In 1994 a number of Irish expatriates living in Paris were in the habit of getting together to play Hurling and Gaelic Football on a regular basis and organising matches with the Irish communities in Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Germany and France.
The success of their efforts generated in the Gaelic Athletic Association, Paris (France) being formally established in April 1995, under the 1901 Law. The club is in fact the first affiliated GAA club in mainland Europe and has approximately 50 active members at present, from various counties of Ireland (Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Westmeath,...).
Paris Gaels plays in venues across Mainland Europe. It is a forefront club in the development of EUROPE GAA.
Numerous events make up the annual events calender, the more important being :
- April : Annual All-France match Paris Gaels V's Lyon (home or away)
- May 31st Black Stuff 7-a-side Tournament held in Luxembourg with Gaelic Football teams from all over Europe. Paris Gaels are the current 3-in-a-row title holders since 1996. The occasion also features ladies football exhibition matches.
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June/July: Annual Hurling outing organised by Luxembourg which changes venue - town and country- each year
- July : Annual Irish Community Sports Day Paris.
- September, 1998/2000 : Bi-annual International GAA Festival in Dublin, at which Europe GAA enters a team.
- November : Brendan Maloney Memorial Cup, held in Amsterdam, another major football competition.
In addition to the above fixtures, Paris Gaels are also dedicated to incorporating more French people in Gaelic Sports and thus
- participated in games held in Ozior la Ferriere, which is twinned with Swords, Co.Dublin.
- carried out demonstration matches in Eu, which were so successful thatthis event will now take place on an annual basis,
- helped the French community in Tours to set up a Gaelic Club, and
- has given classes in primary schools, etc.
The club has been going from strength to strength and has had the honour of welcoming the GAA President, Mr. Joe McDonagh in April 1997. In february 1998, the club were also honoured to welcome the Liam McCarthy Cup, when the club hosted a friendly with Glynnbarn Town( Wexford) football and hurling clubs, plus several players from intercounty status (including Mark Lennon - of the Clare All-Ireland winning Minor Team), and players who travelled from Italy, Spain, Holland and Belgium.
Furthermore, Paris Gaels were also invited to their first ever Overseas Officers meeting in September 1997 which began discussions on how best to structure the GAA in Europe and how to better structure an organisation on the mainland. As a result of these discussions, Europe were officially invited to the 1998 Irish Holidays International Gaelic Football Competition , held in September at St.Vincent's GAA Club, Dublin.
The present and future committee of Paris GAels hope to build on the work done to date and hope that Gaelic sports will have a bright and successful future both in Paris and in Europe as a whole.
John Stack(Chairman).
Sinead Morgan & Maureen Moran (Joint Sec.)
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The Irish contingent working in Paris have been spearheading
the development and progress of the GAA games not just in Paris,
but throughout France and Western Europe.
The Paris Gaels club targets to build on its success and
encourage new members (Irish and European) and new European clubs
to the sport.
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