GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 35 – October 6, 2015 | Page 24

OULU, FINLAND
OCTOBER 3, 2015

HELSINKI DOUBLE IN FIRST TOURNAMENT
OF NORTHERN SCANDINAVIA
BY CATHAOIR SONA
World renowned Irish traditional music band, the Chieftains, formed 53 years ago this
year. On the 4th of October, on a
crisp chill afternoon in the city of
Oulu in Northern Finland, they
performed to a sold out theatre
of over 800. This was to celebrate
the 10th year anniversary of the
Irish Festival of Oulu.
Just one day prior to this historic performance, at the other side
of the city at the local Soccer stadium, another Irish group were
preparing themselves for the beginning of what promises to be a
similarly long journey. However,
instead of music, these men and
women lined out in front of a
Photo: Jeff McCarthy
much meeker crowd to endorse
the beautiful game of Gaelic Football.
This year marks a first for the All-Finland tournament, in
which three of Finland’s GAA represented cities, Oulu, Helsinki and Jyväskylä contested for the Dave Dunne memorial Cup.

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Oulu and Helsinki have had exchanged victories on the two
previous years meeting in the Northern Scandinavian Capital,
but this was the first time for Jyväskylä to be added to the mix
and they came out with a bang, presenting a young and energetic men’s and ladies teams.