Vancouver Harps Hurling Team
Will Represent Canada at NA finals in Chicago
 PHOTO: Sean Commins
THE 1985 Irish Sporting and Social Club football team: (L-R) [Back Row] Brendan Burns, John O’Malley, Sean Forrestall, Paraic Lally, Mick Hurley (Club MVP), Des Deevey, Plunkett Mallon, Eugene Halferty, Peter Ferguson and Chris Boyle, [Front Row] Eugene Mcnulty, Seamus Frain, Declan Corrigan, Pat Burns, John O’Flynn, Vincent Rankin, Brendan Finnegan and Martin McGill.
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 THE 2010 VANCOUVER HARPS team who will represent Canada as the only Canadian team competing in the finals at the North American County Championship over the Labour Day weekend. |
By SEAN TWOMEY
VANCOUVER – This year, Vancouver Irish Sporting & Social Club returns to the North American County Championship weekend once again – 25 years on
The Vancouver Harps hurling squad of 2010 are jetting off to the Windy City of Chicago to challenge themselves against the best of what North America has to offer in the Junior A Hurling Championship.
Labour Day weekend will see the Vancouver Harps represent Canada as the only Canadian team competing in the finals weekend.
Vancouver Harps are only one of two hurling teams officially recognised in Canada, with the other team based out of St. Johns Newfoundland.
However what makes this a really unique situation is that 25 years ago, in 1985 Vancouver Harps Football team represented Canada in the Junior Football on the same Labour Day weekend.
The Vancouver ISSC executive committee consisted of President Sean Cummins (RIP), Pat Burns, Katherine Fagan, Brenda Sloan, Deirdre Lane, Kevin Deevey and Maria Wong.
The football team traveled as the Northwest Divisional Champions and they hammered Chicago’s John McBride’s in a quarterfinal match but would lose to the eventual winners, Philadelphia Tyrone, in the semifinal. The attached photo was taken in Chicago by the late Sean Cummins.
It is believed that of the players in Chicago that year, three live in Seattle (John O'Malley, Vincent Rankin and Chris Boyle); eight live in Ireland (Brendan and Pat Burns, Des Deevey, Eugene Halferty, Peter Ferguson, Declan Corrigan, Brendan Finnegan, and Martin McGill); five live in Vancouver (Sean Forrestall, Mick Hurley, Plunkett Mallon, Seamus Frain and John O’ Flynn); one lives in New York (Eugene McNulty); one lives in Toronto (Paraic Lally).
In 2010, the ISSC executive committee is made up of Pat Lowney, Ronan Matthews, Katrina McAndrew and Sean Twomey.
The sports side of the club has traditionally been Gaelic football but in 2008 the hurling team was established and has grown rapidly in the intervening two years. With regular numbers at training increasing, it became obvious that more competition was needed.
In late 2009, the managerial team of Denis Ryan (Tipperary) and Sean Twomey (Cork) applied to the Canadian County board for permission to apply to the North American County Board to play in the Hurling Championships of 2010.
With permission to proceed the club then applied officially to the NACB and found out in mid December that our request was granted. With a strong squad of over 20 planning to travel the Vancouver Harps Hurling squad will first play Washington DC in the Junior A Quarter Final and the winners will play the Boston representatives.
With fundraising for the team stepping up over the next few weeks and months, any help is greatly appreciated.
A horse racing fundraiser will be held in Vancouver on August 13. For more details, call Sean Twomey at (778) 988-2096, or email the club at: isscvancouver@gmail.com.
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