(en) galiza-breizh, 20/07/2012
DESCRIPTION
A historic meeting of Gaelic football at the opening of the twelfth Festival da Terra e da Língua. Press release of {Brittany GAA}.TRANSCRIPT
FOLLOW BRITTANY GAA ON SOCIAL NETWORKS.www.brittanygaa.com / www.liguebretonne.footballgaelique.com
LIGUE BRETONNE DE FOOTBALL GAÉLIQUE {BRITTANY GAA}35, Avenue Charles de Foucauld - 29200 BREST
Association de type Loi 1901 - SIREN : 507 816 [email protected]
Brittany GAA
Press release (July 2012)
Galiza - Breizh, Friday 20th July 2012Historical meeting for Gaelic FootballGaelic Football (Peil Ghaelach en gaélique), more than just a sport, a spirit,
a symbol of Irish History, the soul of a People.
Appendixes : #1 About us #2 Partnership: TERRIAL #3 Gaelic Football
“Those who play its games, those who organise its activities and those who control its destinies see in the G.A.A. a means of consolidating our Irish identity. The games to them are more than games - they have a national significance - and the promotion of native pastimes becomes a part of the full national ideal, which envisages the speaking of our own language, music and dances.”Extract from the introduction of the Official Guide published by the GAA - Croke Park, Dublin (03/06/2011)
Though its origins date back to many centuries ago, gaelic football actually boomed in 1884, when was created the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). This association, meant to promote Irish national sports, was already tending to be far more than a mere sports organisation. That is why it applied itself to build a social and cultural community, proud of its values and identity, while Ireland was still under British rule.
The bond between GAA and Irish History could not be stronger considering the unfolding of the first Bloody Sunday, which took place on the 21st of November 1920, during a match opposing Tipperary and Dublin in the Croke Park Stadium, actual temple of Gaelic sports, known today as the forth largest stadium in Europe.
Strengthened nowadays by a million of members across the five continents, thanks to (and including) the considerable Irish diaspora, the GAA has managed to become the first organisation of amateur sports in the world, yet preserving its original values.
BRITTANY, a deep-rooted commitment about ten years agoIn 1998, a Breton club of Gaelic Football is created in Brest, soon followed by Rennes, these clubs numbering among the first ones in Continental Europe. In Brittany, the interest in Gaelic Football keeps growing: ten actual clubs and new ones coming soon. Let‘s just say that Gaelic Football is now deeply rooted in Brittany. However, Breton clubs which had until recently almost no Irish player to count with, are now greeting them in their teams:would you believe it?
It becomes an important cultural matter as well, since both Breton language and heritage make the most of it, in the manner of Ireland (and the whole Irish diaspora) with the GAA.
The Breton League and many clubs showed their commitment this year, notably by attending Ar Redadeg (like the ‘Korrika’ in Basque Country or the ‘Rith’ in Ireland), a relay race supporting the Breton language, and by appending their signature to a convention involving Diwan Schools, in order to try and develop the practice of Gaelic Football and the exchanges with Gaelic Schools (Gaelscoileanna, ...).
A meeting symbolizing Friendship between the Celtic NationsEven though Brittany has long been seen as an exception regarding the world of Gaelic Sports, its interest in these, and particularly in Gaelic Football, begins to spread and reach non-Irish backgrounds. Thus, is it really surprising to see Galicia, another celtic nation, follow the same path today?
Lig Br
eizhat Mell-droad Gouezelek
Ligue Bretonne de Football G
aéliq
ue
FOLLOW BRITTANY GAA ON SOCIAL NETWORKS.www.brittanygaa.com / www.liguebretonne.footballgaelique.com
LIGUE BRETONNE DE FOOTBALL GAÉLIQUE {BRITTANY GAA}35, Avenue Charles de Foucauld - 29200 BREST - (F) Brittany
Association de type Loi 1901 - SIREN : 507 816 [email protected]
On Friday the 20th of July 2012, Team Brittany will attend its first international contest of Gaelic Football, which will open the 12th Festival da Terra e da Língua (Narón), organized by associations such as Fundaçom Artábria and Siareiras Galegas, both supporting Galician language and culture. Through Arts and Words, this festival modestly contributes to the awakening of linguistic, cultural and national conscience, giving to Galicia strength and dynamism in a spirit of openness, modernity, looking into the future..
A wonderful chance for Brittany to live a one-life-time experience, seizing the opportunity to shine abroad by answering to the call! Besides, this invitation directly addressed to Team Brittany by the galician organizers shows a will to create new interceltic bonds, thanks to Gaelic Football. This is meant to draw a parallel between the social and cultural aspect and the project of long term exchanges.
Team Brittany, sponsored by Terrial, will count fifteen players from Brest, Guérande, Liffré, Kerne (Locronan/Quimper) and Saint-Brieuc. These players will go to Galicia and compete in what may be at least the game of the year, if not the game of their lives! By the way, they will stand for all the Breton players.
Jersey of Team Brittany of Gaelic football (Limited Edition).
Beginnings of a true internationalizationThis meeting is clearly historical as far as Bretons and Galicians are concerned, but it is a premiere as well since such a meeting, reuniting two non-irish teams standing for their respective country, had never been undertaken so far.
A new chapter in Gaelic Sports History is written then, as the issue of a true internationalization can no more be avoided considering the growing enthusiasm towards Gaelic Football, which goes now far beyond Irish borders..
Bretons and Galicians alike definitely intend to get their share and eventually face Ireland itself some day as acknowledged national teams!
An Irish wind blows over Brittany, let it sweep you away !Support Team Brittany of Gaelic Football!
Editors: Ronan KERLEO & Florian LANNUZELRespectively Vice President and SecretaryManagers of Team [email protected] - www.brittanygaa.com
Document translated by Madeleine GUEGUEN
FOLLOW BRITTANY GAA ON SOCIAL NETWORKS.www.brittanygaa.com / www.liguebretonne.footballgaelique.com
LIGUE BRETONNE DE FOOTBALL GAÉLIQUE {BRITTANY GAA}35, Avenue Charles de Foucauld - 29200 BREST - (F) Brittany
Association de type Loi 1901 - SIREN : 507 816 [email protected]
APPENDIXES
About usThe Breton League of Gaelic Football {Brittany GAA} has been created in order to boost to the development of Gaelic Football, introduced in Brittany ten years ago.
Meant to promote this great irish sport in the celtic spirit it belongs to and to foster its development with the Regional Council support, the League now intend to play a major part in Brittany, in Culture as well as in Sports.
Partnership: TERRIALAs an expert in fertilization and promotion of organic co-production, Terrial confirm each and every day the part it plays in the farming world. Serving faithfully the interests of agriculture and environment, Terrial offers a line of fertilizing and innovating products enabling farmers to avoid the use of chemical fertilizer or pesticide.
Attached to the Glon Group, agent of the farming industry in France and abroad, and supported by Sofiprotéol, financial and agro-industrial shareholder in the protein and oil producing field, Terrial keeps growing since its creation in 1996.
Its leitmotiv: Fertilizing the soil - Feeding the Planet
GAELIC FOOTBALL is the famoust sport in Ireland. Enjoying an important media coverage, it swept through Ireland when was broadcast All-Ireland Final, sports event of the year, during which the whole country held its breath as everyone was about to find out who was the new champion.
This team sport is practiced by men and women alike, children themselves practicing it at a very early age.
It is a field sport, requiring the use of hands as well as feet. Physical contacts are forbidden, with the exception of shoulders, hence the interdiction to tackle. As far as female players are concerned, the rules are slightly different: they may pick up the ball by hand, and any kind of physical contact is forbidden.
The main objective is to score as many points as possible by throwing the ball into the H-shaped goals. One gets three points whenever the ball is thrown right into the net, and one point when it goes above the crossbar.
Go to www.brittanygaa.com and manifest symbolically your support for Team Brittany of Gaelic football by clicking on the badge as presented below against.
On www.brittanygaa.com you will find: the multilingual press release, graphical resources, a variety of content (schedule of events, maps, movies and much more)...
Share this event and our press release on social networks.
And, if you are passing in Galicia, come cheer us on!
Lig Br
eizhat Mell-droad Gouezelek
Ligue Bretonne de Football Gaé
lique