Ms. Barbara Whooley, Japan GAA Chairperson

What is Gaelic Football?

Gaelic Football is one of the Ireland's national sports and it is traditionally only played in Ireland. As a sport it is a bit like a mixture of soccer and rugby.

A Gaelic football is round, slightly smaller than a soccer ball and it is made of leather, a size 5 football is used for men's Gaelic and a slightly smaller size 4 is used for ladies. In Gaelic Football you can carry the ball in your hands for four steps and then you can bounce it once carry it four more steps and you need to solo (pass it from your foot back to yourself) or else pass the ball. You can either kick the ball from your hands or you can fist pass (striking the ball with the hand or fist) it.

The goalposts are the same shape as rugby posts, if the ball goes under the H it is a goal and if it is over the H it is a point. One goal is the same as 3 points. We have goalkeepers and you can pass the ball to any direction so it is like football (soccer), there is, however, no offside rule. Tackling using one hand to strike the ball out of your opponents hands and shouldering people off the ball is permitted, you can not, however, use a full body tackle and there is no scrum, as a result the game is not as physical as rugby, but it moves faster.

Sounds a bit like Australian Rules doesn't it .... it is thought that Australian Rules evolved from Gaelic Football as a result of the thousands of Irish who immigrated to Australia over the years. There is now even a game called International Rules, which is a hybrid of Australian Rules and Gaelic Football and it is played by the two nations in the annual International Rules Series.

Gaelic Football is a very exciting game and in Japan we have both men's and ladies' teams. Our players are by no means only from Ireland, they come from a wide range of different countries, including Japan, Turkey, America, Australia, Scotland to name a few. Most of them, including many of the Irish, have never played Gaelic football before so everybody is at the same level. No previous experience is required to play in Japan GAA and everyone is welcome to come and join us. It is all about having fun, getting to know new people and of course it is always nice to get out of the office / classroom and play sports in an open space.

Gaelic Football is a great game to play, but we also take our socialising very seriously in the JapanGAA (^_^). After training we usually go for a few beers, naturally we end up talking about football but we believe that this is a great way to get to know the people that you play with and may a new friendship a blossomed after a training session! We also organise club BBQs, team trips, Christmas parties, and many other fun events.

The annual major event for the Japan GAA is the Asian Gaelic Games. This is an annual Gaelic football (7-a-side) tournament that has been held since 1996. Teams from across Asia including Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dubai, UAE, Shanghai and Korea compete every year for the Derek Brady Cup and the Ladies Cup. Last year the tournament took place in Hong Kong the Japan Ladies team won the Ladies Cup after the nail-biting close final. The Asian Gaelic Games in try Irish tradition do not stop once the games are over, at night the players from all the various teams head out to party! Last year for example a cruise on Hong Kong harbour was organised for the Saturday night and it was fantastic.

The 9th Asian Gaelic Games will be held on the 9th/10th of October in Hong Kong. We are training hard for both the matches and the parties ... so do come and join us!

Japan GAA web site: www.japangaa.com
Click here to contact Japan GAA

INJ - Asian Gaelic Games in Shanghai

Home / Events / About INJ / Seanachai / Message / Links