ISSC 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
An Illustrious History Over the Past 30 Years
By JOHN O'FLYNN
Over the last 30 years, the Vancouver Irish Sporting and Social Club men's Gaelic football team has competed against clubs from Victoria, B.C.; Seattle and Tacoma, WA; Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; a Dublin Civil Service team (1982) and an Aer Lingus Select team (1992). Australian Rules men’s teams from both Vancouver Cougars and Calgary Kangaroos have played the Gaelic code on a number of occasions in St. Patrick’s Day challenges and tournaments.
Significant achievements for the ISSC men’s team included winning the inaugural Pacific Northwest Divisional Champions of the North American County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1981. In 1984, after defeating American South West champions San Diego in Seattle, the team traveled to Boston to compete in a Junior semi-final.
The team lost by six points to the eventual champions Philadelphia Tyrone. In 1985 the team traveled to Chicago where they beat the Chicago John McBride’s in a quarterfinal match yet, once again, could not get by the soon to be repeat champions Philadelphia Tyrone in the semi-final.
Coach Peter Ferguson from Garrison, Fermanagh played a significant role in the team’s success with ISSC Presidents Sean Commins and Dan Jones (R.I.P.) providing outstanding leadership.
This would be the last year that a Canadian team would participate in the NACB championships. The Toronto GAA stopped participating in the NACB Championships in the early Eighties and thus the ISSC’s participation in 1985 is historically significant. There has also been a number of Baileys’ Cup Championships awarded to the ISSC from 1993 – ‘95 and 1997 -‘98.
The ISSC has had its members in attendance at various Gaelic Athletic Association meetings, workshop presentations, championships, and have provided service on various executive boards:
- The Pacific Northwest Divisional Board establishment of the North American County Board (1981) and NACB Annual General Meeting (Seattle, WA) 1983.
- The founding meeting of the Canadian County Board 1985 (Toronto, Ontario).
- The founding meeting of the Western Divisional Board (WDB) 2003 (Edmonton, AB).
- Canadian County Board twinning meeting with the Ulster Provincial Council (Toronto, ON) and the Toronto GAA Annual General Meeting 2004.
- NACB Coaches Clinic 2004 (San Francisco, CA).
- Gaelic Football Workshop presentations at Physical Education and Coaches Conferences in Vancouver, Victoria, New Westminster and Kelowna.
- NACB Championship observers and representatives 2002 (San Francisco, CA), 2004 (Boulder, Colorado).
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