A flying start to the year for Glasgow Uni

FROM a taster session in Clydebank to a winning tour of Berlin, Glasgow University Gaelic Football Club has made a flying start to 2026/27.

The club has begun the new academic year with record numbers, a packed social calendar and a successful trip to Germany already behind it.

The season kicked off on last month with a taster session at Clydebank Community Sports Hub. The club paid for the venue to show prospective players the quality of facilities available to GAA in Scotland. For many who came along, it was a chance to experience something familiar. With a large number of students having only just moved across from Ireland, a Gaelic football in the hand can ease the homesickness of those first few weeks. As is tradition, the evening ended with drinks in the West End.

Regular training then began at Garscube Sports Complex—the club’s training home since 1997—albeit on a soccer pitch. Whatever the surface, the turnout was anything but ordinary. A total of 91 people took part across the men’s and women’s teams, a number the club has never seen before. First years stood alongside returning players, and the numbers have kept the coaches busy.

“Walking down to Garscube that first Tuesday and seeing how many people were already there was unreal,” Club President, Anna Grew, said. “We had freshers who’d been in Glasgow for less than a fortnight, and they were straight into the drills with players who’ve been with us for years. That's what this club is for.”

The new term has also brought a calendar of socials, with county colours and the usual student night traditions firmly in evidence. The club hopes new members will use them to find their feet and build a community.

The women’s section then headed abroad. The annual October tour is a relatively recent addition to the club calendar, but one that has quickly become a firm favourite. Some 27 players and social members recently flew from Edinburgh Airport to Berlin. The weekend began with a mystery-shirt reveal on the Thursday evening and a night of karaoke, and Friday brought a Berlin Oktoberfest at Hofbräu. Between the festivities, there was still time to explore the city and its history.

Saturday was the main event. Glasgow University took on Berlin GAA at Sportanlage Jungfernheide, with throw-in at 11am, and the uni girls came away with the win. Supporters might note that the Glasgow side’s intensity dipped as the match went on, a fact the squad is putting down—with some justification—to the previous night’s Oktoberfest!

The club is grateful to Berlin GAA for their hospitality, both on the pitch and at the social afterwards. For a group of students far from home, it was a great chance to connect with another part of the Irish diaspora. The day ended with drinks with the Berlin GAA team and a night out in the city, before the group flew home on Sunday.

“Berlin showed what this club is about,” Anna said. “We went over as a group of students and came home having made friends with another part of the Irish diaspora, and with memories that will last long after the season ends. We’re hugely grateful to Berlin GAA for making us so welcome.”

The start of the year follows one of the most successful seasons in the club’s history. The men’s team won the Scottish Championship last season, and the women’s team claimed the British Universities Division Two Shield. In May, alumni from across the club’s nearly 30 years returned to Glasgow for the Michael O’Leary Commemoration and Alumni Dinner Dance, which also launched the club history Callan to Caledonia.

With the autumn season under way and fixtures approaching, the club is keen to keep growing. No experience is needed, and the club welcomes complete beginners as well as those who have played all their lives.

If you, or someone you know, would like to get involved, training takes place on Tuesday evenings from 8.30pm to 10pm at Garscube Sports Complex, with shuttle buses running to and from the university. Contact the club on Instagram at @glasgowunigaa or e-mail: President-gaelic@gusa.gla.ac.uk.