On December 17, ably organised by the able and organised Kieran Tierney, the VC Christmas Party resembled Napoleon’s retreat out of Russia in reverse when one VC after another, independently of Kieran’s good offices, did happenchance upon mishap in different parts of the city. Those sectioned in the House of Son Tinh sent out search parties and also these failed to return. If anybody has any idea what happened, write a report.

Happy Christmas and New Year to Viet Celts and Duracelts past and present, wherever you might be.

Jim Kiernan

Farewell to Christey West

                   Christey West warms up at the AGG 2010 in Hong Kong

Photo: Markus Steffen

In the winter of 2011, the Duracelts farewelled Christey West from New Zealand who was the Duracelts Treasurer for a number of years.  In that time, she kept a tight rein on the Duracelts’ purse strings as well as helping to organise fundraising events. The Duracelts and the Viet Celts wish her the best of luck for the future.

Irish Minister, Jan O’Sullivan visits Hanoi

Minister O’Sullivan, Ambassador Cole, Viet Celts, Duracelts and their families

Irish Minister, Jan O’Sullivan TD visited Hanoi on 28 November where she met the Viet Celts at the Embassy Reception  hosted by the Ambassador of Ireland to Vietnam, Damien Cole . At the time of the visit, she was Minister of State for Trade and Development.

In her speech, she praised the Viet Celts for building bridges between Vietnam and Ireland as well as expanding Gaelic Games beyond their traditional base by getting people of many different nationalities involved in the club.

Bich Ngoc of the Duracelts presented the Minister with both a Duracelts and a Viet Celts shirt. Thanks to Claire Coughlan who marshalled the Viet Celts and Duracelts on the night.

The Viet Celts

VAS Greens   7.08 (29pts)

VAS Reds         5.13 (28pts)

On Saturday, 19 November 2011, the third edition of the annual VAS Gaelic Cup was played at the Thanh Long (Ascending Dragon) astroturf pitch in Hanoi and organised by members of the Viet Celts GAA club.

For the first time, the VAS Gaelic Cup was included as part of the VAS Games, which is a festival of sport for the students of the Vietnam Australia School (VAS) in the My Dinh district of Hanoi. All of the students are Vietnamese.

The participants this year in the Gaelic Football were students from years 7, 8 and 9 (U13-U15) divided into two rival teams, VAS Reds and VAS Greens. The game was 9-a-side played over two halves of twenty minutes.

                                             Throw in at the start of the first half

First Half
VAS Reds powered into a commanding lead during the first half, thanks in part to some great combination play between midfielders, Tran Trung Hieu and Ha Trong Nghia together with their forwards Dam Luong Anh and Nguyen The Hung. They cut through the VAS Greens midfield and defence and scored some well-angled points and four fine goals. Half time saw VAS Reds in front 4.8 (20pts) to 2.4 (10pts). At this stage, VAS Greens looked to have left themselves with too much to do.
                          VAS Reds with Jim Kiernan and the Vietnamese Flag

Second Half
However VAS Greens fought their way back into the game in the second half with some great defending by Nguyen Trong Tan and Phan Dang Nghia, impressive highfielding by Nguyen Duc Anh and Tran Binh Minh , slick passing and scores from midfielder Nguyen Thanh Dat and a fantastic man of the match performance from full forward, Do Le Anh Quoc. After scoring consistently throughout the second half, he leveled the scores with two minutes to go, with a classy left-footed goal after soloing through three players and won the game with a well taken point with 30 seconds left on the clock.

Presentation
Bevan Marshall of New Zealand presented medals to both sides after the game. Thanks to Nguyen Van Tien, Colm Ross, Ta Viet Hoang and Nguyen Duc Huy for their help with the logistics and organisation.

Jim Kiernan

Photos: Colm Ross

Photo: Aidan Dockery

On 15-16 October in Suwon, Korea at the Asian Gaelic Games 2011, the Duracelts made it all the way to the final of the Asian Ladies Plate after some inspired wins. In the final, they fell to eternal rivals, Malaysia but could hold their heads high after a successful tournament. The great Marion Labatut of France picked up an All-Star. Catherine Ganley of Australia and Claire Coughlan of Limerick were in fantastic form.

            Claire Coughlan, scoring and waving to the crowd at the same time

Photo: Markus Steffen

Full report to follow by the Duracelts

Photo: Aidan Dockery

On 15-16 October in Suwon, Korea at the Asian Gaelic Games 2011, the Viet Celts made it to the semi finals of the Asian Bowl. On the Saturday, in the group stages they beat Malaysia and Korea and drew with Qatar. On the Sunday, they had a great comeback against Singapore in the quarterfinal. They lost the semifinal to Mongolia by two points but over the course of the weekend, did the club proud. Scotland’s Colin Campbell captained the side. Australian, Dan ‘Og’ Coloe picked up an All-Star award for his performances in the tournament.

           All-Star winner Dan ‘Og’ Coloe wearing little pebbles on the side of his face

Photo: Markus Steffen

Full report to follow by former San Francisco sportswriter, Shane Culbertson

On 18 September 2011, for the first time ever, the All Ireland Gaelic Football Final was broadcast live in Hanoi. This event was organised by the Viet Celts in association with Jaspas, Hanoi Towers. Our Events Officer, Kieran Tierney did a lot of work  putting the night together.

Full report to follow by Kieran Tierney in which he would also like to thank our sponsors and others involved in the night.

                              Owen Timon and Jim Kiernan outside Croke Park

Meanwhile in Dublin, Colm Ross and Jim Kiernan were at the All Ireland Final between Dublin and Kerry and ran into ACB Youth Development coach Owen Timon, outside Croke Park. Owen had spent time with the Viet Celts in Vietnam in May and he was obviously delighted that his native county had won their first All-Ireland in 16 years.

The Viet Celts

Farewell to Sarah Morgan

                       Sarah Morgan in action at the AGG 2010 in Hong Kong

Photo: Markus Steffen

In the autumn of 2011, the Duracelts farewelled Sarah Morgan from Boston who was the Duracelts PRO for a number of years. She attended all of the Duracelts tournaments in that time and the club would like to both thank her for her work for the Duracelts and the Viet Celts and wish her well in the future.

Thanks to John O’Dowd

        Kerry John on the ball and with murder in his eyes at the AGG 2010 in HK

Photo: Markus Steffen

The Viet Celts would like to thank John O’Dowd who took part of the training in the build-up to Korea while he was over in Hanoi for the summer.  John grew up playing with the famous Dingle club in Co. Kerry and introduced some new drills and ideas under advice from his brother who is coaching in Kerry. Thanks also to the rest of the lads who chipped in to keep the show on the road in the build-up to the AGG 2011.

Jim Kiernan

On 16 June 2011, the Viet Celts and Duracelts quiz teams joined up with other sporting clubs such as the Hanoi Dragons rugby club in the Vietnam Swans inspired Battle of the Codes trivia night to raise money for the Swim Vietnam charity which teaches Vietnamese kids how to swim.

The night was held in Jaspas, Hanoi Towers. The Swans raise money every year for this worthy charity. Kieran Tierney and Sarah Morgan organised the Viet Celts and Duracelts teams for the event.

Full report to follow by Kieran Tierney

Farewell to Jon Holden

  Big Jon Holden tracks down a Qatar player during the AGG 2010 in Hong Kong

Photo: Markus Steffen

Big Jon Holden was farewelled a few weeks later and received a VC Legend award. Jon grew up playing Australian Rules in Australia, went to the United States to play college basketball and took up Gaelic Football in Vietnam proving himself to be an influential player for the Viet Celts in his time in Vietnam. He was also part of the successful coaching partnership which led Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi (VAS Hanoi) to a double in the junior and senior competitions of the All Vietnam Schools Cup 2011 in Gaelic Football.

The Viet Celts

                                                          Glamorous Bob Patterson          

Photo: Markus Steffen

On 4 June, the Viet Celts and the Vietnam Swans met for the second time in the space of a week at the UNIS Sports Grounds in Matchday 2 of the Summer Series. The spectators were treated to two games for the price of one on the same day as both Gaelic Football and Australian Rules were played.

The Viet Celts narrowly won the Gaelic Football in an exciting game but got right royally thumped in the Australian Rules. The Gaelic Football was a testimonial for Glamorous Bob Patterson and the Australian Rules was a testimonial for Mark ‘Willy’ Williams. Both games were 7-a-side. Each game was played over two halves of 10 minutes.

Glamorous Bob Patterson Testimonial

Viet Celts            3.3 (12 pts)

Vietnam Swans   3.1 (10 pts)

  Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, the difference between the sides in the Gaelic Football

Photo: Markus Steffen

This game went right down to the wire with the Viet Celts holding on to record a two-point victory. The difference between the sides was All-Star, Nguyen Ngoc Quynh who scored 2 goals and a point. Best for the Vietnam Swans were Jamie Spice who scored 2 goals and Mark ‘Willy’ Williams who scored 1 goal and a point. Tammy Pyper was in flying form for the Viet Celts and Jim Kiernan contributed 1 goal and a point. Glamorous Bob Patterson captained the side. Glamorous Bob later received a VC Legend award on his departure from Hanoi for his commendable service to the VC over the years as a player in far flung tournaments and as Club Secretary both on and off the road.

Scorers

Viet Celts: Nguyen Ngoc Quynh 2.1; Jim Kiernan 1.1; Tammy Pyper 0.1

Vietnam Swans: Jamie Spice 2.0; Mark Wiliams 1.1

Mark ‘Willy’ Williams Testimonial

                           Mark ‘Willy’ Williams sporting the famous Swans blazer

Vietnam Swans      8 goals

Viet Celts                      2 goals

As there were no behind posts available, scores were counted on goals only. The Swans familiarity and skills with the Sherrin were clear for all to see as they raced into a 6 goals to 0 goals advantage in the first half of this game. Jamie Spice was unstoppable with three goals, Dave Diviny scored two goals and Mark ‘Willy’ Williams scored one. In the second half Nguyen Ngoc Quynh and Jim Kiernan pulled back one each for the Viet Celts before Dan Kindness and Shannon Nicklason closed out the scoring for the Vietnam Swans. On a positive, the Viet Celts matched the Swans for scoring in the second half but the damage was well and truly done in that blistering first half by the Swans.

 Scorers (All scores are goals)

Vietnam Swans: Jamie Spice 3; David Diviny 2; Mark Williams 1; Dan Kindness 1; Shannon Nicklason 1

Viet Celts: Nguyen Ngoc Quynh 1; Jim Kiernan 1

The Viet Celts

Photo: Markus Steffen

Mark Radley-Walters Testimonial

Greg ‘Stano’ Stanton Testimonial

Viet Celts            4.9 (21 pts)

Vietnam Swans  3.3 (12 pts)

On 28 May the Viet Celts played the Vietnam Swans in Gaelic Football at the UNIS Sports Grounds. The game doubled as a testimonial for VC Legend, Mark Radley-Walters and Vietnam Swans Stalwart,  Greg ‘Stano’ Stanton. It was played over four quarters of 10 minutes each.

  Swans Stalwarts, Greg ‘Stano’  Stanton, Mark ‘Willy’ Williams and Dan Kindness

Dave Shea guested for the Viet Celts and displayed his canny sharp shooting skills with two well taken goals. ‘Crazy’ Dan Hopkins and Adrian Enright were equally impressive for the Swans with three goals between them. The result hung in the balance for much of the game with the Viet Celts only taking control in the fourth quarter thanks to the midfield of Luke Kenny, Angus Lambkin and Jim Kiernan coupled with strong running from defender, Mark Radley-Walters who captained the side.

It was Mark’s second time to captain the VC after having previously captained them at the South East Asian Games 2010  in Jakarta. Mark da Beard later received a VC Legend award on his departure from Hanoi for his contribution to the club both on and off the pitch.

Scorers

Viet Celts: Dave Shea 2.0; Luke Kenny 1.3; Jim Kiernan 1.1; Angus Lambkin 0.2; Bob Patterson 0.2; Dan Lucardie 0.1

Vietnam Swans: Dan Hopkins 2.0; Adrian Enright 1.0; Dan Kindness 0.2; Phil Harman 0.1

The Viet Celts

On 21 May 2011, students from Hanoi Academy and VAS Hanoi gathered at the Thang Long Astroturf pitch in My Dinh, Hanoi for the All Vietnam Schools Cup 2011. Weather conditions were initially hot and humid but some cloud cover rolled in soon after the start which helped to ensure a faster tempo and a good brand of Gaelic Football in both games.

                                    The Vietnamese Flag unfurled

This year featured both a junior and a senior competition. The Vietnamese National Anthem was played before the start of both games.

                       The VAS Senior team with Jim Kiernan

All Vietnam Schools Senior Cup

VAS Hanoi 6.8 (26pts)
Hanoi Academy 1.5 (8pts)

This was the second edition of the All Vietnam Schools Senior Cup. This game was 7-a-side played over 4 quarters of 7 minutes.

Both teams started with a demonic pace considering the heat and moved the ball well with a lot of good quality high fielding in evidence. A converted penalty towards the end of the first quarter for Hanoi Academy kept both sides within touching distance of each other.

           Tran Anh Duy of VAS Seniors jumps highest for the ball

The second quarter was again fairly even in play with VAS Hanoi a little more clinical in front of goal and they went in at the end of the second leading 3.4(13pts) to 1.2 (5pts).
                               Hanoi Academy Seniors score a point

A blistering third quarter from VAS where they scored 2.1 (7pts) left them in a very good position at the end of the third quarter leading, 5.5 (20pts) to 1.3 (6pts).

                       Ho Duy Minh scores a goal for VAS Seniors

HA pulled out all the stops to get back into the game in the last quarter but VAS were strong defensively and were consistent score takers at the other end to finish the game winning 6.8 (26pts) to 1.5 (8pts).
          Hanoi Academy and VAS Seniors tussle for the ball in the air

Best for VAS Hanoi were Ho Duy Minh in defense and Hoang ‘Baby’ Nam in attack. Best for Hanoi Academy were Vu Do Thanh Long and Korean sensation Kim Kee You.

       The VAS Junior team with Jon Holden and Jim Kiernan

All Vietnam Schools Junior Cup

VAS Hanoi 7.6 (27pts)
Hanoi Academy 1.1 (4pts)

The inaugural All Vietnam Schools Junior Cup was played immediately after the Senior game. This game was 7 a-side with 3 periods of 5 minutes. It turned out to be a fast and furious high scoring game with the standard of Gaelic Football on a par and occasionally better than the Senior game.
             Nguyen Thanh Dat of VAS Juniors clears the ball

VAS were 3.6 (15) to 0.1 up after a scintillating first period. Hanoi Academy came back strongly in the second period and matched VAS for scoring. The second period finished 4.6 (18pts) to 1.1(4pts). VAS however had that cushion of 14pts going into the last period and the fact that they were not chasing the game, allowed them to steady the ship and pull away to win 7.6 (27pts) to 1.1 (4pts)

Do Le Anh Qouc of VAS Juniors scores a point, Owen Timon referee

Best for VAS Hanoi were Nguyen Thanh Dat in defense and Do Le Anh Quoc in attack. Best for Hanoi Academy were Hoang Khanh Nam and Vo Hoang Linh. Special mention must go to Thanh Nam for Hanoi Academy, by far the youngest player on the pitch but first to every ball as if the very hounds of hell themselves were upon his heels.

                           Hanoi Academy put one over the bar

Acknowledgements

The organizers of this sporting event, Seamus Doran, Jon Holden and Jim Kiernan would like to thank Hanoi Academy, VAS Hanoi, the Viet Celts and the Asian County Board for their support. In particular we would like to thank Lana Le for organising the kit, trophies and medals.

            Nguyen Thanh Dat sharing a moment with some of his fans

Thanks to Bob Patterson and Claire Coughlan who came out from the Irish Embassy and delivered a most graceful presentation of medals. A good representation of Viet Celts and Duracelts turned up to watch the games as well as a number of proud parents who were delighted to see their boys playing Gaelic Football and receiving medals.

               Owen Timon throws the ball up to start the Senior game

We would also like to acknowledge the very special contribution of ACB Youth Development Officer, Owen Timon, seconded to the Asian County Board from Dublin City University who refereed both games. He also helped out both schools by organising training sessions during the week in the build up to Saturday and these sessions went down very well with the young Vietnamese Gaelic Footballers.

All photos courtesy of Bob Patterson

Jim Kiernan

On the weekend of 14 May 2011, the South East Asia Gaelic Games were hosted in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for the first time. The Opening Ceremony was held in the Windsor Plaza Hotel on 13 May. The Irish Ambassador, Maeve Collins, made the opening speech and Colm Ross spoke for the Viet Celts. After a number of different approaches to the sleeping process on Friday night, teams took to the field on Saturday morning.

The Irish Ambassador, Maeve Collins, threw in the first ball in the first game of the Ladies competition between the new Saigon Gaels and the DuraCelts Hanoi. Former Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, Dick Spring, did likewise in the first game of the Men’s competition between the Saigon Gaels and Singapore Red. He also found himself doing linesman for a time and certainly has a career there if things do not work out in other areas of his life.

Men’s Competition

                                 The VC Reds plot their next move

There was some controversy regarding the score in the second game of Group A, which featured the VC Blues vs. Malaysia Blue. It was possibly a malfunctioning pencil but after that, Gaelic football quite rightly was the focus. Davey Hayes of Shanghai was having a great tournament as was Colm Ross of the VC Reds, who finished the day with a tally of 5.1 and continues his habit of scoring one point either side of his age in SEA tournaments.

     Jim Kiernan gets taken down against the Saigon Gaels. Penalty!

Photo: Aidan Dockery

After the group stages, Singapore Red and Shanghai went through to the Cup semi-finals from Group A and Singapore White and Malaysia Yellow went through to the Cup semi-finals from Group B. Malaysia Blue and VC Reds played a Plate quarter-final and from that, VC Reds joined VC Blues, Saigon, and Thailand in the semi-finals for the Plate.

Saigon beat Thailand in the first Plate semi-final and the VC Blues accounted for the VC Reds in the other. In the Cup semi-finals, Singapore Red beat Malaysia Yellow and Singapore Whites took out the high-flying Shanghai team.

VC Blues started very strongly in the Plate final but two goals just before both the end of the first and second halves were the turning points for a well deserved Saigon Gaels victory in the SEA Plate 2011 and a credit to a team which was founded a few short months before. Saigon Gaels look to have a good few skillful players and will be a force in South East Asia in the future.

In the Cup final, the Singapore Red and Singapore White squared off against each other. As always between these two sides, it proved to be a bruising and entertaining affair. In the end, Singapore White proved to be the stronger team and won the SEA Cup 2011 with some great scores.

A special thanks must go to all of the referees, umpires and linesmen in the Men’s competition without whom there would not have been a tournament.

Ladies Competition

      The Irish Ambassador with the Saigon Gaels and the Duracelts

Six teams representing Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand (with a few Shanghai ladies) and Singapore competed in the Women’s competition. The opening throw-in by the Irish Ambassador signaled the debut game for the recently formed ladies Saigon Gaels team, who played a strong first game but eventually, fell to their rivals from the north, the Hanoi DuraCelts.

The next few games saw Singapore dominance emerge as Singapore White remained undefeated in the rounds after wins against Malaysia, the Saigon Gaels, the DuraCelts (who were down their star player Claire Coughlan after an injury in the previous game) and their own Singapore Red. Not to be outdone, Singapore Red held their own and beat Thailand and later the DuraCelts in an evenly matched battle that either team could have won. In other matches, Malaysia continued their march towards a potential finals berth and a challenge to Singapore dominance with strong wins over Thailand and the Saigon Gaels.

Thailand claimed their only victory of the day against the debutantes from Saigon Gaels. The Gaels were not able claim a win in the tournament, but fought with spirit and improved remarkably throughout the day.

As the games heated up (both figuratively and literally), the final round of games saw Malaysia and Singapore Red fighting it out for a place in the Cup final against Singapore White. A highly competitive game of football saw Malaysia triumph over Singapore Red, ensuring them a much valued place in the Cup final.

The Plate finals pitted the DuraCelts against Singapore Red in a fierce rematch of the contest earlier that day. Despite a tied game at half time, Singapore Red went on to win the Plate with some impressive goals and points in the second half.

In the Cup final, Malaysia were up against the undefeated favorites Singapore White. Malaysia played skillful football against Singapore White, but in the end had to concede the Cup to the powerful force that is the Singapore White team.

At day’s end, the Women’s competition saw some skillful playing, great scores and even greater saves, and a note-worthy improvement in the tournament’s newest team, the Saigon Gaels. A special thanks to Claire Coughlan, Catherine Ganley, Eimear Scannell, Blathnaid MacNamara & Pat Gorham for refereeing in between their own matches.

Youth Competition

Singapore took on Malaysia in SEA Youth Cup. Whilst Malaysia conceded something in the height department to their opponents, they were not conceding any easy scores and they made Singapore fight for their victory. Congratulations to both teams on some lovely football played and Singapore for winning the SEA Youth Cup. Ethan Cleary from Malaysia won the Youth Player of the Tournament award. Brian O’Reilly, Chairman of Saigon Gaels presented medals to both teams after the game.

Closing Ceremony

                      A few sociable drinks at the closing ceremony

The Closing Ceremony took place in the Windsor Plaza. Jim Kiernan, Gareth O’Hara and Paraic McGrath engaged in some “speechifying” and the presentation of medals and trophies followed. Claire Coughlan of the DuraCelts won the Women’s Player of the Tournament and Frankie McKenna of Singapore won the Men’s Player of the Tournament.

Afterwards, the skies opened and people had their first taste of the apocalypse. Some people did not go to bed until Monday morning.

                                Glamorous Bob Patterson loses the plot

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the teams who traveled and would also like to acknowledge the extremely hard work of the Viet Celts Organising Committee as a whole, and in particular the troubleshooting work of Tournament Director, Gareth O’Hara. We would like to thank the ACB Executive Committee and the Irish Embassy for their support and Brian O’Reilly of Saigon Gaels for his score tallying on the day of the tournament. We would also like to mention and thank our sponsors Diageo, Metro Cash and Carry Vietnam, International SOS together with ACB sponsors, ESB International.

The Viet Celts

The Duracelts