Donegal native and his teammates looking to put Wroclaw GAA on the map

Two years ago, when Donegal Town native Eoin Gorrell first landed in Wroclaw to study veterinary medicine, he wasn’t thinking about Gaelic football.  

Like most students making the leap abroad, his mind was on settling in, navigating a new city, and getting stuck into the challenges of university life. But it didn’t take long before a familiar itch started to surface. 

It was in the flow of conversations with fellow Irish students that an idea began to form. They weren’t just scattered individuals trying to find their feet in Poland — they were a growing community interested in setting up a GAA team. The more they talked, the clearer it became - there was a club waiting to be born. 

"When I first came to the city over two years ago now, we realised that there was a big influx of Irish coming over every year,” Gorrell told Donegal Live 

“I suppose with the demand for veterinary, there are now more students coming over from Ireland and the number is increasing every year. There are some over here doing dentistry too but 90pc of Irish people here are students." 

The numbers were there. The interest was there. And before long, so was Wroclaw GAA. 

"In 2022, I think there were around 50 first-year students over from Ireland, so we quickly realised that there was enough to put a club or a GAA team together,” he said. 

The idea was hatched over a cup of tea in an apartment. Gorrell and a handful of others knew they needed 11 members to make it official, so they sat down and hashed it out. 

"That was in October 22, we knew we needed 11 members, so we met up in one of the apartments and just spoke about if it was a realistic thing to do.  

“It was a very simple idea, and we just chatted over a cup of tea regarding where we go from there." 

Fast forward to today and the club has around 50 members, a steady foothold in the GAA community in Europe, and an appetite for growth. 

"I became Assistant Treasurer of the club when it was first formed and since then I’ve taken on the role of Treasurer. We have about 50 members this year which is brilliant and hopefully that number keeps growing." 

It took some back and forth with GAA Europe, but with the help of European Officer Tony Bass and Secretary Ben Grobman, the wheels were soon turning. 

"It was just about getting all the information needed and putting it together. There was a lot of back and forth with GAA Europe with regards to getting everything in place but once you get it off the ground it’s not too bad." 

And while Donegal accents might be a rare enough sound in Wroclaw, the local club isn’t short of familiar names from home. 

"We have other Donegal people here who are involved in the club, the likes of Bonnie McLaughlin from Buncrana, Shania McCloskey from Carndonagh, Katlyn Grant from Clonmany, Adam Conlon from Malin, there’s plenty of others from the county who got involved over the last two years." 

Not content with just competing, Wroclaw GAA has taken to hosting as well. When the European Games proved too costly and complicated to get to, they decided to take matters into their own hands. 

"We didn’t get to go to the European Games last week because it was too awkward in terms of travelling and cost, so, we decided to hold our own tournament the week previous, and that is probably the biggest thing we’ve done since we found the club," Gorrell explained. 

And they didn’t do things by halves. Seven ladies’ teams, and six men’s teams — including a Lads & Dads outfit that flew in from Clare — blitz matches from dawn to dusk. 

Organising it meant more dealings with GAA Europe, making sure everything was above board, and arranging referees — including one from Berlin and another, Paul Clifford, all the way from Buncrana. 

The European Games in Prague last year were an eye-opener and Wroclaw decided to do their best in modelling their tournament on that. 

"We did get the opportunity to travel to the European Games in Prague last year and it was great. You see just how professionally organised it is. It was non-stop football, and we had a great experience in our first outing there." 

As things stand, Warsaw is the standard-bearer in Poland, the men’s and ladies' champions for now. But Wroclaw has their own plans for the future. 

"It’s a great experience to be a part of a GAA community out here. I suppose Warsaw would be the strongest city in Europe currently for GAA success, they’re the men's and ladies' champions at the minute." 

And if all goes well, their tournament will be an annual fixture on the calendar, rotating between the clubs in Poland, growing year on year. 

"Because there is such a big Irish presence here in Poland, our thinking in holding a GAA tournament was to try and make it an annual thing so maybe Warsaw or Bydgoszcz GAA will host it next season and make it almost like the Poland GAA Games for teams to come over and make it a yearly event." 

From a chat over a cup of tea to a permanent place in the European GAA landscape, Wroclaw GAA is making sure the Irish connection in Poland stays alive and kicking.