GCU’s Gaelic Football team celebrate being crowned champions of Britain once again
The GCU Ladies Gaelic Football team are celebrating their third successive British Championship title, and are now preparing for a new crop of talent to continue their success both on and off the pitch.
The team was given a new lease of life following the pandemic and has provided a vital support network for all involved. One of those students is Ellie Agnew, who travelled over from Ireland to study her BSc (Hons) Podiatry degree:
“I wasn’t really into Gaelic football and was much more committed to playing the harp when I was younger,” explained Ellie.
“It wasn’t until I came to University that I began to feel a bit homesick and decided to join the team, and I’ve loved it ever since.
“The girls are phenomenal - it’s just like a little family. Everyone comes together, talks about their life and then we obviously play football on top of it.”
Despite not having much of an interest in Gaelic football throughout her younger years, Ellie is now very passionate about the sport and keen to enlighten others.
She explained: “There’s 15 players on the pitch at a time and it’s kind of like a mixture of football, basketball and rugby. There’s rugby posts and then a goal underneath. and you can pass the ball, bounce the ball, kick the ball. Over the rugby post bar is one point and in the net is three points. It’s a bit like football in that you swap sides at half-time and the most points win. It’s a 60 minute game, thirty minutes each half… and it does get a wee bit rough at times.
“The sport is obviously absolutely massive in Ireland. There’s only two teams in Glasgow, Tir Conaill and Glasgow Gaels. It’s definitely small in Scotland, but it’s good to let students know that there is the option to play here at GCU.”
With GCU crowned as champions in 2022 and 2023, it’s fair to say there was a bit of pressure on the 17 students that travelled down to Birmingham in March to compete in the British Championships, but that didn’t put Ellie and the rest of the squad off.
“A lot of us are health students, so we were just pleased to be getting a break from placement more than anything else!
“The British Championship is the main event for our team. You start off the year in the Scottish League and then move on to the British Championship, which always happens around March. All Universities in Britain that play Gaelic football are invited to a certain city and then compete in the tournament.”
Teams were faced with a knock-out format on the Saturday before the best performing universities progressed to the semi-finals and final. GCU recorded sensational victories over Birmingham, Stirling, Nottingham, Dundee, Manchester, and Heriot Watt, before setting up a tense clash with the University of Glasgow on the Sunday.
Ellie said: “To win all of our games on the Saturday was just incredible. Heading into Sunday, it was kind of special to know that no matter what happened the shield was coming back to Glasgow.
“There were some nerves going into the final, but at the end of the day we kind of had the motto of just going out and playing our best. A lot of our girls are graduating this year so this was obviously their last championship – it was all about just going out there and having a bit of fun. Thankfully, it went well!”
“At the end of the game, we got a big picture with the University of Glasgow and there were no hard feelings. Not to brag or anything but it was still good to beat them!”
Ellie, who is now in the final year of her degree, will be sad to leave the team when she graduates but believes Gaelic football will continue to thrive at GCU.
“We’ve had a couple of first years join us this year and they’re going to be leading the club going forward. It’s been good for them to see how a team’s supposed to run in terms of the networking and the support we provide. I’ve handed over my ‘bible’ to one of the girls and she’s now got all the contacts she needs – I’ll always be there to help as well.
“There’s also going to be a men’s team starting this year too. The best part is that it’s a really fun sport and you don’t have to be perfect at it – I’m definitely not!”
Ellie added: “A lot of the girls have said how glad they are to have joined and had that opportunity to do something different during their time at GCU. The main thing is that it’s a social activity that allows you to make new friends, which I think is such an important part of all the societies and clubs in the GCU Students’ Association.”
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter