Gaelic Football celebrates the 50 year milestone with an Alumni event on St Patricks Day.
“Old boys overcome youngsters in anniversary Gaelic Football match - a triumph of experience over youth!”
Gaelic games were first affiliated to the University of Dundee Sports Union 27 years ago in the 1989–90 academic year, and since then have had unbroken participation and some glorious memories to look back on. This includes many Scottish League and Championship titles, but also British National Championships in three Gaelic sports, Men’s Gaelic football, Hurling and Ladies Gaelic football respectively. These three national successes are worthy of further mention.
- The Men's All Britain Gaelic football Championship was in February 1993 when the Dundee students overcame the defending British Champions St Marys Strawberry Hill, and also their keen rivals, Heriott Watt on the way to an overwhelming victory in the British final.
- In Hurling, a 7-a-side British Championship was introduced in 2002, and Dundee has the prestigious accolade of having won a series of 6 consecutive British Hurling 7 a-side Championships between 2003 and 2008 inclusive. This feat was all the more remarkable since for many of those years Dundee were unable to field a 15 aside team.
- In Ladies Gaelic football, the Dundee University team were established in 2009, and got stronger every year, with their moment of glory coming in 2014 when they won the All Britain second division championship.
Paul McPate from the Institute of Sport and Exercise (ISE) commented that “since its creation in 1990, the University of Dundee Gaelic Football Club has provided a unique and popular focus for Irish students to continue to play Gaelic football whilst at University. However, the club also recruits many other students who are attracted by the sport's speed and excitement and the strong bonds that exist amongst club members. The creation of a women's Gaelic Football Club reflects the sport's development at the University and the increasing number of female students attracted to the sport. Both men's and women's Gaelic football clubs are a great advert for the unique environment that student sports clubs provide for the forging of lifelong friendships and the creation of lifelong memories”.
The Alumni event provided a remarkable opportunity for the reunion of players who had represented previous GAA teams over the years which the Alumni grabbed with both hands – the date was 17th March 2017, the venue Dawson Park, and the opposition was the current Men’s Gaelic football team.
2016-17 Club Captain, Brian Docherty provides his perspective on the event:“St. Patrick’s Day 2017 is one that will live long in the memory of Dundee GAA. It was a special day for all involved, and would not have happened without Peter Mossey as the driving force behind recruiting an illustrious Alumni team. For what was a “friendly” challenge game of students versus Alumni, a high standard was produced given the miserable conditions which greeted us on Lá Fhéile Padraig. The alumni were greatly helped by the presence of Diarmaid McNulty, a man who puts huge hours into Men’s Gaelic in Dundee. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Diarmaid for his input over the past two years and the difference it has made to the club. We look forward to many years to come with him on board.
Once the football was over, we returned from Dawson Park to enjoy a night out with the Alumni as they revisited the location of their misspent youth. This underlined the importance of the Gaelic Football club to Irish students in Dundee; it is a home from home and has always been that way. The social side to the club is something that is important to all members (maybe the most important for some!) and acts as the glue which holds the team together. Having spent 3 years in Dundee so far, I can certainly vouch for the quality of the social life!”
This event was a great day for the club, something that should become a more regular feature in the GAA calendar in Dundee. I’d again like to thank Peter for his work in organising the day, the Alumni for coming back and my own teammates for their dedication all year long.”
Brendan Skelly, a general surgeon who qualified with an MBChB in Medicine in 2006 was one of those who returned. Brendan played for the University for 5 consecutive years – and in that time received 5 BUGAA All Star Awards. Brendan had a said what this meant for him
“Any opportunity to return to Dundee for me is always one which I would grab with both hands since graduation in summer 2006. Whether it has been for postgraduate academic teaching and training, visiting friends or sporting occasions, all journeys back to Tayside flood back many memories of my five undergraduate years. This special year marking 50 years of the University was an ideal opportunity to celebrate the success of our ever flourishing Gaelic football Clubs since its inception in 1990. The current men's team versus assembled alumni players served up a competitive game in Dawson Park with a personally very satisfying victory for the old boy's team. The competitive spirit never really dies! Moreover, the opportunity to catch up with some old friends allied to making new ones, as always was the real joy of the occasion. It is extremely encouraging to see the men's and ladies clubs going from strength to strength, allied to the overall sports union. Long may the culture of sports clubs and societies thrive at our university and I very much look forward to future reunion events.”
