End of Year Bash

I reckon I've written three or four entries in the last couple of weeks but such was the negativity emanating from them, I opted not to post. In the absence to anything else to stew on, I continued with some harsh assessment of all things Belgium Gaelic Football to pass away the time. I must be becoming less out spoken as I get older though.

Time heals and all that craic. To aid this process, our end of year dinner takes place in de Valera's on Saturday night and promises to be the biggest and best bash yet. These things normally get the label 'Dinner Dance' at home but in the absence of any old people, with the exception of Martin, we decided no-one would be offended if we removed the title.

I remember my first, back in late 2006. There was probably one average length table of us. On Saturday, our sponsor's pub de Valera's will close its doors to the public and solely cater for our party. Numbers will hover around 110 heads for the three course meal, provided at a very decent price of €25 per head.

I can remember being at my first FC Irlande Christmas dinner there when they could also fill the pub. The thought of there being a Belgium GAA of such size wasn't even imaginable then. Saturday will be our biggest yet as the club goes from strength to strength. There will be twenty trophes on show, ten from the lads and ten from the girls. Aside from the tournament wins, the men's footballers claimed Benelux and The Nations Cup whilst our lady counterparts won the European Championship for the third year in a row.

Hurling wise, it was all about the Camogie breakthrough after years of struggle. Winning the last two tournaments was enough to bring the Euro Championship back to Belgium for the first time. The Hurlers put back-to-back Championships together and extended their tournament win streak to ten, winning all this year's rounds.

There will be players of the year, club persons of the year and all the usual speeches. Many players who left during the year will return. Ollie, Jelena, Laffan, Hudson, Maeve, Pierce, Avril and a few more will all land in Brussels in the next few hours to kick-off what is sure to be a memorable weekend. We'll also tilt a glass to former Chairman and current treasurer/sponsor/hatchet man Conchur de Barra as he prepares to depart to live in Canada for a year. No shortage of things to celebrate so don't expect to see anyone Sunday.