Dear all,
I wanted to personally say how delighted I am to be the new Chairperson of the Shanghai GAA. It is a privilege – thank you for having me, despite my being 100% British Bulldog! Thank you to all those of you who attended the AGM last week. My sincere thanks also goes to the last committee; Jack Meng, Cat Scanlon, Sean Moran, Adrian Donoghue, Brian Murray, Peter Mooney and of course Brian Murphy. I’d also like to thank the sponsors; Moore Watson Ltd, PM Group, The Camel and the Blarney Stone, Pacific Prime, World Health Stores, Shanghai Ireland Association, Kerry Hotel Pudong and GWM. It’s thanks to them and all of you who have supported the club in any way that I find myself in such an exciting position; I hope to take a club that is already flying high, to further heights.
I really am very excited about the year ahead! Thank you to the new committee; Adrian Donoghue, Dan Carbery, Heather McIsaac, Heidi Johnson, Sean Moran, Peter Mooney, Steph FitzGerald-Smith and Devon Hanna. We met for the first time last week and the table was literally buzzing with enthusiasm and ideas. Indeed, this year promises to be another brilliant one. We’ll kick start Ireland Week with the All Nations Cup Tournament on March 8th. Challenge matches with Suzhou will be arranged and we’ll work towards the South Asia Games in May. Before we know it, the China Games will be upon us and we’ll look to retain the cup that both the men and the ladies teams won last year! After that, let’s aim to keep that Asia Games Cup in its place in the trophy cabinet at the Blarney and there’s definitely space for the men’s cup there too! We have a number of great social events planned throughout the year, starting with a welcome dinner on Saturday 22nd February.
The committee aims to allow the club to continue to thrive and to grow in every way possible, with the club’s long-term future in mind. The Shanghai Gaelic Youth Programme is the envy of other sports clubs in Shanghai and its development will be a priority this year. The issue of a facility provider will be resolved in the next 2 months; this is an issue of high importance.
Above all, we must remember that the Shanghai GAA is an incredible sports club full of incredible people. Ultimately, the aim is for us to enjoy playing football in Shanghai and have great craic (!) as part of an amazing community, which includes the wider Irish community. It’s certainly the best sports club I’ve ever been a part of and I have never known members to have such heart and such passion. I love the club and I sincerely hope that I can do you all proud this year.
The committee is always appreciative of any feedback or ideas. Or, if you know of anybody who may be interested in sponsoring the club in any way, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line, any time. My email address is sarahmdavis9@gmail.com
Finally, training starts back up on Tuesday 11th February which is the first Tuesday back after the holiday. Saturday training at SRFC will resume that week too (bus from the Camel at 12 noon). See you all then!
Xin Nian Kuai Le everyone!
Warm regards,
Sarah Austin
Shanghai Gaelic Football Club 