Orang Éire is a GAA Club based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is Malaysia's first Gaelic Football Club and takes its name from the Bahasa word for 'people' and the Irish word for 'Ireland'. The club is made up of talented athletes from Ireland, Malaysia, Australia, Scotland, Canada, the US and many other countries. The club was formed in March 2007 and currently has 2 men's teams, a ladies team and a kids team. The club is open to all who are interested; be it players, fit or unfit, helpers, trainers, referees or just those who wish to take part in the more social aspect. We have several training sessions a week, the men train on Tuesday's, Thursdays & Saturdays while the ladies train on Tuesday's, Saturday's & Sundays, the kids train on Sunday mornings. For information on getting involved click on the Training link above or contact us at malaysiagaa@gmail.com or why not join our facebook page by clicking here

We have a vibrant social scene with frequent get togethers. It's a great way to make friends for newcomers to KL and a great way for old timers here to get some young blood back into them.

Orang Éire were proud to travel to Penang for the Asian Gaelic Games in October 2008 with over 65 players & supporters and to be awarded the inaugural "Asian Club of the Year" award. Along with winning the "Men's B Cup" was a bigger achievement than we ever imagined. For the full article click here

Orang Eire men edge victory over Aussie Warriors

The sun was a blazin’, there were burgers on the ‘barbie’ and over 200 people in attendance as the Orang Eire men beat the Aussie Warriors 42-38 in the 2nd match of the Finnegan’s International Rules Cup.  

The Orang Eire used their superior foot speed and athleticism to gain an 8 point lead over the Aussies after the 1st quarter; a lead which they maintained throughout most of the match.  The continuation of tough tackling and impressive defensive pressure caused the Aussies to make needless turnovers and allowed for the Irish to take home the victory.

The 1st match in the International Rules series saw the Warriors come from behind to secure the victory over the Orang Eire. The 3rd and final match will be played on 7th November which will mark the end of both team’s seasons.  This is a family day sponsored by both clubs with a BBQ, drinks and jumping castle for the kids.  Adh mor Orang Eire!!!

Orang Eire Mna battle one another to gear up for the AGG 

After the men’s match, the Orang Eire ladies separated into red and blue teams and played an intra-club match against one another.  This was a challenging competition, especially as both teams had new players who were still learning the game.  An immense amount of effort and determination was seen on both sides and coaches Pat Gorham and Seamus Moriarity were impressed with the skills and the level of fitness seen on both teams. 

Although the blues edged the victory over the reds, both sides were pleased with the level of improvement and the overall tone of the game.  The ladies will continue to compete in intra-club matches as they gear up for their competitions in Singapore on 12th  September and the AGG in Bangkok on 17th & 18th of October.

Kids continue the ‘Irish luck’ with win over AusKick

Fierce grit and determination was seen on the faces of both the Orang Eire & AusKick kids during their 2nd game of the International Rules Cup.  But apparently the Irish kids stocked up on their Lucky Charms that morning as they pulled out a 48-46 victory over their Aussie opponents.  Athletes from both teams demonstrated a tremendous amount of positive sportsmanship, teamwork and effort throughout their match.  Congratulations to both teams for a match well fought!

As in the men’s competition, the AusKick club captured the 1st match; putting the series at a 1-1 tie.  The 3rd and final deciding match will also be played out in November at the final Finnegan’s International Rules day of the year.  Good luck to both teams!

Vietnam Invitational Tournament

5 points down with 4 minutes to go

Our fellow South East Asian Gaels, the Viet Celts, hosted a tournament on 27 June in Ha Noi.  As well as the Orang Éire, the Viet Celts, or VC, entered two teams and the local Australian Rules Football Club, the Vietnam Swans, gave Gaelic football a try for the first time.  Thailand, although absent as a team, managed to send their captain, chairman and CEO John Campbell who fortunately pulled on the Malaysian jersey and was instrumental in the team’s performance throughout the day. 

With a touring party of only 11 players (plus John to make 12) the Orang Éire were slow to start and lost their first game to the VC Whites.  There was an uncharacteristic series of soft goals that the whole team failed to stop.  However, the lads rallied and in their next match against the Swans found a form that they were to hold for the rest of the day.  Accurate passing and running into space to create opportunities meant that, despite some very physical challenges, the Aussies were well beaten at the final whistle. 

The next qualification match was against the VC Blues.  The Blues had a good squad of players with some solid GAA experience balanced with strong runners in the mid-field and up front.  Interestingly they also fielded the only female footballer of the day, a very talented French lady with a great right foot.  However, the Orang Éire stuck to their game plan and despite trailing for the whole game and letting in goals at the start of both halves they managed to keep scoring the points.  Some enthusiastic defending by Jonathan Cleary ensured that our lady opponent only managed to score a brilliant point but no goals, much to the relief of goalie Pat Gorham (who never would have lived it down had a girl put one in the net when he was in charge).  As the second half wore on, Malaysia chipped enough over the bar to win by two points. 

The day’s results meant that the Orang Éire and the Blues were the strongest teams with 1 defeat and two victories apiece.  The Swans and the VC Whites played off for third and fourth place and in a great athletic performance, the Aussies saw off their fellow Vietnamese sportsmen to take the bronze for the day.  Then, with beers in hand, the players and spectators sat down to watch the main event. 

The VC Blues got stuck in from the start and again went ahead with a goal.  But the OE came back with some choice passing to narrow the gap and worked tirelessly at defending.  Vietnam had a fair few opportunities but were often denied the score by the defending of the Malaysian side.  At the half time there was very little in it and the tired OE boys were confident going into the last challenge of the day.  However, it was not to be an easy run of it. 

Right from the start the Blues got a couple of points and then a goal.  Things suddenly looked bad for the touring side and the minutes began to tick by.  The Blues goalie was later to admit that he checked his watch and thought to himself “five points up with four minutes to go, we can’t loose this.”  Apparently he even began to rehearse a few lines for an acceptance speech for the tournament trophy.  But back down the field something had changed.  The OE began to focus once again on good, accurate passing.  The defence and midfield took care to concentrate and began to see more of the ball and then, in a smooth passing movement all the way up the pitch a great goal was scored.  The gap narrowed to 2 points as the Blues came back towards to the OE defence.  But some hard physical challenges saw them dispossessed and Malaysia passed the ball up to their own midfield once more where Seamus Moriarty, capping a great day’s play with a magnificent run, slammed the ball home into the Blues net.  Malaysia were one point up with less than two minutes left. 

The last plays were something of a blur.  There was a lot of shouting, diving, shouldering and clearances that bordered on the desperate.  But just when the Orang Éire had nothing left to give, the final whistle went and Malaysia came out winners of a magnificent final and the whole tournament.  Malaysia BOLEH!!!!

The post-match celebrations were generously supported by one of the Aussies who kindly opened his bar for free beer and pizza for all players.  Later that evening, at a gala dinner, one of the VC hosted everyone at his Vietnamese restaurant where the food was exceptional and the brandy was, well… a little sweet but free-flowing and gratefully consumed.  Seamus Moriarty and John Campbell both got best player awards and Chairman Pat was able to graciously accept the tournament trophy on behalf of the club. 

Given the hard running of the day, the lads were quite tired, even a little subdued, at the river-side reggae party later that night (that another of the VC organised for the entire expat community of HaNoi).  In fact there was only one casualty of sorts over the weekend: our beloved full forward and team mascot who somehow managed to get lost outside the hotel on both nights.  Thankfully the warmth and hospitality of the Vietnamese, coupled with a few hard slaps from his team mates, ensured that even he managed to be safely tucked up in bed before 7am on both nights. 

We look forward to taking on the might of the Viet Celts at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok in October. 

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