It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the Dan as Gävle GAA won an enthralling final on home turf against Hillerød from Denmark, with Dan Gallagher hitting the go-ahead point in the closing minutes after a thrilling day of football at Gävlevallen on Saturday.
With the scores tied and the clock ticking up towards full time, Dan went on one of his trademark runs from left to right across the pitch before splitting the posts with a sweetly-struck point to give his side a lead which they would not relinquish.
Gävle tacked on another point to ensure a second tournament victory for Dane Barrett’s side that was both hard-fought and well-deserved.
Fielding two strong teams, Gävle were the slight favourites on the day but the Gävle B team, resplendent in a green and gold strip and representing the nearby town of Sandviken, gave a great account of themselves, slamming a number of goals past the A team ahead of the final.
Hillerød, who won the previous tournament in Malmö in June, travelled with a more modest squad this time, but it was full of fine footballers and their direct threat caused problems for every side they met.
Stockholm Gaels sent a similarly threadbare squad up from the capital, but they almost made the final after some brilliant performances in the group stage. They looked set to be heading for the decider as they led 11 points to 1-6 in stoppage time of their clash with Hillerød, but a goal with the last kick of the game saw them agonisingly lose by a single point as the Danes went through at their expense.
The football action was punctuated by the clash of the ash as members of the Viking Gaels travelled up from the south to get some game time ahead of next week’s hurling European hurling round in the Hague, and they were joined by Michelle Cotter’s Stockholm Gaels camógs, who gave a great account of themselves in their final pre-tournament outing.
Playing in a mixed game with men marking men and women marking women, the camógs excelled on the ground while showcasing the tremendous development they have gone through in recent months.
The men hurling were not to be outdone and there was some superb fielding and long-range scores from both sides.
A mixed game of football was also played along similar lines, and again some of the point-scoring, particularly by the ladies, was outstanding and a perfect scene-setter for the football final that followed.
The Swedish-Irish community in Gävle turned out in force, with many of the contractors working on local data centres sponsoring the day – among the generous gestures was the opening of a free bar for an hour at the superb stadium, and as the posts and nets came down, it looked like the celebrations of Gävle’s famous victory – their first on home soil – were set to go on long into the night …