Fifty Years a-Growing

ON FOOT OF THE RECENT 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GAA IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, FOUNDING MEMBER FR PÁRAIC KELLY, NOW IN CLAREGALWAY, IRELAND, WROTE TO IRISH SCENE TO SHARE SOME OF HIS FOND MEMORIES OF THOSE EARLY DAYS IN PERTH AND THE PERSONALITIES INVOLVED. AN INCREASINGLY RARE THING TO RECEIVE A HANDWRITTEN LETTER (DATED 7TH SEPTEMBER) IN THIS DAY AND AGE WE HAVE REPRODUCED THE CONTENTS OF THE LETTER AS FOLLOWS.

Dear Lloyd, I heard from Tommi Kearns that you are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the foundation of the GAA in Western Australia. As you know I was involved in its beginnings in 1970. It started in a very simple way, when I met Martin McHale, a Mayo man at a gathering in the Irish Club (then in Highgate). Martin had already bought a football from a sports shop in Perth so we got going without much delay. We also got some fabric from which his wife made two sets of jerseys, a green one and a red one. It was on the Esplanade in Perth city that we began. Later we moved to the Norbertine grounds, which they kindly gave us to use as well as a dressing room. Among those to join us early on was Noel Colgan, R.I.P, Mick Dennehy, Mick Healy, Paddy Quirke, Brother Iggy Hannick, Denis Bratton, Felix McKnight, John Murphy and Tommi Kearns. Early on we formed a committee of which I was chairperson, Noel Colgan vice chair and Martin McHale was secretary. Mike Dennehy was a committee member. St. Brendan’s College in Hilton was our initial meeting place. Our publicity began through the Catholic paper ‘The Record’, which covered our matches. We used a simple system of picking two teams, comprised of those who turned up. When we had thirty or more players, we picked captain who in turn picked five or six players who formed the basic unit every Sunday. Others who turned up were picked to make up fifteen players on each of the two teams playing on that Sunday. That was initially seen on a league basis. As far as I can remember that was how the initial Fr. Kelly cup came in as the prize to be played for. We had some great matches and very enjoyable times. Wives, girlfriends and children gathered for these matches. In those days too in the early seventies, there was a hostel in Noalimba for newly arrived immigrants to WA. As it happened I used to celebrate the 9 o’clock mass in Brentwood where the hostel was situated. It meant I met newly arrived immigrants after mass and told them about the GAA. The GAA matches became a place of information about work opportunities as well as accommodation. I have memories of great matches we played. We played a Pinjarra team, and another time we played a game at Mundaring Shire festival. It was around St. Patrick’s Day, terribly hot and no grass as yet on the pitch, we made a pact before the match not to shoulder one another, because of the danger of getting hurt on the ground. One man disobeyed that rule and big Martin McHale, who we called the ‘Horse’ bit the dust. The services of Dr. Felix McKnight were called upon and soon big Mac was back on his feet again. Denis Bratton was playing with us, a member of a famous Armagh football team. He was an accomplished footballer, left or right. Brother Iggy Hannick, a Mayo man was also another fine footballer. Denis was about to shoot for goal when Iggy gave him a shoulder and put him flying into a pool of water. We have many memories of happy days and incidents. Some Aussie Rules lads began to play with us, Primo Chiare, I remember in particular. I believe he later became President of the WA GAA. It gives me great joy and happy memories as I look back on those days of simple beginnings and now to see how the GAA has flourished there, the four football clubs, the few hurling clubs, Camogie and all the underage teams which is a tribute to the men and women that took over the Association. The GAA has now its own grounds, dressing rooms etc. Having left WA in 1973 I went to Zambia in Central Africa in 1974, retiring from there in 201 and now living in SMA House, Claregalway, Co. Galway. Páraic Kelly. ☘

Fr Kelly (left) and Tommi Kearns