Celebrations put Pearse Park in the picture

THE last weekend of March 2025 will live long in the memory of Scotland GAA and those who witnessed and participated. This weekend saw the largest non-competitive GAA sporting event since the 1990s when the Donegal Senior Inter County team had won the All-Ireland Gaelic Football Championship and were invited to play exhibition games against competitive opposition from counties Mayo, Derry and Dublin.

The GAA in Scotland has undergone very significant evolution since then with the massive increase in participation at all levels, but particularly among youth and women. There has also been new Gaelic sports on the Scotland GAA landscape at both club and county level—hurling and camogie thanks to the Ceann Creige Hurling and Camogie Club. Combined with the ongoing interest in the compromise rules game of Hurling/Shinty, the opportunities for participation in Gaelic sports in Scotland has been transformed.

In order to cater for this increased demand and to revive the spirit of days gone by, an Irish owned facility at Eastfield, Cambuslang has become a major focus. This is a piece of Irish soil purchased in 1953 by the Irish community for the playing of Gaelic Games, but for a range of reasons fell into disuse and dilapidation in 2006. The purpose of the weekend was to bring attention to the aspirations of the GAA in Scotland to revive this facility now that full planning permission has been obtained.

Even before the gala dinner had begun the weekend’s celebrations were underway, at least in the eyes of the schoolkids in Coatbridge as World GAA Chairperson, Ciaran McLaughlin, had arrived in town with the Sam Maguire Cup and was welcomed by Jimmy Treacy, who became the Scotland County Board custodian of the trophy. The first official stop for the magnificent trophy was St Ambrose High School in Coatbridge, co-ordinated by Joe Bradley and Rosemary Cassidy, and the rain did not dampen the spirits of the children who gave ‘Sam’ a fitting welcome to Scotland. Also three venues in Glasgow benefitted from the arrival of the Sam Maguire namely: the Squirrel Bar, the Brazen Head and Murphy’s Bar who all had a scheduled visit to appreciative patrons.

A night to remember

The venue for the gala dinner was the magnificent Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park where more than 300 guests assembled, including a number of VIPs such as the Irish Ambassador in Britain, Martin Fraser, the Consul General for Ireland in Scotland, Jerry O’Donovan, his deputy Andrea Wickham-Moriarty, MSPs Claire Haughey, Paul Sweeney and Paul O’Kane, and two firm favourites with the Celtic contingent, Neil Lennon, former player and manager and the legendary Packie Bonner.

They joined the hosts, myself, current President of the GAA in Scotland and Chairperson Jennifer Treacy at this prestigious event. Also joining us were the All-Ireland winning Donegal and Tyrone Masters teams who were also our special guests at the gala dinner and fundraiser. Many of our historic Scotland GAA sponsors were in the room and there was a host of new sponsors motivated by the cause of redevelopment of Pearse Park and attracted by the prospect of a prestigious event and the opportunity to hear about plans for the redevelopment of Pearse Park Centre for Culture and Sport (PPCCS).

The MC for the evening was Mr Kenny McKay who presided over the subsequent series of events and who set the tone with his welcoming personality, quick wit and expertise in holding a room to attention. All guests were formally welcomed by the host for the event by myself and the Irish Ambassador in Britain, Martin Fraser and this was followed by a series of entertaining events in the form of fundraisers—auction and raffle—alongside a panel discussion, musical entertainment provided by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Irish dancing from the Stephanie Duff Academy of Irish Dance, as well as a great deal of hospitality, camaraderie and friendship.

A real highlight in the earlier part of the evening was three short motivational speeches from Jennifer Treacy, Ciaran McLaughlin and Jerry O’Donovan and these were very well received as they really set the tone for the weekend events and the importance of the GAA in establishing social friendships, cultural networks, sporting and commercial links and opportunities that have already been formed and which will be pursued in the future.

In the panel discussion, the host Jennifer Tracey spoke with four VIP speakers namely: Eilish Gormley, an LGFA All-Star footballer from Tyrone, Sarah O’Sullivan a Cork Camogie player from Cork who has joined Ceann Creige in Glasgow, Kevin Cassidy former Donegal Senior footballer and All Ireland All-Star player—on two occasions—and the one and only legendary Celtic and Ireland goalkeeper from Donegal, Packie Bonner.

They provided entertaining anecdotes from their past experiences of being Irish in Scotland, what the Irish community in Scotland means to them and their perspectives on the social, cultural and sporting links between Scotland and Ireland.

In the auction that followed, the generosity of the audience came to the fore as they bid for a range of special cherished items such as: a jersey signed by the 2024 All-Ireland winning Armagh team, a jersey from the current Celtic squad and past All-Ireland winning Donegal captains and managers, and a 1972 All Star jersey signed by Brian McEniff. There were also All Ireland Final Football and Hurling tickets, plus items that were described by the MC ‘as rare as hen’s teeth,’ such as Oasis tickets for Croke Park and NFL tickets for the American football spectacular featuring the famous Pittsburgh Steelers that will take place in Croke Park in September 2025. This along with a silent auction and raffle revealed the depth of goodwill towards the Pearse Park project and a good deal of revenue was generated.

A masterful display

On Saturday March 29, the Donegal and Tyrone Masters teams were up bright and early for their challenge match and they provided another unique spectacle at the magnificent Clydebank Hub.

Even before the match began, those in attendance were treated to the tremendous spectacle of the first ever—outside of Ireland—All-Ireland winning marching band, St Roch’s of Glasgow leading both All-Ireland winning Masters teams around the beautifully presented 4G facility at Clydebank Community Sports Hub, but in the characteristic Scottish rain and a frisky breeze.

The match that followed was a highly entertaining and competitive game of Gaelic Football that reinforced the often quoted saying that ‘there is no such thing as a friendly game of Gaelic Football.’ It is a tough, physical game, but was played in great spirit and was well marshalled by the referee George O’Rourke and his match officials. The winners in the end, thanks to two late goals, were Tyrone, the holders of the Mick Loftus Trophy—a trophy they have retained over four consecutive All Ireland Masters Championships—and so they added the Willie Dowds Memorial Trophy 2025 to their impressive list of achievements.

Next stop Celtic Park

The next stop following a wind-swept Clydebank was Celtic Park for the Scottish Premiership fixture between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian with a 3pm kickoff and the Irish presence inspired a wonderful Celtic performance in the first-half with three superb strikes.

The interval in this game in Celtic Park provided the opportunity for two unprecedented GAA landmark events—the parade and presentation of the two GAA Masters teams to the Celtic fans (above top) as they paraded their trophies during a lap of honour.

This was followed by the presentation of the iconic All-Ireland Football trophy, the Sam Maguire, from the Scotland GAA Chairperson, Jennifer Tracey, to two of the great Armagh stalwarts of Scotland GAA, Sean Duffy from Armagh City, former Secretary, Chairman and long-standing referee over many years and Peter O’Callaghan from Tullymore (above), Tullysaran, whose daily stewardship of Pearse Park, succeeding our previous President of Scotland GAA, Eonie Kelly has been invaluable. They are both lifelong Celtic fans and earned the right and the privilege to receive the Sam Maguire, on behalf of their native county in front of the Celtic faithful. Both Peter and Sean were overwhelmed and described this as ‘the experience of a lifetime’ and indeed many of the Masters players who were on the pitch expressed similar sentiments.

Strengthening bonds

In summary, it has been a longstanding ambition for the GAA in Scotland to find a meaningful way for the Irish in Scotland who love their culture, embrace social interaction and adore their sport to celebrate their dual links between the GAA and Celtic Football Club.

We have worked in harmony with our hosts at Celtic FC for the purpose of arranging the gala dinner, the access to the hallowed turf of Celtic Park and to celebrate shared cultural links between two remarkable organisations—the greatest grassroots community based organisation in the world, the GAA alongside the what is in the eyes of every young Irishman the most iconic football Club in the world Celtic FC.

This weekend will strengthen the collaborative bonds between Scotland GAA and Celtic FC for mutual benefit and a common purpose.

Peter Mossey is the President of Scotland GAA (Uachtaran CLG na hAlban)