Ladies’ All-Ireland Junior quarter-final
Paris-Bordeaux (Paris-Burdi) v Coolera-Strandhill
(SAT NOV 23, Maastricht, 2pm)
When the GAA is mentioned, community is a word to swiftly follow.
Today, the metro area population of Paris is over 11 million. Bordeaux has over a million.
To paraphrase Father Dougal, I’m not very good at judging the size of crowds, but Strandhill has a few less than either of those figures.
The complexity of the human race has us at the point where Paris and Bordeaux combined are envious of little old Coolera-Strandhill, as they lag behind in a fundraising mission that will - fingers crossed - take them on a second journey to the Netherlands and to Maastricht.
The All-Ireland Junior quarter-final is quite the pairing.
The contrast is an eye opener as to what a sense of community is all about.
Paris-Burdi GAA is Mairéad Malone’s and Aisling Fee’s baby. It was not so long ago a notion. It was ambitious and it was probably farfetched. No one thought it would come to this.
But that baby has since spat the dummy out, tumbled out of the pram and cartwheeled her way to an All-Ireland quarter-final. In her innocence and youth - in her first year - she has yet to learn of fear.
From Malin Head to Mizen Head is 546 kilometres. From Paris to Bordeaux is 543. They don’t exactly have the same parish priest nor postman.
But you don’t get to the dizzy heights of Paris from County Fermanagh’s Irvinestown without ambition:
“I had it (the amalgamation) in my head, but it hadn’t been done before so obviously people were sceptical, in terms of finance”, Malone says.
“Going up to Maastricht the first time for the European Championship was all of our own accord, and we paid for it. It’s an amateur sport and people are willing to put that money in because they want to be there and they want to compete.”
Leitrim, Drumkeerin and Bordeaux’s Fee chimes in:
“In Europe we don’t have the same resources as people in Ireland. Where we train is a rugby pitch, hence the problem where we have to go all the way to Maastricht.
“And when we do play tournaments, we have to travel to Clermont, or Strasbourg. You have to cover those travel costs and accommodation yourself.
“We’ll probably be playing against Paris the week before!”.
Paris and Bordeaux have been the dominant forces in France in recent times, a “local rivalry” Malone sarcastically says through a grin.
On top of logistical difficulties, domestic competitions are only nine or 11-a-side.
It is quite stunning that they have become the first French side in history to advance to this stage.
Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo, Wicklow, Wexford, Limerick, Kerry and Clare are all represented, but the true achievement is the number of French-born players on show.
Eight of the starting XV in the shock win over London’s Wandsworth Gaels were native French, among them Bordeaux’s Fanny Lézin:
“I love the sense of community associated with Gaelic Games and see the club as my second family.”
The English champions learned the hard way that Paris-Burdi are not to be written off:
“Honestly, our French girls are just as good as our Irish. They’re incredible athletes and sometimes they’re written off before they play us”, Fee explains.
“The London girls said it to us after the game: ‘We shouldn’t have written you off, you’re really good’.
“They didn’t expect us to be as good as we are.
“Even Bordeaux and Paris, we’ll be quite competitive, but as soon as the whistle has blown, we’ll have the night out afterwards. We’ll sit together at the table.
“There’s no Bordeaux girls here, Paris girls there, Irish girls this side and French girls together. There’s literally none of that. We’re all together and we’re one big group.
“When I see the French people play, it just makes me so proud to be Irish and have our culture shared with them.”
The St Molaise club woman agrees:
“Wandsworth said when they saw the lineout and the names of eight French girls they were like: ‘We have them’.”
“These French girls, that was their first ever 15-a-side match, and they’re buzzing and trying to learn from us all the time.”
Jean-Baptiste Bouglouan oversees the side along with Belfast’s Conor Pelan, with the latter accepting the underdogs tag whilst insisting that his side “won’t be fazed in the slightest” against the Sligo and Connacht kingpins.
Perhaps that is because of the struggles they have suffered to make any of this feasible. The fact that there is no pitch the length and breadth of France capable of hosting this match speaks volumes.
Fee and her Bordeaux compatriots face a trek to Paris followed by a six-hour bus journey to Maastricht. Safe to say home advantage is out the window.
Particularly given the fact as the designated ‘home’ side, Paris-Burdi are not entitled to any LGFA funding. It’s a double-edged sword:
“Strandhill will get the LGFA grant as they are technically an away team, and they’ve raised over €18,000, which is great and fair play to them.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to raise half of that because obviously Gaelic football is not well known in France, and they obviously have a really good community and loads of generosity.
“Our secretary went around measuring pitches in Bordeaux and stuff to see if they fit in the guidelines. There was a pitch in Rennes but I think that pitch is liable to flood.
“In the end it was decided that the game would be played in Maastricht. For us it’s nearly equally as far as the Sligo girls!
“Basically, the money is coming out of our pockets - and we’ve already paid a lot for all of the tournaments so far.”
Sometimes in life you do foolish things for love. The passion for GAA in France could be labelled blind such is the sacrifice, but it is an investment that’s starting to really pay dividends for this group.
And a line of Malone’s really strikes a chord:
“I don’t think I would be in Paris as long as I have been if it wasn’t for the football.”
No road to glory is ever without its turns, but this Paris-Burdi journey has been twistier than a whiskey-filled Jordan Belfort.
Luxembourg-Amsterdam? Tick.
Belgium GAA? Tick.
Wandworth Gaels? Tick.
Now it’s off to the birthplace of the European Union, and what could be deemed the birthplace of Europe’s latest GAA superpower.
Coolera-Strandhill will know that Paris-Burdi are not to be underestimated.
To paraphrase Father Ted, they’re not small, they’re just far away.
DONATE HERE:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-parisburdi-team-on-their-allireland-journey
Paris-Burdi Irish representatives
Aisling Fee - Naomh Bríd, Drumkeerin, Leitrim
Mairead Malone - St Molaise, Irvinestown, Fermanagh
Hannah McSkeane - Clontibret O’Neills, Monaghan
Aoife O’Neill - Ballyhaise GAA, Cavan
Ruth Ferguson - West Clare Gaels, Clare
Emma O’Sullivan - MKL Gaels, Kerry
Eileen O’Connell - Kenmare Shamrocks / Templenoe, Kerry
Sarah Laffan - Cappamore GAA, Limerick
Saraid McCarrick - Cloonacool GAA, Sligo
Pamela Walsh- Naomh Eanna, Wexford
Fianna O’Reilly - Carnew Emmets, Wicklow