NA FIANNA CATALPA GAA CLUB
NA FIANNA CATALPA GAA CLUB ARE A BRAND NEW GAA CLUB BASED SOUTH OF THE RIVER SERVING THE COCKBURN, KWINANA, ROCKINGHAM, MANDURAH AND PEEL REGION.
QUERIES & QUESTIONS: Please don’t hesitate to contact the club Email: nafiannacatalpagaa@gmail.com Instagram: @na_fianna_catalpa_gaa Facebook: Na Fianna Catalpa GAA
Sponsorship packages are also available.
88 | THE IRISH SCENE
Na Fianna Catalpa was formed in March 2021, when former Morley Gaels Padraig Collins and former Minor coach Trevor Dunne planned to set up a club to service the Peel area and surrounds. This was made easier as the groundwork was already done for them in 2013 by a few that were involved in trying to set up a club in Mandurah. This included Marty Corney, Andrew Boyle and Keith Fitzpatrick, and it’s great to see these come on board along with others to develop Na Fianna Catalpa. In March 2021 they all got together and decided to try again and promote GAA in the area. The name of Na Fianna Catalpa was an idea that came from Trevor Dunne; he felt that the story of the Catalpa bore significant Irish history to the local area. The Catalpa was a whaling ship from the USA that was funded by the support of Clan Na Gael. It was commissioned to travel to Fremantle, Western Australia, on a secret mission that even the ship’s crew didn’t know about. The mission was to free six Irish Fenians from the world’s most unescapable prison. In 1876 the Catalpa docked on Rockingham beach for three days while the escape took place from Fremantle Prison. The Fenians got into a rowing boat to make it to international waters and safely onto the Catalpa, which ultimately brought the six prisoners to their freedom.
