Written by Conor Lyne, Inneoin Hurling Club in Zurich
Switzerland wouldn’t normally spring to mind when thinking about Ireland’s greatest game, but the financial capital of Zürich will reverberate to the clash of the ash on July 11th, as the penultimate round of hurling’s European championship takes place that weekend. Belgium GAA are poised to lift the trophy for the first time in the competition’s history, but hoping to throw a spanner in the works will be last year’s winners Luxembourg, and the hosts Zürich.
Zürich will also host their first ever camogie match as the final round of the European championship, with a team made up almost exclusively of non-Irish players. Luxembourg are current leaders of the camogie championship, after wins in Belgium and Luxembourg, but a win for Zürich should see them claim their first ever title.
Inneoin Hurling Club Zürich to give the club it’s full title, was founded in 2002, and to date is Europe’s most successful Hurling club with 3 championship wins, and 2 runners-up placings. Recent years have seen the rise of clubs from the Benelux region, and Zürich’s success has been successfully challenged. Coinciding with the loss of several key players due to retirement and repatriation to Ireland, this has meant that plans for developing local talent were rapidly fast tracked.
Zürich can now boast a membership containing in excess of 50% non-Irish members, who are a match for the best Irish-born players in Europe. It’s hoped that the club will continue to attract non-Irish members in order to secure the long term future of hurling and camogie within Switzerland. The recent organistation of a football section has attracted many new members, and it’s hoped that they will take up the camán for future tournaments.
 Participating teams:
Hurling: Belgium, Luxembourg, Zürich
Camogie: Luxembourg, Zürich
Venue: Sportanlage Fronwald, Fronwaldstrasse 115, 8046 Zürich
Date: July 11th, 2009-07-03
Links:
www.EuropeanIrish.com
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