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Abu Dhabi Fianna - Bahrain GAA Games

By our reporter, PJ Kirwan

The thirteenth annual Bahrain GAA Games took place at the Rugby Club in Sar on Thursday, December 8th 2005.

Despite concerns in recent years about its future, this tournament continues to attract teams from all over the Middle East. This year proved to be no exception where there were eight men’s teams and three ladies’. Dubai Celts, yet again, won both the ladies’ and men’s tournaments to underline their superiority, but they didn’t have it all their own way. The Qatar men’s team was the revelation of the tournament. They disappointed against Dubai in the final when their fitness levels let them down, but they were very strong in the preliminaries and could be the new force in the region if they continue to improve as they have done in the last year. The Abu Dhabi ladies’ team ran the Dubai ladies’ very close in the final of their competition, but some defensive errors proved very costly on the day.

For various reasons, Abu Dhabi’s attendance at this tournament has been erratic in recent years (a point noted by many of the other clubs). Therefore, Chairman Tadhg Flahive made it one of his priorities for the season to send a decent representation from Na Fianna this year and he didn’t disappoint. The Executive Committee of the club voted to use club funds to financially assist those who expressed a desire to attend the tournament. In the end, over 40 people traveled which is a record for the club. Flights, accommodation and the itinerary were pre-arranged by Tadhg, so basically all we had to do was to show up at the airport. With each traveling member sporting the new club social shirt, we certainly stood out from the crowd on the plane. It also facilitated easy passage through Customs and Emigration when we arrived in Bahrain.

We were staying in the “Oriental Palace Hotel” and they had transport waiting to transfer us to the hotel from the airport. As the name might suggest, it’s not a hotel that Nicole Kidman will be frequenting on her next visit to Bahrain, but it did the job!! Some of the newer members of the club were gasping in disbelief as we were winding our way through Bahrain’s run down back streets before we eventually arrived at our destination. Rooms were allocated in double quick time. The quality in some cases left a lot to be desired, but it added to the atmosphere of the occasion. Neiti Morgan noticed that she and Simon were obviously not the first occupants of their room and there were tell tale signs on the bed. Simon Wadee, being the doting husband that he is and wanting to pander to Neiti’s every need, insisted on an upgrade!!!!!! Good man, Simon. Nice to see that the Age of Chivalry is still alive and well!!

Later, everyone assembled in the lobby to be transported to the “Fiddler’s Green Pub” in the Diplomat Hotel, the venue for the pre –tournament gathering. Music was provided by the band “Taxi” flown specially out from Ireland. Johnny Rea, Rory Mallon and Dan Anthony showed their age when they had to leave after just an hour due to the noise!! Rumour has it that they were later spotted in an alternative venue and nearly caused a riot. Meanwhile, back at Fiddler’s, the rest of the entourage were eyeing up the “talent” with a view to what would be happening both on and off the pitch at the tournament itself. It was expected that all would be in bed by one o’ clock and Kieran Leahy and Geraldine Duncan as respective captains took on this responsibility. However, rumour has it that a few slipped through the net!! Where were you James Ryan, Mike Boyce and Dave Bywater? The Kerry contingent meanwhile gave us all a great rendition of the songs associated with their native county before we were eventually evicted from the premises.

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THE LADIES TOURNAMENT

Unfortunately for our girls, one of the teams scheduled to play in the tournament didn’t materialize which meant that there were only three teams there on the day. Rather than playing the same team twice, it was decided to have a straight final once both Abu Dhabi and Dubai had defeated the Dhahran girls. This had the unfortunate result of our ladies having to hang about for most of the day without any competitive matches. On the positive side, it meant that they could devote all their attention to defeating Dubai in the final.

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Ladies’ Preliminary match:

Abu Dhabi 1-7 Dhahran 1-0

We had high hopes of a good performance from our ladies. All players were available on the day with the exception of Lorraine Monaghan who unfortunately couldn’t travel. We were scheduled to play Dhahran in the first match. Dhahran have been quite strong in the past, so it was difficult to predict how this one would go.

Our ladies started well with a well taken point by Gayle Waddington after good play by Geraldine Duncan. However, despite our superiority throughout the pitch and extensive periods of ball possession in the opening stages, we missed a couple of good scoring opportunities in front of goal. Neiti Morgan extended our lead and settled the team with a well taken point from play. This was later followed by a point from the very impressive Eileen Rahill. Our fourth point was probably the best one of the game. After good team work by Katie Lynch and Kerstin Smyllie, the ball was eventually pointed from distance by Eileen Rahill. Katie Lynch added a further point to leave our half time score at 0-5 while Dhahran failed to register a score.

Na Fianna continued to dominate in the second half. A goal by Gayle and points from Eileen and Kerstin left us with a final tally of 1-7. Dhahran scored with the last play of the game leaving them with a final tally of 1-0. Declan Madden used the second half as an opportunity to give the entire panel a run out. Jane Waterhouse, Sue Hatch and Shawnah Staples showed that Canada could soon be entering a team into the All Ireland competition as they were very effective in curbing whatever the Dhahran attack threw at our defence. Brid Tierney had a very solid game in defence and Liza Bergstein was very effective in goals. Others who contributed to the victory were Orla Roche, Ellen Marie Quinn, Gerda O’ Malley, Marie Murphy, Holly Heiben and Sinead Lynam from Ruwais.

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LADIES FINAL

Abu Dhabi 3-0 Dubai 4-1

Na Fianna traveled to this tournament with high hopes that the current ladies team would be the first in the history of the club to win this competition. Alas, it was not to be! In a very entertaining and high quality match, we were on the wrong end of a 4-1 to 3-0 scoreline. However, the ladies can be very proud of their efforts on the day. I actually heard a neutral supporter comment that the first half was as good as any game he had witnessed at home in Ireland. The first half finished on a score of three goals each with Abu Dhabi twice coming from behind to level the scores. Our scorers were Shawnah Staples, Neiti Wadee and Eileen Rahill. But for a few lapses of concentration in the defence, it could have been a different story.

Our ladies were really psyched up for the match and it looked in the early stages that an upset could be on the cards. However, Dubai finished stronger in the second half when they managed to notch up a goal and a point whereas our scoring dried up. Although the girls were obviously disappointed with the final outcome, each player gave her best on the day and that is all that can be asked for. Maybe their turn will come in the Dubai tournament in March. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Abu Dhabi Ladies’ team members:

Liza Bergstein, Brid Tierney, Sue Hatch, Geraldine Duncan, Jane Waterhouse, Gail Waddington, Eileen Rahill, Katie Lynch, Kirsten Smyllie, Neiti Morgan, Shawnah Staples, Orla Roche, Ciara O’ Reilley, Ellen Marie Quinn, Gerda O’ Malley, Marie Murphy, Holly Heiben, Sinead Lynam

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THE MEN’S TOURNAMENT

Our men’s team consisted of a panel of 15 players. Alan Hose was making a welcome return to the squad. We felt that we had a reasonable chance of progressing in the tournament despite the fact that a lot of our players were unable to travel. However, the addition of Trevor Buckley (our best player throughout the tournament) and Andrew Comerford (an inter-county player in Ireland) meant that we were confident of causing a few surprises.

We were put into a group of four with Dhahran, Kuwait and the Mongrels (Dubai B plus others). Disaster struck in the warm up to the opening game against Dhahran when Andrew Comerford broke his finger in a freak accident while catching a ball. However, being the true sportsman that he is, he played the full game before he was advised for medical reasons to withdraw from the rest of the tournament. This was a body blow to our chances, but it was also a rallying cry to the remainder of the panel and they responded accordingly.

In the first game, we beat Dhahran on a scoreline of 0-7 to 1-0. Paul Smyllie made the game his own from a scoring point of view where he notched up an impressive personal tally of 0-5 (2 from play, 2 from frees and 1 from a penalty). Our other scorers were Trevor Buckley and Denis Crotty with a point each. Alan Hose and David Bywater caught the eye in defence with their gutsy tackling. Dave is someone who is showing a lot of potential. Derek O’Sullivan also had a sound game.

In the second match we played a Kuwait team captained by Tom English (brother of our own former Chairman, Pat English). To add insult to injury, they were decked out in shirts sponsored by the Longford County Board. The inquiry is currently ongoing!!

It was a match played in great spirit and we again emerged victorious on a scoreline of 3-5 to 0-1. Declan Madden had a great game and notched up an impressive tally of 1-3. Trevor Buckley impressed again and also got on the scoreboard. Tadhg Flahive, playing like a youngster, also found the net in the second half. James Ryan scored 1-1 although his point should have been a goal except for a superb save from Tom English.

In our third game in the preliminary round, we took on the Mongrels which consisted of players from the Dubai Celts for the most part. Again we were victorious on a scoreline of 2-3 to 0-1. Ross Miotti had his best game of the tournament and scored 1-1. Trevor Buckley was once again outstanding and managed a similar score. Paul Smyllie got our other point whereas the Mongrels managed just one point late in the second half. Denis Crotty came close on a couple of occasions and Declan Madden hit the upright twice in quick succession. The result left us unbeaten in the preliminary rounds and topping table B.

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In the semi –final, we knew we had our work cut out when we were drawn again Qatar who had been very impressive in the preliminaries. At things transpired, we were very unlucky to lose as the players dug deep and showed great pride. Alan Hose, Derek O’Sullivan, Ross Miotti, Owen Ryan and David Bywater fought like terriers when their backs were up against the wall. We went in at half time only two points adrift although we hadn’t managed to score in the first half.

The second half started well for us when we reduced the arrears to just one point following a point by Derek O’ Sullivan after great work by Denis Crotty. Qatar then stretched their lead again before Declan Madden bought us back into the game with a point. An unfortunate penalty at this crucial stage put the game beyond our reach. Qatar finished with another point leaving the final score at 1-5 to 0-2 in their favour. A gutsy performance by our players and they came off the pitch with their heads held high.

Men’s results

Na Fianna Men’s Panel:

Alan Hose, Denis Crotty, James Ryan, Declan Madden, Michael Boyce, Derek O’ Sullivan, Dan Anthony, Ross Miotti, Eoin Ryan, Paul Smyllie, David Scott Bywater, Trevor Buckley, Andrew Comerford, Tadhg Flahive

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POST TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

Thursday night’s festivities were again concentrated in the Diplomat Hotel for the most part. Entertainment was provided by “Taxi” and there was a group of Irish dancers over from Dhahran in Saudi Arabia to give an added Gaelic flavour to the night. Celebrations went on to the early hours of Friday morning. When the bars officially closed, Dubai Celts invited a number of our contingent to their post tournament celebrations in Mansouri Mansions and quite a few took up the invitation.

It’s hard to report accurately on what happened later in the night, but rumours abound. Derek O’ Sullivan apparently discovered that his true vocation lies in teaching Mechanical Drawing as he somehow ended up with a T-Square at the end of the night. Gerda O’ Malley decided that she would be the pizza delivery lady and had all the looks of one at four AM. !! Toilet rolls became the theme for the night and this continued to the following morning. A few were seen in flight from one of the hotel bedroom windows (much to the disgust of the hotel management). Dan Anthony is currently carrying out an investigation. Ross Miotti was reported to have been with two different women in two different locations at the same time!! Good man, Ross. Johnny Rea’s room became the venue for an all night party. Johnny ended up sleeping on the floor for most of the night between the two beds as he didn’t want to be labeled a “Party Pooper”. Andrew Comerford impressed all those present with his angelic voice, but Trevor Buckley has been advised to stick to the football!! Poor Rory Mallon ,who had decided to get an early night on account of having to catch an early flight, thought that World War Three had broken out next door. Other impromptu parties were held on the corridor and some people didn’t even make it as far as their bedrooms. Nice to report that we are still strongest in the social stakes.

On Friday morning, everyone was bussed to Irishman Jim Loftus’ new and impressively designed “Camelot Restaurant” in Bahrain for a specially laid on Irish breakfast. The casualties from the previous night were in evidence everywhere. Toilet rolls were freely available as much for the verbal excrement as anything else. Because it was Friday and many people were missing their weekly religious ritual, the “Five Sorrowful Decades of the Rosary” were led by Sr. Neiti and Fr. Tadhg –in Gaelic!! We later adjourned to “Fiddler’s” to join up with the rest of the competing teams and to have one last fling. One of our male players was later reported to have been trying to be very “friendly” with a lady from one of the other clubs. She was described as having “Come to bed” eyes whereas the guy in question was described as having “Should have gone to bed” eyes. His name shall remain a secret, but my bank account number is available for a deposit from the said individual!!

A rumour that our flight home was delayed was initially treated as a joke, but soon materialized as a fact. This was greeted with varying degrees of enthusiasm depending on whether you had a family, partner or “whatever you are into yourself” waiting back in Abu Dhabi. Although our flight was initially scheduled to depart at 9.30 PM Bahrain time, it didn’t eventually take off till almost 2 .00 AM. The result was that the festivities continued all the way to the airport and into the nearest lounge. Orla felt the need to catch up with some sleep and retired to one of the seats almost resulting in her spending another night in Bahrain!! Denis Crotty, having met up with a lot of his work mates from around the Gulf, is reportedly looking into new hangover remedies. Alan Hose and Breeda stayed on the dry all day. There wasn’t a word out of Breeda on the return journey!!!!!!

We eventually arrived in Abu Dhabi at 3.30 AM exhausted after a very enjoyable weekend. Well done to all who traveled and represented the club both on and off the pitch.

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Please check the Abu Dhabi Irish Society calendar and Abu Dhabi Na Fianna calendars for more events

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