contact us directly on the website or on our social media platforms. We are always looking for more players, social members, youth members and more. Whether you want to increase your fitness, try a new sport in 2025, meet a new group of friends, or meet the Irish community in Cologne, our club welcomes everyone regardless of experience or ability. You can find out about our club membership here on the website as well. We are looking forward to seeing you all in 2025! Here’s to many more adventures!
Kölle abú!
Cologne Celtics 