A chara,

Welcome to the third newsletter of 2019 for the Asian County Board. This installment is the World Games special.

Remember we are moving to the ClubZap platform and there will be some changes to the website and new a new app to download.

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NAGG’s action from Narita

North Asian Gaelic Games Review

July 13th saw the final playing of the original North Asian tournament. Next year we will see a combined China and North Asia in a regional tournament that will become a much larger and create more opportunities for games and competitions. This year though finished in style, in the wonderful City of Narita. Hosted by Japan GAA, the weekend was full of great games and a lot of fun. A special thanks has to be given to the City of Narita and the Mayor of Narita, who showed up on Saturday Evening along with the Irish Ambassador Mr. Paul Kavanagh to present the awards.

The games themselves were highly competitive in both men’s and women’s divisions throughout the day with a few upsets to make it very interesting. In the end, Japan won both the men’s and women’s cup finals while Seoul won the men’s plate defeating a very strong native Japanese men’s team. It was wonderful to see so many local players playing GAA and it's a testament to Japan GAA and their committee that the games have become a part of the sporting fabric in their community.

Photo Gallery

Youtube and YouTube Channel

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Upcoming games

Please get in touch with John Kelly, the club secretary, if your club wishes to attend.

Any club is welcome to attend, regardless of region.

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Gaelic football scores community points in Japan

A great write up in the Japanese news

The Japan Gaelic Athletic Association started in the mid-1990s and has welcomed players from various countries — not just Ireland, where the sport rules.

The Tokyo chapter features squads for men and women, who all train with the goal of having success in the North Asian Gaelic Games, coming up next weekend, and the Asian Gaelic Games, set this year for November.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005840397

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New Club alert

Club Name: Na Fianna Ho Chi Minh GAA

Club Founded: August 2018

Brief History of the club

The club was initiated in August 2018 after a noted sizeable increase in the amount of people wanting to play the game of Gaelic Football in Ho Chi Minh city. There is an every increasing amount of expats arriving in the city and the opportunity of having 2 teams in close proximity seems to be a fantastic opportunity, one which we felt could not be ignored. We have started with a small, dedicated crowd but with time-we would like to grow and expand. We are, at the moment concentrating on a female only team and have a good amount of our own kids playing too. With time-we will hopefully make this more organized.

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GAA World Games

It's Almost Time!!

This summer will see one of the largest Sporting & Cultural festivals coming to Waterford, when the third GAA World Games arrives this July and August!

The 3rd edition of the World GAA Games takes place this coming July in Waterford and Dublin and Asia well be well represented in all codes. We have participated in the previous two tournaments but this year we will be at full force and ready for a competitive and fun tournament. The teams going to represent Asia include men’s and women’s “Irish” football, Hurling and Camogie, and men’s and women’s “native” football. The players representing the teams come from many different clubs within Asia and we hope that you follow along with their journey throughout the tournament on the GAA World Games Facebook page and the ACB Facebook page. We will try and keep you updated as much as possible on the teams’ progress throughout the week.

The GAA, LGFA, Camogie Association, and Waterford IT have been working hard to make this the best tournament yet. There will be over 85 teams participating from every corner of the world and our men and women will be taking on the best international GAA players from all over the world. We wish them the best of luck and hope that they can bring home some silverware and become World Champions in their respective codes.

Finally, it is great to see a group of students from the Chinese Clubs led by Jack and Grace Meng playing on the hallowed turf of Croke Park against a select St. Johns team from Down prior to the World Games. The Chinese team will be playing at half time of the Donegal/Kerry games on July 21st and a massive thanks to our North Asian Officer – Sean Cunningham for helping organize the event to celebrate the 40 years of diplomatic relations between China and Ireland.

Asia Abu

Kick-starting with an opening parade through Waterford City on the evening of July 28th, the event will include four days of competition across the four codes at the magnificent WIT Arena, from July 29th-August 1st.

Over 85 teams will be competing to earn a place in their Division's Final in Croke Park on August 2nd, with the prestigious honour of a GAA World Games medal up for grabs.

This family-friendly event is free of charge for the entire week, including the Finals, and all are welcome to attend any or all of the events for the duration of the Games, with an action-packed schedule from morning to evening. Every day is sure to be a feast of GAA action, featuring the very best talent from around the world!

There are now over 400 GAA clubs outside of Ireland, in every region around the globe. Over 60% of the players at this year's event were not born in Ireland, showcasing the rapid growth of our games.The same levels of preparation go in, the same passion exists. Be a part of this unique event coming to the south east this summer!

Asia Teams

Asia Tigers (Mens Irish Football)

The Mens team consists of players and management from 5 of the continent's most competitive clubs (Hong Kong GAA, Shanghai GAA, Seoul Gaels, Singapore Lions and Thailand GAA). Singapore sharpshooter Liam McGinley played at the 2015 World Games and is looking to bring his experience with him to this year's Games. The squad are also delighted to have the influential Peter Kenny as part of their management team. Peter brings considerable experience in performance from his elite sports and business backgrounds and the team hope to tap into this invaluable asset throughout the games.

Prior to the World Games, the team will be coaching Gaelic Football to Asian students who are in Ireland as part of an Language and Culture Summer Camp in Dublin. Many of the team are actively involved in coaching in Asia and promoting the games at various levels. It will be a great opportunity to showcase Ireland and Gaelic football to potential future native players!

Asia Phoenix (Women's Irish Football)

Asia Lions Camogie

The women who comprise the Asia Lions are a diverse bunch. Hailing from clubs spread across Asia, they're determined to make their presence known at the world games. Players range from ambitious beginners to All-Ireland winners. These women have put in a lot of effort, often after training a full schedule of football, to prepare for the games. They are all proud to represent Asia, and hope to inspire others to come live, work, and play camogie abroad.

Clubs represented: Singapore Gaelic Lions, Hong Kong GAA, Thailand GAA, and Seoul Gaels

Asia Cobras (Hurling)

Asia Dragons (Mens Native football)

Our Men’s native team is very diverse, with players from China, Japan and Thailand.

Our Captain is Jack (from Shanghai) we will also have Qianneng playing from Shanghai, who is also very experienced in Gaelic Games.

Prior to the World Games the team will take part in a special exhibition game in Croke Park on July 21st against my Club St John’s GAC which should be good preparation for them!

The rest of the squad is made up of students who are studying or have graduated from UCC and UCD.

We have a star Goalkeeper called Duane, a very safe pair of hands indeed!

Asia Cranes (Womens Native football)

Asia Phoenix Player Bio’s

Name : Sinéad O’Neill
Age : 36
Occupation: PE Teacher
GAA Club: Singapore Gaelic Lions
Singapore: 1 year
Hometown: Derrytresk
County: Tyrone
Playing years : 26 years (Camogie/ some Gaelic Football)
Representing Asia : Dual player ;
Gaelic Football & Camogie

Since moving to Singapore to live and work it has been one of the best experiences and opportunities for me in my work and lifestyle. It’s has been such a positive experience moving to a tropical climate and experiencing the culture of Singapore city with endless opportunities to travel, explore all parts of Asia.
I love that we are able to travel all around different parts of Asia to play in some fantastic GAA tournaments, meeting so many Irish people along the way but more importantly meeting different nationalities of people who play our sport and learning to play GAA.

Name: Jenny Samuels

Age: 40

From: Sydney Australia

Occupation: Director of Technology in the Financial sector

Representing Asia in Gaelic football

Asian Club: Singapore Gaelic Lions

Years playing: 13 years (7 years for Holland Ladies, 6 years for Singapore)

What I love about Asia: The diversity in cultures, the adventures and travel, amazing nature, fantastic food and it's warm year round in Singapore!

Name: Emily Dawson

Age: 24

Occupation: occupational therapist

Club: Singapore Gaelic Lions

Hometown: Skerries

County: Dublin

Playing: 18 years

Favourite thing about living in Singapore: all the opportunities to explore and travel around Asia and experiencing new cultures. Getting the chance to play football with SGL and all the friends and incredible memories that come with that.

Name: Breifne McKeever
Age: 27
Occupation: Physiotherapist
GAA club: Singapore Gaelic Lions
County: Dublin
Playing years: 3 1/2
Favourite thing about living in Singapore/Asia: Living and experiencing new cultures, exploring and travelling places around Asia, and of course, being persuaded to take up Gaelic football with SGL and the friends I've made because of it . Although it's far from home, it doesn't feel like it with the amount of visitors and stopovers we get in Singapore!

Name: Amy Challoner

Age: Thirty-Four

Occupation: Teacher

GAA Club: Hong Kong

Hong Kong: 5 years.

Hometown: Dromiskin, Dundalk

County: Louth

Playing Years: 5

Representing Asia: Dual Player - Gaelic Football and Camogie.

I've been living and working in HK for five years now and loving every minute of it! It is a great way to work and travel at the same time! I joined the GAA club in HK five years ago and it was an amazing way to get to meet new people and to have a little bit of home with you. It's fantastic to see how much football and camogie are growing every year throughout Asia and I can't wait to represent Asia in the World Games. Bring it on! :)

Team; asia, Football

Name: Aisling Reynolds

Asian club: singapore Gaelic lions

Occupation; occupational therapist

Years in asia: 1.5

What I love about asia: living in singapore has provided such an amazing opportunity to travel opportunity to travel and meet new people of all nationalities and cultures. it’s amazing how many people have picked up GAA when living abroad and it’s been a great way of meeting people

Name: Sophie Penco

Age: 28

Occupation: physiotherapist

Club: Singapore Gaelic Lions

County: Dublin

Playing years: 3 years

Representing: Asia - football

Favourite thing about living in SG: Absolutely has to be all of the travelling around Asia, and making friends for life. Funny it took moving thousands of miles away from Ireland to start playing Gaelic Football but that’s the most amazing thing about SGL; so many people from all over the world of all levels training together on a Sunday morning!

Name: Frances Rogers

Age: 28

Occupation: English Teacher

Asian Club: Seoul Gaels

Years In Korea: 5

Hometown: Togher, Co. Louth

Years playing: On and off for 20 years

Asia Team: Camogie and Gaelic football (dual player)

Five years in Korea has passed by in an instant. Seoul is a city with so much energy and you get swept along with the fast pace and intensity of the place. I have really enjoyed living in a city that is so different to the countryside where I grew up. There are so many interesting people here with stories to tell and you will never be bored as there is always a hundred different things happening at any one time.

Playing Gaelic football here is a massive part of what has kept me in Korea for so long. Seoul Gaels is such a tight knit community and it’s been an amazing experience to play with people from all over the world and to share a little part of Irish culture. For every little bit of yourself that you give to the GAA in Asia, you receive so much more back in terms of friendships and memories that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else.

Name: Nuala Owens
Age: 33
Occupation: Teacher
GAA Club: Hong Kong
Hong Kong: 1 year
Hometown: Newcastle
County: Down
Playing years: 25 years (Camogie & Gaelic Football)

Representing Asia: Camogie

I have lived and worked in Hong Kong for a year and have enjoyed every minute of it. 4 days after arriving in Hong Kong I went to my first camogie training session.....and ended up training the girls! Straight into the deep end! I have continued to help train both the Camogie and ladies Gaelic football team and have loved it! It's amazing how much a GAA club can automatically make you feel right at home in a new country - that's what makes the GAA special! I am really looking forward to representing Asia at the World GAA Games - such a fantastic opportunity.

Name: Catriona Treanor

Age: 29

Occupation: Geography Teacher

GAA Club: Hong Kong

Hong Kong: 5 years

Hometown: Truagh

County: Monaghan

Playing Gaelic: 20 years

Representing: Asia Ladies Gaelic Football

Living in Asia for the last five years has gave me many opportunities to travel and experience lots of different countries and cultures. Playing football in HK has allowed me to continue playing the sport I love and created a home from home. I look forward to representing Asia in The World Games!

Name: Christie Washam

Age: 30

World Games Team: Asia Lions Camogie
Asian Club: Seoul Gaels

Years playing: (Seoul: 4, at home: 6 total: 10)

Hometown: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Home club: Twin Cities Robert Emmets Hurling Club

Occupation: English teacher

I started playing camogie 10 years ago after studying abroad at the University of Limerick and bringing home a couple of hurls. At the time, TCRE Hurling Club had a couple of women playing. We combined with fledgling squads in Denver and Seattle for the North American Games in 2010, won the junior championship in 2011, and went on to field our own squad in 2012. In 2014, I decided to pursue opportunities abroad. When choosing where to live and work, I ranked the availability of a GAA club high on my list. That brought me to Seoul. Having a built in community got me through a tough first year. One year has quickly turned into 4+. Knowing that I've got support, not only in Seoul, but in Asia and indeed, around the world, has made a huge difference in my life.

Name; Rachel Murphy

Age; 27

Occupation; physiotherapist

Asian club: Singapore Gaelic Lions

I’m playing both camogie and football.

Years abroad: 3 years

Home club: Naomh Éanna, Gorey, Co. Wexford.

Playing years: 16 years, since 9 years old.

What I love about asia; the opportunities to travel to so many different countries and cultures, the atmosphere and craic at GAA tournaments, drinking beer on plastic chairs.

Name:Sarah Louise Brogan

Age:27

Occupation:Primary Teacher

GAA:Hong Kong GAA

Hong Kong:1 year

Hometown:Rush

County: Dublin

Playing years: 22 years

Representing Asia:Dual Player

Name: Frances Fitzgerald
Age: 26
Occupation: Teacher
GAA Club: Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Two Years
Hometown: Ardmore
County: Waterford
Playing Years: 12 years
Representing Asia: Dual Player - Gaelic Football and Camogie

I’ve been living and working in Hong Kong for the past two years and I have loved every second of it. It has provided me with fantastic opportunities to travel to amazing parts of the world. Our GAA Club in Hong Kong is a home away from home. It is a wonderful community and I have made lifelong friends. I’m thoroughly looking forward to representing Asia in the World Games.

Name:

Evelyn Quigley

Age:

Occupation:

Primary school teacher

GAA club:

Hong Kong

Home club:

Rathnure, County Wexford

Playing years:

28 years Camogie, two years football

Representing Asia:

Dual player. Camogie and Gaelic football.

Years in Asia:

Two years in Mainland China.

What I love about Asia:

Asia has so much to offer. The different cultures and foods are just amazing. I’ve travelled to various regions while here and I’m very excited to see so much more.

I’ve really embraced the food, having taken cooking classes in Vietnam, and I now prefer eating with chopsticks!

The GAA community abroad has been one of my highlights of being away. Sport has the ability to bring everyone together. It doesn’t matter if you’re Irish or not, or are experienced or not, Hong Kong GAA club is an inclusive community that everyone has a place.

All stars 2018 Asian games. Catriona Treanor, football all star, Mari Herron football all star. Evelyn Quigley camogie and football all star.

Name: Anna Gibson

Age: 33

Occupation: primary school teacher

Gaa club: Thailand GAA

Years in Asia: 6

Home town: London

Previous Club: Father Murphy's, London

Playing years: 5

Representing Asia camogie

I moved to Thailand 6 years ago and joined Thailand GAA, I can honestly say that without the club I would not have stayed in Bangkok as long. I have met many great friends there. Bangkok is a great place to live and work and traveling around is one of the things I love most. Previously to living in Thailand, I lived in London where I first began playing camogie and later gaelic football. Being a part of these clubs opens up so many opportunities for meeting new people from many different backgrounds.

Name: Clare Doyle

Age: 27

Occupation: Physiotherapist

GAA Club: Singapore Gaelic Lions (Naomh Eanna Gorey)

Singapore: 3 years

Hometown: Gorey

County: Wexford

Years playing: 20

Living in Asia has been an unbelievable experience. Playing camogie and football with Singapore Gaelic Lions was definitely one of the highlights of my time in Asia!

It has provided me with the opportunity to travel and meet other GAA players from all over the world! I have made friends for life and I miss it a lot!

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Great day for Asian GAA

Great day for Asian GAA on Sunday with our Select China team vs St. Johns GAA in Croker Park at Half time of the Donegal/Kerry Game reffed by our own Paraic McGrath. China was victorious and Captain Jack Meng picked up the Trophy presented by Tim Harrington and Sean Cunningham (who put in an extraordinary amount of work to organzie the event).

Massive Thanks Sean Cunningham, Club Down, Paul Devlin and his new glove company Perform with Greatness who gave 25 pairs of gloves to all player's participating. !!!!!!!!