By Eoghan Tuohey

The Geelong Gaels of Victoria occupy an important niche in the early annals of Gaelic Games in Australia. In 1863, some 20 years before the GAA was founded in Ireland, an interest in "hurling" in the Geelong and Ballarat areas of Victoria suddenly materialised, leading to the formation of nine teams and the construction of the first set of hurling rules - the "Geelong Rules". These rules were put to the test when a twenty-a-side hurling match took place here, some 70 km south west of Melbourne, on New Year's Day in 1863. The winners were to receive a prize of £10, with the game played at James Glesson's Yarborough Inn in Germantown, or Grovedale, in Geelong.

It is clear, therefore, that the region was once a hotbed of GAA activity, which led to the formation of the club in 1957. Their location, however, would prove to be their downfall, as the town is 3 hours from Gaelic Park, where the majority of Gaelic Games activity occurs. This, coupled with other factors, led to the collapse of the club until 7 years ago. Current Geelong Gaels footballer, Ryan Healy, is also the Head of Youth Development for the club.

"I have a passion for seeing kids being active and enjoying sport. I would love to see a junior competition for girls and boys to play competitive Gaelic Football and hurling/camogie in Victoria.

The growth in participation in our club recently has been massive, and we're keen to push on and continue to improve into the future".

The defender, who represented Victoria at the Australasian Games in 2018, is looking forward immensely to this year's Renault GAA World Games, both from a sporting perspective, and because it gives him the opportunity to return to the land of his ancestors once again.

"The World Games have provided me with the opportunity to represent my country in a sport I love and at an age where I thought it could never happen. The World Games will showcase to Ireland the far reaching impact that the GAA has around the world.

I do have Irish heritage and the stories of our ancestors were passed down to us from a young age and we were always very proud of where we had come from. The Healy family hail from Ballynahown Co. Clare. Remnants of the family still exist in Ennistymon, Clare. They came to Australia during the potato famine. Visiting this part of Ireland was a real highlight when I travelled around the country in 2002."

Healy cites his fitness as one of his strongest assets, which will certainly come in useful given the stamina-quenching format that is the GAA World Games, where games are comprised of nine players on a team, and the possibility of several matches in a day. He has Irish heritage, but is Australian born and bred, and hadn't played any form of Gaelic Games until he finished up playing soccer.

"After retiring from football I was looking to stay active and connected to a club. I had always been interested in playing Gaelic. I was driving past one day and saw the lads training and just decided to join in."

He has certainly bought into the GAA ethos, and is now contributing strongly to the club in Geelong, which is developing rapidly, and contains ladies', men's and underage teams now. The adult teams are defending regional champions, and the club now has it's own field, which is used for games.

The addition of three further Geelong representatives in the Australian side illustrates the progress the club has made recently. Jack Cookson, Rupert Mitchell and Adam Vaughan will also don the jersey of their homeland this summer, and in so doing, firmly reinstate the Geelong Gaels as a force in Gaelic Football in the region.

The Australians are entering one of the most fiercely competitive tournaments at this year's Renault GAA World Games, as the Native Born men's competition contains the most entrants overall. Healy and his team-mates will have their work cut out for them to make it to the final's day in Croke Park on August 2nd. It's sure to make for intriguing viewing.