Mark Göttsche is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er. He played inter-county football for

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

from minor to senior levels. He then played with

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Early life

Göttsche was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

where his father Jürgen was from. His father read the GAA rulebook and became a passionate supporter of

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

, passing his fascination with the game on to his son. When Göttsche was five years of age his family moved to Oranmore. While at

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

studying for a Commerce degree he played in the

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

. While at UUJ studying for a Master's in Sports Management he also played in the

. He played for the Galway Senior team in their 2008 National Football League game against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

London

Göttsche moved to

in mid-2011 and began playing for

. In 2011, London came close to beating

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in the

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

- the game went to extra-time before Mayo escaped. In 2012, they lost to Leitrim by one point. On 26 May 2013, Göttsche was man of the match in London's 1-12 - 0–14 victory over

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

- their first victory in the competition since 1977. He was later awarded the GAA's Player of the Month award for May. Göttsche lined out for London in the Connacht semi final three weeks later but was substituted early in the first half. It transpired that Göttsche was struggling with a long-term injury which required surgery. Göttsche went under the knife on 4 July 2013 and missed the remainder of the 2013 season including London's first ever Connacht Final appearance. Göttsche returned to the London colours at the beginning of the 2014 National Football League, playing in every one of London's league games. He started for London against his native Galway in the Connacht Championship in May 2014 which ended in a heavy defeat for London. Injury prevented Göttsche starting against Limerick in the All Ireland qualifiers, however was introduced as a substitute after 10 minutes with London trailing by 7 points. Göttsche inspired London's comeback which saw them lead by two points with five minutes remaining. However having come from behind the superior fitness of Limerick proved a telling factor and Limerick ran out two point winners. Göttsche announced his retirement from inter-county football in 2019, and took up the role of finance and operations manager with

Galway GAA The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na Gaillimhe) or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and f ...

. He has also been Secretary and Treasurer of London GAA. Club Göttsche has won four London County Senior Football Championship medals (2012, 2014, 2015, 2018) with Tir Chonaill Gaels picking up the man of the match award in the 2012 and 2014 finals and captaining the team in 2012 & 2018.

References

External links

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RTÉ Sport: London's Mark Gottsche says they all fought for each other to get the win they deserved
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottsche, Mark 1987 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Galway GAA Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers German Gaelic footballers London County Board administrators London inter-county Gaelic footballers University of Galway Gaelic footballers Secretaries of county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association Sportspeople from Galway (city) Tír Chonaill Gaels Gaelic footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England