Hillerød Wolfetones emerged victorious from a cracking day of Gaelic football in Malmö last weekend as the season got underway, with the late Kevin Higgins honoured in the from of a trophy for the best men’s player on the day.
The award went to another Kevin – Kevin Henry of Hillerød, whose pinpoint accuracy with the boot set the stage for the new club form Denmark to claim the first round of the regional championship.
They did so in glorious sunshine, defeating their rivals from down the road in Copenhagen in a hard-fought final after the club from the Danish capital pulled off a shock win over hosts Malmö GAA, who played superbly on the day while putting on a tremendous event for all who travelled.
Malmö opened their day with a win over a strong side from Odense, who were their usual competitive and skilful selves but who struggled to get any sort of fluency going in attack.
Malmö’s great rivals from the Stockholm Gaels made the most of that stuttering start, beating the Danes to book a spot in the semifinals before suffering a hammering by the hosts as the bench was given a run-out in the early part of the game that would decide who topped the group.
That meant the visitors from the Swedish capital facing Hillerød in the semis, and though the Stockholmers put in a tremendous effort, Hillerød’s class won the day – but they did have to survive Karol Feehan hitting the post with a late effort on goal that could have turned the tide.
On the other side of the draw a well-drilled Gävle Gfc side was edged out by Copenhagen and Hillerød as the two Danish clubs made the semis.
With the sun beating down and fans and players having travelled from all over Sweden and Denmark, there was also a poc fada competition organised by the Viking Gaels (our regional hurling team), while the ladies of Malmö GAA and Copenhagen faced off in a number of very competitive matches on the day.
The clubs in attendance agreed that more must be done for the women’s game to ensure that they get competitive matches against a variety of opposition, and no doubt it is a subject that will be raised at the next Nordic committee meeting.
Copenhagen’s victory in the semifinal over Malmö set up the first all-Danish final on Swedish soil, and again Hillerød emerged victorious. All that was left was to adjourn to Fagan’s Pub for the post-tournament meal and party, which was enjoyed by all in attendance.
The highlight of the prize-giving was the presentation of the Kevin Higgins Trophy to Kevin Henry for his superb performance on the day – Limavady native Kevin was one of the most popular and best-loved players on the Nordic scene for more than a decade, and the shock and sadness of his recent death left no-one untouched.
The big Derryman would have loved to see the quality of football and sportsmanship on show at Limnhamnsfältet last Saturday, and we will continue to honour his memory, on and off the field.
With Hillerød now firmly in the driving seat, the next stop for the Nordic Gaelic Football Championship was due to be Reykjavik in Iceland in early June, but it looks increasingly unlikely that that event will take place. A third tournament in late summer has been awarded to Gävle, and it remains to be seen if the Reykjavik competition will be replaced by one of the other Scandinavian clubs.
What is no in doubt is how the appetite of players and fans of Gaelic football, hurling and camógie has been well and truly whetted, and arrangements for challenge matches between the clubs in southern Sweden and Denmark, as well as Stockholm, Helsinki and Gävle are all being discussed.
A huge thanks to the sponsors of all the clubs who took part, to the fans and players and in particular to Noel McCleave, Kevin Dunne and the rest of Malmö GAA who put on such an excellent competition – we look forward to seeing you all again soon.
You can hear a podcast featuring voices from the day here: