Hoops in the Alps

Members of the club traveled for the 20th Anniversary of the Switzerland CSC.

Here is a write-up on their experience;

What a fantastic weekend we had in Switzerland for Hoops In The Alps. A celebratory weekend marking the 20 Year Anniversary of the Switzerland CSC.

We were welcomed upon our arrival to Berne by Club President – Markus Schwarzentrub, who was kind enough to show us around this beautiful city before accompanying us to the gorgeous town of Thun which overlooks a beautiful, vast and expansive lake of the same name with water of which is sky blue in colour with peaks of the Swiss Alps also inΒ  sight, towering over the rest of the landscape. You wouldn’t get it on a postcard, maybe more of an oil painting by Arnold Bocklin. But that being said even the brilliance of Bocklin would struggle to aspire to this level of beauty. This is where we would spend the majority of our trip. The base of operations is in McArthurs Bar, ran by Scotsman – Tony. A sound skin. The Swiss bhoys and ghirls would meet here to watch the games but occasionally do try and meet in various parts of the country over the course of a season to make it easier for their members to get out and watch the Hoops with the CSC. The very efficient Swiss train service is a big help to enable this very thoughtful initiative.
After a few quiet beers on Thursday and after everyone was acquainted, Quiz night was followed on the Friday. Quizzes are always a good laugh and was very enjoyable. There was a few curved ball ceistanna thrown at us its fair to say! A big shout out to Hans Frei who looked after the merchandise. It was brilliant to see Hans again who is a good friend of the Cork No. 1 so was great to catch up. This night was a lot quieter than the madness that was to follow.
Flag Day is always very exciting when it comes around and with the Fondue Fenians, this was no exception. Celtic got off to winning start but there’s certainly room for improvement, so was the talk amongst the punters in attendance at McArthurs. After the game, we were taken on tour around Thun by Patrik. It was a good break and a nice stroll was had, going around being shown all the historic sights that go back centuries. You can’t beat the local knowledge.
The main event of the weekend would have to be the legendary Paul Sheridan of The Wakes. He had the place bouncing, a bit of Parkhead under the lights of a European night! The bar was packed to the rafters and the atmosphere was sensational. How many musicians do you know play for 3 hours nonstop? A truly excellent performance from him.
There was a lot of tired heads on the Sunday morning but we were taken on lovely 2hr steamboat cruise across Lake Thun to another equally nice town of Interlaken. Quite a fitting was to relax and unwind taking in the scenery once again, switching off from everyday life. Great photos were taken featuring the crystal colour of the water that we just couldn’t get over. Water so clean that fish couldn’t live in it! A short trip back to Thun followed where the celebrations concluded and emotional goodbyes were exchanged.

As always with events of this nature, a lot of the time, planning and most probably stress goes into these events so we’d like to reiterate what such a fantastic time we had. We don’t think it could of went any better. Those who were at the heart of the organising should be very proud of themselves. Thanks and praise to Markus, Patrik, Fanny, Hans and the rest of the gang at the Switzerland CSC and also to Tony, Mick and all the staff at McArthurs for looking after us also.
Will we be back? You can put your house on it! A safe journey home to all. Good bless and Hail Hail.

Sommerfest ’23

It was that time of the year again: July, the off season. Following last years, magnificent Corkfhest, it was time for this special group of friends to stage this lovely Celtic festival at its more natural home, Dortmund, North-Rhine, Westphalia! πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ
Before the madness began, we had 4 members represented us out in a village, some 70km to the North-East of Dortmund: Sunninghausen. A rural community of a little over 1,000 habitants and home to the Sunninghausen CSC! A group of friends who have paid several visits to Ireland and to the Cork No.1 CSC over the last few years so it was only fair that we would take an overnight trip out to see the lads on the eve of the Sommerfest proper.
Upon arrival at the little village in the middle of nowhere, outside our party’s accommodation comes the arrival of an 1970s flatbed truck with all our good friends sitting inside, welcoming us in their Celtic jersies all ready for the day. The truck was all decked out with German, Irish flags and more importantly, Beer! The hosts took us for a spin around the countryside, showing us their lovely home, drinking bottles and singing songs in the basking sunshine, where would you get it?!
After some lovely grub we were introduced to their local football team – Sus Blau-Weiss Suenninghausen who ironically enough had a pre season game to play the same evening. The culture around local football in Germany is a lot different to Ireland, drinking as a spectator is part of their culture. We watched some football and afterwards drank at their clubhouse, chatting away and catching up. Thanks to Andre, Jannik, Marcus and all the lads for making us feel very welcome.
Friday came around and the Sunninghausen CSC and Cork No 1 CSC got packed and journeyed to Dortmund together, all smartly dressed wearing our Away Days gear. We all assembled at Schmackes Bar and Restaurant for the Opening Dinner, owned by former BVB player – Kevin GroBkreutz.
After some exquisite grub, a 10 minute walk took us to our next destination where we’d spend the rest of the opening night. The Zum ZΓΆllner – home of the mighty Tremonia Bhoys CSC! It was great to see some of the faces that we had visiting us in Cork the 12 months previous along with meeting new faces. A big shout out to Onk Muller and Hans Frei who done a fine job, taking time out to look after the merch. We hope it didn’t take up too much of their drinking time.
Morning wasn’t long coming round and it was time to face more madness. An hours drive by bus took us all to Hartkorsee. Which is a beautiful expansive lake where we all went on a relaxing boat cruise in more glorious weather. Some stunning photographs were taken on this.
A hydration break followed before we destined to the Green Night, where the traditional main event is held. Some tasty BBQ food was enjoyed and we’re all amazed at Stefans young lad – Ian,Β  who showed off his very impressive skills at a very young age. That youngfella is going places, nutmegging as many grown men as he saw fit, much to everyones amusement! πŸ˜…πŸ™ˆ
The Tremonia Bhoys CSC pulled off all the stops on this years Sommerfest with the prizes for the charity raffle. Brilliant prizes were on show, from BVB match tickets, signed Jersies, glassware and much more BVB and Celtic memorabilia. Green Saturday carried on long into the night, the place was drank dry! 🍻
If your head wasn’t too sore, a tour of the iconic Signal Iduna Park was on the cards for anyone that fancied it on the Sunday. An opportunity, we ourselves couldn’t pass up. What a sight it was. Could it be that BVB and Celtic happen to be in the same group in this seasons UCL? Its something we are all praying for!
To finish out a memorable weekend, we concluded with one last dinner at Hovels Brewery in Dortmund City Centre where we all made our emotional goodbyes. We hope everyone made a safe journey home, whether it be in Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, England, Ireland North and South. We had a wondeful experience with the best company. Thanks to the Tremonia Bhoys CSC and especially to Frank, Birgit, Kirsten, Stefan, Katja and the rest of the gang.
The countdown to Sommerfest ’24 has already started, we can’t wait. ⏰
Take a look at some of our highlights over in our gallery.

Club Committee 23-24

At a very successful AGM this past Saturday the 24th June our club committee for 23-24 was chosen and announced.

We would like to welcome some new faces to committee along with welcoming back members that have worked tireless through the years to make the CSC as successful as it is today.

 

Chairperson:Β Kevin Hannon

Vice Chairperson: David Owens

Secretary:Β Mary Counihan

Assistant Secretary:Β Neil Reilly Jnr

Treasurer:Β Barry Fitzgerald

Assistant Treasurer: Shane Aherne

PRO/ Media team: Ian O’Sullivan, Conor Horgan

Registrar, Membership: Dave Lyons

Merchandise Team: Alan Reilly, Ciara Ni Charthaigh, Aoife Ahern

Club Website: Charlotte Reilly, Eilish Owens, David Owens

Junior members club: Steve Robinson, Declan O’Connell, Neil Reilly Jnr

Social/ Club events team:Paul McGuinness, Keith Cahill, Drew Long

Match ticket team: Barry Fitzgerald, Neil Reilly jnr, Ian O’Sullivan,Keith Cahill, Neil Reilly Snr

We look forward to the following year with you all. HH

Willie Maley Statue Unveiled in Newry

A very successful weekend was had in Newry last weekend. It was one that was eagerly awaited in Newry, Co. Down as Willie Maley’s memorial statue was unveiled. We were proudly represented by Kevin, Neil and Drew as they made the long journey to Ulster for the event. The reports we got back were fantastic.

They came across familiar faces aswell as new ones. It appeared that Celtic fans had travelled from all over Ireland and Scotland to witness the occasion. Videos emerging of the corteo and the fabulous Eire Nua Band were a sight to behold. It made for a carnival atmosphere in the town of Newry as this led to the main event, the Statue Unveiling – which was a stunning sight. A beautiful piece of memorbilia that will forever be standing in the birthplace of Celtic’s first ever Manager.

As dusk fell on proceedings, the Canal Court Hotel was the venue for the remainder of the day, to commemorate and to celebrate. Music was played by the brilliant Parcel Of Rogues and Shay Doolin. Fans caught photographs with a few high profile names such as Jackie McNamara, Tommy Johnson and Joe Miller who were kind enough to make the trip across the Irish Sea. Our own lads caught up with some old mates, members of Port Lairge Emerald CSC, Lurgan No. 1 CSC, Tain Bhoys CSC, Wicklow Emerald CSC to name a few. The Willie Maley song was belted out in the Canal Court Hotel as the party continued long into the early hours.

A massive thank you must go to Mark McEvoy and the Newry Willie Maley Committee who put unbelievable time and effort into organising this event. It couldn’t of went any better for them, all well worth it.

On the way back, the lads were able to stop off in Maynooth, and catch the Killie v Celtic game in the company of the North Kildare CSC at their fantastic venue, the Newtown Inn. We thank the hosts for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. It was a great way to break up the journey and for our Chairman to get his bearings as he got Neil and Drew back to Cork in 1 piece. We apprieciate the effort our 3 bhoys made to represent us at what was a very significant event in Newry, great ambassadors of the Cork No 1 CSC. Thanks again the Newry Willie Maley Memorial Group, we hope to see you again soon. Until next time HH.

Notre Dame CSC Visit The Ferry Arms

πŸ€ A very warm welcome to the Notre Dame CSC who watched the Celtic game with us today. We’d like to thank them for the plaque which they brought with them. Very thoughtful. Hail Hail bhoys πŸ€


Liam Meets The Bhoys In Dublin

πŸ€ Liam representing us yet again. This time at the Meet&Greet event featuring, Joe Hart, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Yuki Kobayashi at @JDSports Jervis Shopping Centre, Dublin. Fierce crowds expected there. HH πŸ€

Junior Members at Parkhead

Wonderful to see more youngsters from Cork getting over to see Celtic Park again last weekend. No doubt they’ll all be back. Well done to Ethan, Josh,Fernando, Evie and Max.πŸ€

Riley all set for Livi encounter

πŸ€ Riley and Co. are all set for tonight’s encounter. Hail Hail to one of the next generation. Enjoy young man and to all our other members in attendance. πŸ€

Game 1 of Our Golden Goals Competition

πŸ€ Good Morning everyone, our Xmas Raffle this year was a Golden Goal competition involving the World Cup. A selected few games with the 1st goal being the winning ticket in each encounter.

Game 1 was contested last night. Timo Weahs strike on 36 mins being the winning minute on this occasion. Below is the winners of last nights game between the USA v Wales. We’d like to thank all those that have supported our Christmas Fundraiser this year. Your support doesn’t go unnoticed.

Game 2 of our Golden Goal Competition will be between Spain v Germany on Nov. 27th. Best of luck to all entrants. HH πŸ€

Windbreakers Promotion

We still have limited sizes Windbreakers in stock. Simply visit our club store page, contact us on our social media platforms or contact any committee member.