Aoife Connolly, Niamh Kelly, Emma Troy, and Orlaith Higgins of New South Wales celebrate their one-point win over rivals Victoria in the women's senior football final. Photo credit: An Astráil.
Australasia Gaelic Games marked their golden jubilee in style with the Australasia Championships (annual interstate games) played at Gaelic Park, Melbourne in the first week of October.
Featuring 23 state teams from across Australia and New Zealand, the four-day tournament saw New South Wales claim a trifecta of titles, claiming the men’s and women’s senior football, and camogie competitions. Home state Victoria landed the men’s and women’s intermediate football gongs, while the hurling title headed out west to Perth with Western Australia.
Played at the magnificent Gaelic Park venue south-east of Melbourne – one of the only purpose-built Gaelic games facilities outside of Ireland – the first three days saw round robin games played across the six competitions; the top two teams in the round robins qualifying for Saturday’s finals.
Making the most of their home advantage, Victoria’s six teams secured places in the finals, and on Friday evening, were eyeing up what would be a historic clean sweep.
The day started off to plan as their intermediate men’s and women’s football teams secured the first silverware of the day. In the women’s final, Victoria, who were dominant all week, dispatched South Australia – who are mostly Australian-born players – by 3-14 to 0-5.
Result: South Australia 0-5 – 3-14 Victoria
Conor Thompson of Victoria breaks a tackle from South Australia's Adam Smyth during a men's intermediate football round robin game. Photo credit: An Astráil.
In the most competitive competition of the games, the intermediate men’s football final was a tighter affair as Victoria took on a fancied Auckland side, who were making a return to the interstate games after a 14-year hiatus. Playing with the breeze in the first half, the New Zealand outfit recovered from conceding an early goal to lead by two points at the short whistle. But the experienced Victoria team put in a controlled and patient second-half performance, and slotting a goal in the dying minutes, ensured a six-point win to claim back-to-back intermediate titles.
Result: Auckland 1-6 – 2-9 Victoria
The camogie final was the first in a trio of New South Wales – Victoria finals. Traditional powerhouses in the state games, this final had the added dimension of a twin rivalry as Olivia (New South Wales) and Sarah Keehan (Victoria) of Ardrahan, Galway faced off. The Sydney side took in a one-point win at the half, and they well and truly powered home in the second, winning 1-18 to 0-12 to pick up their fourth title on the trot and ending Victoria’s hopes of a whitewash.
Result: New South Wales 1-18 – 0-12 Victoria
Having topped the group with four wins, New South Wales’ dominance in the men’s senior football continued into the final as they saw off Victoria by four points. Starting off the quicker, the sky blues led 1-3 to a point in the first 15 minutes and controlled the game for the remainder to see it out for back-to-back championship wins.
Result: New South Wales 1-11 – 1-7 Victoria
Ard Mhacha abú! GAA President Jarlath Burns presenting fellow countyman Diarmuid Rafferty of New South Wales (and St Colmcilles Grange) with his Australasia Championships men's senior football medal. Photo credit: An Astráil.
After a week of sunshine, the heavens opened for what was the game of the day in the third and final New South Wales – Victoria derby. Having drawn their group game, it was anyone’s guess as to who would claim the final. The team from Sydney, playing with the wind in the opening half, led by three points at the break. They pulled further ahead at the start of the second half, and remarkably kicked their last score of the game with 22 minutes to go. With the rain teeming down, Victoria launched wave after wave of attack bringing the game to within a point, but the New South Wales team defended staunchly ‘til the final whistle to claim a one-point win, and a trio of titles for their state.
Result: New South Wales 0-9 – 0-8 Victoria
The final game of the day featured two strong hurling teams in Western Australia and Victoria, who impressed all week. Spectators would have been forgiven for thinking this was a parish derby back home given the intensity and passion with which the game was played from the outset. Western Australia, as it happened, were reduced to 14 players after only five minutes. Despite their numerical disadvantage, they took hold of the game from thereon, and with the imperious Waterford intercounty star Calum Lyons at the helm, they took in a five-point lead at the short whistle. The second half was more of the same from the commanding Western Australia side, and they saw out the game by 10 points, to claim their first title since 2019.
Result: Victoria 0-11 – 1-18 Western Australia
Western Australia captain Kevin Palmer celebrating with his teammates following their hurling championship final victory. Photo credit: An Astráil.
Overall, it was a terrific week of football, hurling and camogie in Melbourne, and from an organisational point of view, the week could not have gone any better. A huge thanks to the Australasia Gaelic Games organising committee, led by Secretary Teresa Daly and President Ned Sheehy, and to Gaelic Park for hosting the games.
The tournament featured 50 games in total, and the standard was the highest it has been at an Australasia Championships. In fact, visiting dignitaries, such as GAA President, Jarlath Burns; LGFA President, Mícheál Naughton; Camogie CEO, Sinéad McNulty praised the standard of games throughout the week. And along with the quality Australasia referees officiating, the games featured intercounty referees from Ireland in Siobhán Coyle, Donegal; Shane Curley, Galway; Kieran Olwell, Meath; and Matty Redmond, Kildare who each did stellar job in some tough games.
Players from the 32 counties participated, and it was fitting to see the 32 county, and four province, flags flying high at Gaelic Park. Celebrating our association’s 50th anniversary by hosting the championships at Gaelic Park – the spiritual home of Gaelic games in Australasia – made the occasion even more special. Here’s to many more years of playing our games in this little piece of Ireland in Australia.
The week of celebrations concluded with a gala ball in Melbourne city centre where the winning teams were feted, and All-Stars for the six competitions were announced. And Australasia Gaelic Games veterans, and lifetime members, Seamus Sullivan, Gerard Roe, and Paddy Hegarty were once acknowledged for their outstanding contribution to Gaelic games in Australasia.
Australasia Gaelic Games committee in attendance at the games with and Gaelic games dignitaries. (L-R): Tom Murphy (Western Australia), Director; Jarlath Burns, GAA President; Paul Sheehy (Victoria), Director; John 'Bobs' Daly (Wellington), Public Relations Officer; Ned Sheehy (New South Wales), President; Sinéad McNulty, Camogie Association CEO; Helen O'Rourke, LGFA CEO; Teresa Daly (New South Wales), Secretary; Fiona Cotter (New South Wales), Treasurer; Cóilin Daly (New South Wales), Director; Derek Kent, Leinster GAA Chairperson; Mícheál Naughton, LGFA President. Photo credit: An Astráil
Tournament All-Stars
Hurling
Mark Walsh - New South Wales
Conor Kelly - New South Wales
Mikey Berara - Queensland
Conor Byrnes - Queensland
Brian Hogan - Queensland
Dan Butler - New Zealand
Darragh O’Callaghan - Victoria
Dean Coleman - Victoria
Conor Phelan - Victoria
Paul McNamara - Victoria
Calum Lyons - Western Australia
Billie Murphy - Western Australia
Pa Carroll - Western Australia
Sean Kenny - Western Australia
Stephen Dalton - Western Australia
Camogie
Denise Cagney - Western Australia
Áine Kirby - Western Australia
Kate Mary Cullinane - Western Australia
Michaela Kenneally - New South Wales
Jackie Quigley - New South Wales
Katelyn Hickey - New South Wales
Linda Collins - New South Wales
Gráinne Egan - New South Wales
Maria Walsh - New South Wales
Sadie Mai Rowe - New South Wales
Caoimhe Rice - Victoria
Ellie Doyle - Victoria
Aoife Keane - Victoria
Laura Loughnane - Victoria
Eimear Smyth - Victoria
Men’s senior football
Mark Harley - Queensland
Marcus McIlwee - Queensland
Harry Houlihan - Queensland
Anthony Kidney - New South Wales
Eoghan Bateman - New South Wales
Colm Mannion - New South Wales
Diarmuid Larkin - New South Wales
Cian Sheehan - New South Wales
Evin Scanlon - New South Wales
Stephen O’Sullivan - New South Wales
Denis Greaney - Victoria
Shane O Connor - Victoria
Colm Brennan - Victoria
Eoghan Daly - Victoria
Ryan Gillespie - Victoria
Women’s senior football
Ellen Campbell - Queensland
Tierna Maguire - Queensland
Laura Basquel - Western Australia
Rosemary Courtney - Western Australia
Natalie Prendergast - Western Australia
Jane Moore - Victoria
Anna Healy - Victoria
Shauna Stevenson - Victoria
Megan Conlon - Victoria
Aoife Connolly - New South Wales
Emer Heaney - New South Wales
Ellen O’Brien - New South Wales
Niamh Moore - New South Wales
Emma Troy - New South Wales
Alicia McGuigan - New South Wales
Men’s intermediate football
Adam Smyth - South Australia
William Cheeseman-Dutton - South Australia
Jamie Conlon - South Australia
Glenn Holmes - Queensland
Patrick O'Connor - Queensland
Tadhg Forde - Auckland
Daire Morrin - Auckland
Cian McQuillan - Auckland
Dermot Gleeson - Auckland
Shane Flanagan - Canterbury
Micheal Kenny - Victoria
Mark Grant - Victoria
Conlaoch Garvey - Victoria
Cian O’Donoghue - Victoria
Brian Norris - Victoria
Women’s intermediate football
Siena Covino - South Australia
Lauren Frost - South Australia
Chloe Milbrook - South Australia
Aoife O’Connell - South Australia
Ashling O’Hara - South Australia
Róisín Byrnes - Victoria
Ciara Cahill - Victoria
Anne Sweeney - Victoria
Amy Troy - Victoria
Sue Kiernan - Victoria
Thelma Sheehan - Victoria
Alisha Lenehan - Victoria
Tanya Flynn - Auckland
Alison Healy - Auckland
Elaine Murray - Auckland