Every sport comes with its own terminology, but many people may struggle to identify in which games they’d come across a “free out”, a “sideline cut” or – more ominously – a “fair shoulder”.
For the many men and women living in the UAE who were reared on the traditional Irish sports of Gaelic football and hurling, such terms are like a native language. But although this lexicon may be baffling to a newcomer, the skill, action and drama on the pitch need little explanation.
Irish people have been living and working in the Emirates for decades, and like many other emigrant communities in this country, they have brought their traditions with them. Among these are Gaelic games that provide fitness and excitement on the pitch and offer friendship and support off it.
According to the Gaelic Athletic Association, which administers the games in Ireland and abroad, there are more than 85 competitive teams in the Middle East. Games and training sessions for Gaelic football and hurling (or camogie for women) are a common sight at sports grounds in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and beyond. But what are these sports that bind this community together?
Hurling is a fast, tough game played by two teams of 15 over 60 minutes at club level. Players wield a bladed ash stick called a caman (or hurl, or hurley) to strike a small, hard leather ball called a sliotar. Played on a much larger field than a football pitch, hurlers can send the ball vast distances. Tackling is tough, challenges are direct and a lot of dexterity is needed to balance the ball on the stick, or to hit it – while running flat out – at rugby-style goals: over the bar is worth one point and into the goal is worth three.
Gaelic football has the same team size, scoring system, pitch and rules. At first glance, it resembles a cross between football (the better-known version), rugby and basketball. Like hurling, it is a direct, physical game played by men, women and children alike.
The roots of both sports go back far into Irish prehistory but it was in 1884 that the process of organising and codifying these games began. The sports were not just for fun – they formed part of a revival of Irish nationalism and identity nearly extinguished by the devasting famine of 1845 to 1852.
In the 21st century, the association remains a unique phenomenon. Even footballers and hurlers who play at the highest level in Ireland remain amateurs. There is no transfer window – players line out for the parish they were raised in and the county they were born in. It is not unusual to see smaller, rural clubs all over Ireland field teams containing several siblings from the same family.
In Ireland, the games are a kind of social glue that binds players and communities together. That togetherness can be seen in Irish communities from New York to London to the UAE, where training, playing and celebrating as a team keeps emigrants in touch with family and friends, as well as their Irish heritage.
Barcelona FC, it is often said, is more than a club. If that is true, then Gaelic sports are more than a game.
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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More on Quran memorisation:
More on Quran memorisation:
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
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Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
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Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
