Croatian Celts GAA Club
The only GAA club in south east Europe
The seed for what has become the Croatian Celts GAA Club was planted in Sheridan’s Bar by Neil McNulty and Seamus Hempenstall in 2018.
Sheridan’s is the only Irish bar in Zagreb and was the obvious place for the seed to germinate, as the émigré Irish tend to pass through on a regular basis.
The idea was positively received, and a try-out was held in Rudeš rugby club. The enthusiasm shown by the participants was enough to form a firm basis for the nascent club.
Changing places
At our first AGM, Seamus was elected as Chairperson, and Neil as our trainer. The secretary’s role was taken by Aisling Kearns, Deputy Head of Mission at the Irish Embassy in Zagreb.
Our two founder members moved on to pastures new, and were replaced by Adrian Sheridan and Patrick Hull, who skillfully managed the changeover.
Since then, Aisling also has gone on to a new posting, and our current secretary is Hannah Lobban, a native of Washington state, USA, who was intrigued enough by the game to turn out for the club in competition.
All Ireland offers chance to recruit new players
The membership has fluctuated, with many of the original Irish returning home, while new ex-pats arrived, and made their way to Sheridan’s where they learned of the club.
It helped that Sheridans provides live coverage on the big screen of important football and hurling matches.
All Ireland Day is a major draw with audiences out on the pavement, and a big screen in the window for them. On St Patrick’s Day 2022, we featured on Dobro Jutro Hrvatska (Good Morning Croatia), Croatian television.
Playing across Europe
The Club has hosted European GAA clubs, from Netherlands (Maastricht and Eindhoven), Prague and Bratislava, and expect to be hosting more in the near future.
In addition, we are no strangers to travel ourselves, with participation in the Central Eastern European Championships in Bratislava, Vienna, and Budapest.
In February 2023, we were the first outside team since Covid to visit Budapest, where we played the local club.
The club is mainly football. We had an initial try out of hurling too, but there was insufficient interest to sustain a team. Nonetheless, we have the equipment for the game, and are prepared if interest picks up to return to hurling training.
Amateur club, local support
As an amateur club, we are reliant on sponsorship to assist us in our efforts. We are very grateful in particular to Underground Wines, owned by Patrick Martin, for sponsoring the full set of team kit.
We have also been generously assisted by Adrian Sheridan, The Garden Brewery and Varionica Brewery. Many individuals have also assisted us financially or by purchasing sports equipment. To them all, we are very grateful.
The Croatian Celts is a small club, but a well-established one, and we look to the future with confidence.