Australasia Gaelic Games receives Sport NZ recognition
Spectators at the 2025 New Zealand Championships in Auckland.
By Cian O'Connell
Receiving official recognition from Sport New Zealand is a significant boost for Australasia Gaelic Games.
With nearly 500 players currently involved, spread across 10 clubs, in New Zealand, it has been an encouraging stint for Gaelic Games in the country.
Since the end of November, Australasia Gaelic Games is a Sport NZ recognised National Sporting Organisation for Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie.
John 'Bobs' Daly, Public Relations Officer for Australasia Gaelic Games, acknowledges the value of the recent development. "We cover Australia and New Zealand, we've had the recognition from Australia for a while with the Australian Sports Commission, and now we have it with Sport NZ," Daly says.
"It is great to get the legitimacy, first and foremost. We've been playing here for quite a long time.
Celtic women's footballers at the 2025 New Zealand Championships in Auckland.
"Clubs come and go over the last 100 years, but in the last 10 or 15 years we've been properly established."
Practically, how does the games programme work in New Zealand? "Going back 50 or 60 years, you might have had St Patrick's Day games, but in the last 10 or 15 years you'd have five clubs in Auckland, they run their own league and championship," Daly explains.
"They've just finished the league in Auckland, they'll play the championship after Christmas. The same goes for Canterbury, they play a league and championship.
"We just have one club here in Wellington, we just play amongst ourselves, but we've national competitions.
"We play a sevens tournament in November each year and our championships in March. Every club will travel to play in those over a weekend. They're brilliant occasions.
Wellington/Hutt Valley custodian and stalwart Davey Rynne playing in his 20th season for the club at the 2025 New Zealand Championships in Auckland.
"We're hosting it in Wellington in March, we will have every Gaelic player in the country. It is a good social event, but it is also really competitive, and the standard is improving all of the time."
Planning and plotting always take place. "We've a calendar of events, we know who is going to be hosting what in two years time so the organisation is brilliant," Daly says.
"That is down to a few stalwarts. One of the lads here has served in every role, Davey Rynne, he is here about 20 years, he has been unbelievable keeping things going.
"He is still playing. You always need people to keep it going because like every overseas unit, it's very transient. You'll always have people coming and going.
"With the sevens and championships, you'd never play with the same team at those competitions, it will always be a different team from year to year. The fact we can keep it going when we've such a churn of players is testament to the work that goes on."