Irish Australians History
Irish Australians were born in 1991. The proud parents were the Pennant Hills AFL club. Initially there were only boys in the family but in 1995 the first of the girls arrived. Unfortunately in 2001 the boys left the family for good. Now the girls are left to hold the flag (or should we say 'banner'?) aloft.
Proud founding fathers were Darryl Gibb and Tasmanian Chris Greenway. With the guidance of Clare man Sean Fitzgibbon, the now newly formed Young Australians GFC as they were then known, were officially affiliated to the NSW GAA in January 1992. The whole idea from the start was to involve local Australians in the great game of Gaelic Football in Sydney where there was a notable absence on all the other teams and in this regard the club has indeed been very successful. Michele and Sean Fitzgibbon have continued to put their energies into the club from the very first and we look forward to the addition of a new Fitzgibbon this year to add to the club's roll of honour. Initial sponsorship for the men's SF team came from 'The Gaelic Club' in 1992 and 1993 and then from Guinness Australia in 1994, 1995 and 1996. For the 1997 & 1998 season a new sponsorship deal was made with 'The Pine Inn, Concord' who to this day, continue to provide sponsorship to the Irish Australians. In 1995 the club committee put a Ladies Team into the NSW GAA competition led by an enthusiastic Coach and Ex-Aussie rules player Andy Korff from Adelaide City (Glenelg Tigers AFC). The Ladies Team Manager was the always hard working Michele Gibb (now Fitzgibbon), the sister of Darryl, a founding father of the club, It was no easy task however Andy and Michele were able to mould the girls into a very credible unit before Andy's forced resignation at the end of the 1997 season and after only his second year in the job. An IA Minor Gaelic Football team also started in 1995 in a three team competition. It was led by Padraic Gogarty and the team won back to back titles in 1995-1996. The NSW Minor Competition however finished up due to lack of interest by the other clubs in Sydney. The Irish Australian Senior Football and Ladies Football enjoyed limited success until the year 2000 when the men won the Shield and both teams appeared in the Championship finals for the first time in history. Whilst neither side had a victory on the day, the club was proud of all its representatives that day both for their on field play and their record making two (or three) day celebrations that followed. Sadly the men's team was unable to continue playing in the competition after 2001 as no coach could come close to the sensational Brian King and the players were no longer to be found. The ladies team continues to go from strength to strength each year. Since the inaugural summer competition in 2003, when the Irish Aussies joined forces with the AFL team Western Wolves in making the semis, our club membership has continued to expand. Many of the Western Wolves have continued to play with Irish Aussies in the winter League and Championship competitions adding a new flavour to the club yet again……not to mention a unique tackling style on the field…oops, wrong sport!
In 2004, the Irish Australians secured their first title on offer for the year, taking out the 10-a-side Summer Competition final over the Central Coast in March. In 2005 Irish Aussies were again successful in winning the summer competition and hope to do so for many years to come. Nowadays the Irish Australians GFC is located in two Australian Cities. We are the only true sister club set up in Australia in which we work closely together and share each others successes on and off the field. In Sydney we are based in the Inner Western Suburbs, taking in the Suburbs of Burwood, Croydon, Ashfield, Strathfield, Enfield, Five Dock and Concord. We are about 15 minutes by train & car to Sydney city centre. We do however have club members who come from all over the City. We train at Croyden during the NSWGAA Season which is held between March and September each year. Our coaching staff consist of Gerry Roper and Eamon Gogarty and Michele Fitzgibbon is managing the team from the sideline until she rejoins us on the field for the Championship! In Adelaide we are based around the Coastline Western Suburbia of Glenelg, Brighton, and Marion and as far as Hallett Cove however our Players come from all over the Adelaide City Region. In Adelaide we train at North Adelaide at the Aquatic Centre Grounds. The club has a proud history of building a strong, healthy, fun loving and ongoing relationship between Irish backpackers, those on work visas, those with sponsorship or residency and the local Aussies in the community. We blend (often lots of fun and very interesting) at social functions and off-the-cuff gatherings as well as out club fundraisers and are always seeking new players to join us. That's where we are up to so far but we would welcome any out there who would like to join us in creating some more history |
