Some 40 men’s and women’s teams from all over the region will descend on Bahrain Rugby Football Club (RFC) in Saar this weekend for the Middle East GAA Championship Finals.
The event is the centrepiece of the annual Bahrain Irish Festival, which has been moved from its usual November slot to accommodate the competition. Among those taking part in what is expected to be a feast of competitive action on Friday will be teams from Qatar, Al Ain, Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Oman, Riyadh and, of course, Bahrain. This is the first time that the kingdom will be hosting the Championship Finals and so all eyes will be on the locally-based Arabian Celts teams to see if they can make the most of home advantage. The Arabian Celts men’s team will be gunning for glory in the Senior Championship thanks to a solid season in which they claimed third place in the Middle East League standings. They also captured the Plate title at the third attempt during the annual Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur back in October but, although they came within an extra-time goal of claiming their first piece of senior silverware in the region, that Holy Grail still eludes them and so there is only one goal on the agenda this weekend. The Arabian Legends will also be in action on Friday as they take their place in the inaugural Intermediate Championship Finals, while the Arabian Celts All Stars will also make a welcome return. In the ladies draw, the hosts will be looking to finish the season on a high by retaining or bettering the Plate crown they won at the previous edition. Among the other teams to watch out for will be recently-crowned Middle East League Senior champions Dubai A, three-time winners Qatar A and reigning Bahrain champions Abu Dhabi A. The Abu Dhabi Ladies A team, meanwhile, are the ones to beat in the ladies competition, after retaining their Middle East title in emphatic fashion. There will also be home interest in the first-ever Hurling Championship Finals as the combined Arabian Celts/Qatar team go in search of a maiden trophy. In total, there will be more than 120 games played out at Bahrain RFC on Friday, starting off at 8am and running right through until the final games at 5pm. Taking place alongside the main games will be the Middle East’s first-ever exhibition game of One-Wall Handball. It is one of several sports run by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland but is steadily gaining popularity around the world. A specially-designed wall has been constructed inside Bahrain RFC’s sports hall facility specifically for the weekend, with the hope that the sport could grow in Bahrain and the wider region. Among those special guests in attendance will be Irish Ambassador Dr Niall Holohan, Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) president, Liam O’Neill, Ladies Gaelic Football Association president, Pat Quill and two guest referees from Ireland, Michael Collins and Gus Chapman. After the action on the fields concludes in the early evening on Friday, the entertainment at Bahrain RFC will continue on stage thanks to the presence of the one-and-only Paddyman, who will be jetting in from Dubai, and locally-based band Diraz Diraz. The participating teams, meanwhile, will retire to the Crowne Plaza in Manama for the inaugural Middle East GAA Gala Ball and All Star Awards Dinner, where Irish singer-songwriter Ryan Sheridan will be the star attraction. The Bahrain Irish Festival gets underway with a Bahrain Irish Business Network event at the Diplomat Hotel tomorrow night. This event will feature guest speeches by the Irish Ambassador, Enterprise Ireland MENA senior marketing advisor Danny Cunningham, RCSI Bahrain COO Stephen Harrison-Mirfield and the GAA president. After Friday’s festivities, the festival will draw to a close with the traditional post-tournament debrief at JJ’s Irish Restaurant in Adliya.
