Dungloe host first ever Comórtas Iomána Gaeilge
The Gaeil Dhoire Theas team that won the inaugural Comórtas Iomána na Gaeilge.
New ground was broken on the weekend of October 21/22 when the first ever Gaeltacht Hurling Competition was held.
Conceived and hosted by An Clochán Liath (Dungloe) GAA club in North-West Donegal, the inaugural Comórtas Iomána Gaeilge was great success.
Three other clubs – Gaeltacht Iorrais from North Mayo, Gaeil Dhoire Theas from South Derry, and Gaeil Leitir Ceanainn from Letterkenny – also took part and the hope is that in the coming years the competition will grow further.
Two of the co-ordinators of the Comórtas Iomána na Gaeilge, Cormac Hartnett and Daithi Roberts, said the idea for the Irish language hurling tournament was born out of interest from the Gaeltacht hurling clubs who felt they needed a national platform to showcase the outstanding work that Gaeltacht areas are doing to promote hurling and Irish.
“There are at least ten Gaeltacht hurling clubs up and running now in Gaeltacht areas and they just wanted an opportunity to play hurling with each other and promote the Irish language.
“We have a new Oifigeach Pleanála Teanga here in Dungloe and when she heard about our plans to promote the language and to host the first ever Comórtas Iomána na Gaeilge tournament in our own club she was delighted to back and support the initiative.
“That was the catalyst that we really needed to roll up our sleeves and make it happen."
Good ideas require enormous work and the Hurling and Camogie development committee and the club executive from Dungloe GAA meticulously planned the tournament over three months.
A committee of 25 people met on a regular basis to organise everything from accommodation, food, an official programme for the weekend, media exposure, sponsorship, entertainment even down to medals and plaques for each team.
The Dungloe team that won the Shield Final at the inaugural Comórtas Iomána na Gaeilge.
For a club like the Gaeltacht Iorrais Hurling Club which was only formed in February this year, the opportunity to play in a competition that celebrated both hurling and the Irish language was a fantastic experience.
“When the football Comórtas was founded back in the late 60’s our local club CLG Bhéal an Mhuirthead was one of the first clubs to get on board so when we heard about a Comórtas Iomána we said straight away that the hurlers from the same area would do likewise and be involved from the very start,” says club chairperson, Ciaran Ó hEadhra.
“To be honest, it was a brilliant weekend. Huge credit must go to Dungloe GAA for having the courage to run with the idea. Our lads thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, the hurling was great, we spoke plenty of Irish and we will certainly be back.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by Pádraig Ó Mianáin of the Gaeil Dhoire Theas club, an amalgamation of hurlers from south Derry who all speak Gaeilge.
“A tournament like this one bonds hurlers and Irish speakers together and that was very evident over the weekend,” he said. “It creates a community and it keeps them together.
“This weekend has brought our own team closer together and we certainly have made new friends. We are just so thankful that we were invited to partake. I hope it gets the support it deserves and that it grows and expands even more in the years to come.”
This year’s inaugural Comórtas Iomána na Gaeilge was a pilot project to get the initiative off the ground and to showcase the possibilities of what can be achieved, and Donegal GAA Coiste Iomána chairperson Manus Ó Domhnaill hopes it’s just the start of greater things to come.
“This is what the GAA is all about, sport, language and community,” he said. “Donegal GAA is 100% behind this tournament and the more people we get playing hurling and camogie in Donegal and in the other Gaeltacht counties the better it is for the entire GAA family.”
