The Cayman Islands Gaelic Football Club (CIGFC) in association with Digicel were delighted to welcome the All Ireland Senior Gaelic Football Champions Dublin to Grand Cayman last weekend.  An exhibition match took place on Sunday, 4th December at the Camana Bay CIS Grounds, where the Champions narrowly defeated the local side in a nail biting match.

From the throw in Dublin looked strong and kept control of the ball, but the Cayman defense fought hard in the starting minutes of the game. This was short lived though, as Dublin sneaked a goal past Cayman keeper Denis Rowe. The Cayman side stepped up their defending with Shane Gallery and Brian Fitzgerald fearlessly keeping the visitors in check. This resulted in Caymans first points of the game being scored by Colm Moniyhan, Mike Hall and Rich Marian. However the visitors responded with another goal, and with only minutes to go before the half time whistle, Club Chairman Paul Broderick hit the back of the net to even things up for the Cayman team. Half time score 2 goals to Dublin, 1 goal and 3 points to Cayman.

In order to even the side s up, at the start of the second half a few of the Dublin players swapped jerseys with our Cayman players, with Dave O’Connell, Dermot Kelly, Ger Finegan and Paul Broderick putting on the famous blue jersey, and Gaelic football pro’s Declan Lally, and brothers Bernard and Alan Brogan trying out the Cayman shirts for size.  The second half was tightly contested, and Cayman narrowly missed out on a draw with the stars on the Cayman team bringing the final score to 3 goals and 1 point to Dublin, with 1 goal and 6 points to Cayman.

Having scarcely lost in the Gaelic football game, the Cayman team challenged the visitors to the tug of war and welly boot throwing contests, both of which are played annually at the club’s St Patrick’s Day Festival. However Cayman seemed to be on a losing streak as the Dublin Team prevailed in all contests and the only saving grace for Cayman came from the ladies tug of war victory over their visiting ladies.

After a long day out at the pitch, the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and our Premier, the Honorable McKeeva Bush hosted both the Dublin team and the local Club and supporters at Tiki Beach for an evening reception. The Premier warmly welcomed the team to the island, and after speeches by CIGFC Club President Noel Reilly, Dublin Manager Pat Gilroy and Chairman of the Dublin County Board Andy Kettle, Club Chairman Paul Broderick presented Pat Gilroy with a commemorative trophy from the game.

The visitors enjoyed a great day out with the CIGFC, and this would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism and Digicel. The club extends its gratitude to both of these sponsors.

Once again congratulations to the Dublin team on their success this year, and many thanks to all the players and staff for sharing their vacation time with us here in Cayman.