ISSC 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Those Were Indeed the Best of Times

By PEARSE WALSH

I originally arrived in Canada in the fall of 1971 and after spending three years in Southern Ontario, where I played Gaelic football with the Clann Na Gael Club in Toronto, I decided to “Go West,” arriving in Vancouver at year-end 1974. Prior to leaving Ontario, I had heard there was an effort under way to form a new Irish club in Vancouver.

PEARSE WALSH is shown here with the ball, Frank Dooley is the player wearing the headband, and Tommy Halferty is on the right. The player in the background is “The Professor” P.J. O’Donnell.

Shortly after arriving I found my way to one of the early meetings of the new ISSC at the Downtown Holiday Inn. I recollect being very impressed with the young leaders. They had extraordinary energy and their emphasis was to create a very open, inclusive club, focusing on sports and culture, but above all being a place of welcome and support for Irish people arriving and living in Vancouver. The timing for founding an Irish club was perfect as there were a lot of young Irish coming to B.C. and migrating to Vancouver at the time.

And indeed it truly was a most welcoming environment. Being young also and having a continuing interest in Gaelic football, it was not long before I was making the Sunday afternoon trek to John Hendry Park.

Initially we had perhaps 10 to 12 players showing up, but before long the numbers had grown to 25 to 30 players and we started planning a trip to San Francisco to coincide with the Carroll’s All Stars GAA visit to that city.

We made contacts with the folks in San Francisco and arranged a curtain raiser game with an Under 18 youth Gaelic team that their Irish club was developing. Enthusiasm and preparation for the trip kicked into high gear and following a number of setbacks (a few drop outs over visas and paperwork), we arrived in San Francisco for a memorable few days.

THE VANCOUVER Irish Sporting and Social Club
Men’s Gaelic Football Team - 1975.

I don’t remember the final score of the match – I do know that we were not victorious. I am not sure if this was due to the speed and precise passing and goal scoring of the young and athletic San Francisco boys, skills honed from playing basketball and soccer, or if it was our late night partying – who cares – we were there to have fun and enjoy the moment and we sure did that.

We arranged a meeting with the senior officials of the GAA, seeking support for our fledgling club and I recollect the outcome of the meeting was platitudes from them lauding our initiatives and some vague promises to consider some form of assistance in the future.

This was not consistent with our “can-do now” way of making things happen and at the Sunday night banquet, honoring the Carroll’s All Stars, our presence was acknowledged and we were invited to say a few words.

We seized the opportunity and got up and thanked the Secretary General of the GAA, Sean O’Siochan, for his generous offer to donate the stack of backup hurling sticks they had on tour for the teams – and that is how the ISSC re-introduced hurling to Vancouver. Oh the bravado of youth!

VANCOUVER ISSC inaugural 7-a-side champions. (L-R) [Back Row] Pearse Ward, John Dooley, (unidentified), Frank Dooley and Pat McHugh. [Front Row] Malachy Swail, Pat O’Neill (unidentified), John Smith, and Bernard Ward.

In the summer of 1976 the San Francisco GAA team made a visit to Vancouver and I have no doubt that they still talk today about that wonderful weekend and the hospitality of our club members. We played two games at the Swangard Stadium, billeted players and their families and partied all weekend – again I don’t remember the final score of the games but I do recollect they were close matches.

In the fall of 1975 and in 1976 and 1977 we ran a four-team seven-a-side football league, which was very successful.

I left Vancouver in the summer of 1977, returning to Ontario. Looking back at those early days of the club they were exciting, enjoyable and above all most rewarding. I hesitate to recognize those folks who were on executive positions, partly because I would undoubtedly forget a name, but more so because our success was built on the combined efforts of all of the members – we had very few passive members and there were so many who contributed in so many ways.

However, I do feel all of us owe a debt of gratitude to John Dooley, the first president of the club – his leadership, can-do attitude, unwavering belief that the club was so important and his sense of humour contributed to the early success of the club.

Looking back now 30 years later, it was not only a very rewarding and enriching time – it was also a lot of fun and resulted in some life long friendships. I have no doubt that the presence of the club has been a wonderful support to many young Irish folks, arriving in Vancouver.

Continued success to all and for me the memories of the “best of times” will last a lifetime!

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