The ISSC Vancouver was founded just over 35 years ago by a group of individuals in an effort to bring people together socially. We continue to promote and support Irish Cultural and Sporting events here in the Greater Vancouver region.

Vancouver Ladies Football League Final

Friday August 13th @ 6pm

Andy Livingston Park, Vancouver

Celts Vs. Harps

Facebook event page

Celebrate after with:

Vancouver Harps Hurling Team Race Night

Vancouver Harps Hurling Squad is holding a Fundraiser this Friday to raise money for our trip to the NACB Championships in Chicago this September. attached is a Racecard for the night, please review and if you have a horse involved please try to make it on time as you may WIN!! Racing begins at 7:30pm and a race takes place every 20 minutes.

Entry is $20 on the night if you do not hav ea ticket but come early as we are expecting a large crowd. There will be beer, spirits and soft drinks available on the night and the chance to place a few bets on your horse or friends horse!

Location: Croatian Culture Club, 3250 Commercial Drive: Click here for Google Map

Click here for the Racecard.

Click here for more details…

Facebook event page

The first complete Western Canada tournament to be staged in RED DEER, ALBERTA, can only be described as a resounding success.

Top-class field and facilities, responsive and welcoming hosts, and a very high standard of Gaelic Football played in lush green fields in Alberta (in August).    What more could you ask for?  OK, so the conspiracy theorists will say that the “release” of 8 billion mosquitoes in the area of the fields was a distraction that the visiting teams struggled with.  However, by all accounts, the teams from Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Vancouver are raving about their hosts, and their experiences in this latest Western Canada GAA hub.

The VANCOUVER HARPS (LADIES) repeated their heroics of 2008, taking both titles back over the Rockies and there were no complaints from the opposition.   The Ladies demonstrated great skills but also, keen tactical awareness, to take their 4th title in a row, and over take the Edmonton Wolfe Tones as the winning-most club in the Division.   The VANCOUVER HARPS (MEN) played some great football and though the Albertan sides really put it up to them, they had enough to (in the end) win the title by a commanding and deserved margin.

It was great to see the Lethbridge, AB, contingent in town, and their players provided great support to Red Deer Eire Og’s cause.   Red Deer were competitive in all their fixtures, and effectively ended the challenge of the spirited Vancouver Celts with their victory over the only club younger than theirs in the Western Canada Division.   Stephen Agnew produced a powerhouse display for Eire Og scoring a cracking hat-trick of goals to ensure a victory for the home side.

Calgary Chieftains and Edmonton Wolfe Tones renewed rivalries in the final game of the 2010 Championship with the Wolfe Tones victory providing a small consolation for the 2009 Champions.

Saturday night’s event at the Westerner was memorable with Sean Smith providing a brief and enlightening summary of the career of Edmonton and Co. Louth Great, Jack Bell.  Jack, a stalwart of the Wolfe Tones, died in March 2010, and the Gaelic community in Western Canada will miss his presence.  

The Bell family were on hand to accept from the Canadian County Board’s secretary, John O’Flynn, a Louth jersey in commemoration of his services to the County.

A special presentation was also made by John O’Flynn to the Lavery and Lynch families of Red Deer in recognition of their efforts in founding a GAA club in Red Deer. A recently published book called Lest We Forget that chronicles the lives of the seven founders of the GAA in Ireland and in particular, Joseph P. Ryan who is buried in Cranbrook BC, was presented to each family amid grateful applause.

Later in the evening, Germaine Gibbons was on hand to present the Tom Gibbon’s Memorial trophy to the Vancouver Harps’ Ladies captain, Helen Keohane.  Germaine’s husband and the late Tom Gibbon’s son, Liam Gibbons, sadly, passed away last winter. Liam’s vibrant personality will be fondly remembered by all who knew him in Vancouver.

After a very keenly contested singing competition into the wee hours of Sunday morning, the teams rested up and prepared for Sunday’s fixtures.   These were played in brilliant sunshine and again the Battle of Alberta, between Calgary and Edmonton, produced a cracking tussle.   Even a score-board malfunction couldn’t deny a rejuvenated Chieftain team, and they produced the goals that mattered to take a 2-7 to 1-8 victory.   The Ladies played a friendly challenge to round out the game-play, but the first official Red Deer Ladies title went to the Vancouver Harps.   Back in the Men’s competition, it was the Harps, led by Mikey Harnett, who first dispatched Red Deer, and then the Chieftains, to complete a sweep of tournament titles in 2010.

On behalf of all the visiting teams, the Western Canada Division and the Canadian County Board offers special thanks to Red Deer’s Eire Og’s Tournament committee and the Titans RFC in Red Deer, for a job well done.

Many look forward to more visits to Lacombe County in the years to come.

–

John O’Flynn

Rúnaí – Canadian County Board

www.canada.gaa.ie

www.gaelicfootballforkids.com

www.trafford.com/07-2929

To help with fundraising of this weekend the Hurling Squad are holding a Race Night on August 13^th in the Croatian Centre in East Vancouver. This night comprises of 10 horse races being shown on a large screen, each race is to have a Sponsor, for example “The Vancouver Chase” which costs $300. For this the Sponsors name will be displayed before the race, printed on the race card and a representative will from the company will present the prize money of $50 and a bottle of Champagne to the winning Horse (Included in the $300). Can you help make history and send the Vancouver Hurlers to Chicago by sponsoring a race? This $300 is tax deductible for the company as we are a non profit organization (attached form should be sufficient as a receipt), the companies accountants will know about that anyway.

If you cannot part with that much cash then how about buying a horse in one of our races? The cost of a horse is $30, with 8 horses per race you are in with a great chance of winning $50 and a bottle of Champagne – presented to you before the whole crowd!! You get to name your own Horse and this will be included in the race card on the night.

The forms attached are for the Race Sponsorship and Horse ownership forms. If you can help us out it would be greatly appreciated – if not then come along on the night, tickets are $20 entry and you can enjoy a few drinks, place a bet or two and enjoy some live Traditional Irish music in between races and of course that legendary Irish “ Ceol agus Craic! ” (Music and fun). Bets are a minimum of $5 with half the profits going to the club and the rest being distributed among the winners!

For anymore information please contact Sean Twomey at 778-988-2096 or email the club at isschurling@gmail.com .

For those not familiar with Race nights the concept is to play races on a large screen, all horses in the race are pre-sold the owner of the Horse will get $50 dollars if his/her horse win. If you do not own a horse you can bet on a horse for fun and see if you can win some money back. With 10 races in the night it is always good fun especially when your horse wins or you have a winning bet.

Click here for the Racecard.

Here are the two sponsorship forms in word format:

Horse Sponsorship Form

Race Night Sponsorship Form

Date: Friday August 13^th

Time: 7.30pm to 12:30am

Location: Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC

Event: Fundraising Race night.

(The tournament acts as the first round of the Western Canadian Championships for both men’s and women’s Gaelic football. The tournament will host teams from Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and Vancouver will have two men’s teams and two women’s teams competing.)

Edmonton Wolfe Tones, 2009 Western Canadian Champions (men’s football) and Vancouver Harps, 2009 Western Canadian Champions (women’s football)  will be playing to defend their titles. The final round games of the Western Canadian Championships takes place in Red Deer, Alberta on July 31st and August 1st.

The tournament will be held at the Capilano RFC Grounds at Kalahanie Park, 1910 Glenaire Drive, North Vancouver, BC. The weekend promises to be great fun for all the family with lots of activities for kids, including a kids Gaelic football camp from 11am to 8pm on Saturday. There will be a barbeque and a full bar during the tournament. On Saturday night, everyone will meet at Smiley’s Public House on 911 Pender Street West for food, drinks and entertainment. $5 coverage charge at the door with all proceeds going to the Irish Sporting and Social Club (ISSC).

So mark your calendars for the 2010 Vancouver Gaelic Games (Football) tournament.

Upcoming training and match details:

Date: Thursday 27-May-10

Time: 07:00 pm

Where: Strathcona Oval (We wont be in our usual pitch but meet in the same place)

Link: Map of Strathcona Park

Date: Saturday 29-May-10

Time: 03:30 pm (kick off at 04:00 pm)

Where: John Hendry Park (Trout Lake) on the rugby pitch.

Link: Trout Lake area map