Willawong, Brisbane will welcome over 400 players from across Australia and New Zealand this weekend for the 2025 Australasia Interstate Championships.
The three-day tournament, regarded as the showpiece of the Gaelic games calendar in Australasia, will feature 19 teams competing across six competitions: four senior grades, along with men’s and women’s intermediate football.
Much like in Ireland, where club players line out for their counties, the best Gaelic footballers, hurlers, and camogie players from clubs across Australasia will represent their states and regions.
First contested in 1971, with earlier iterations dating back to the 1950s, the championships have a rich history and continue to prosper amidst the steady growth of the Australasian association. Today, the association caters to close to 5,000 players, from Perth in Western Australia to Canterbury in New Zealand’s South Island – a distance equivalent to travelling from Dublin to New York.
Derek Kent, Chairperson of Leinster GAA, Australasia Gaelic Games’ twinning partner, attended the 2024 Championships in Melbourne, which also marked the association’s 50th anniversary.
“It was a great honour to attend the games last year,” said Derek Kent.
“Huge credit to the founding committee of 1974 who had the vision and belief to establish our games in the southern hemisphere,” the Leinster Chairperson added.
“The games are a great experience for everyone involved with a great Irish community spirit. I hope everyone embraces the competition and enjoys their time in Willawong, Brisbane… and best wishes to [referees] Ronan Devaney and Marius Stones, who have travelled out from Ireland and the many Australasian-based referees for their dedication.”
Derek Kent, Chairperson of Leinster GAA, Australasia Gaelic Games’ twinning partner, presenting the 2024 Australasia hurling final man of the match award to Calum Lyons of Western Australia. Photo credit: An Astráil
LGFA referees Jonathan Murphy and Anthony Marron will also be making the trip south. They’ll be joined by newly minted LGFA President Trina Murray, and Ambassador of Ireland to Australia, Ms H.E. Fiona Flood, further highlighting the event’s significance within both the Gaelic games community and the broader Irish diaspora.
Key battles on the field
New South Wales (Sydney), long dominant across the codes, will look to defend their men’s and women’s senior football titles as well as their camogie crown. They face strong challenges from rivals Victoria (Melbourne) and Queensland, the latter hoping to recapture the men’s senior football title they last won on home soil in 2019.
In the hurling, Western Australia (Perth) will be itching to bring silverware back out west. With former Waterford star Calum Lyons among their ranks, they will aim to secure back-to-back championships. But Victoria, New South Wales and hosts Queensland are sure to be gunning for the 2024 winners.
The intermediate competitions have served up some of the most exciting competitions since their introduction in 2018. North Queensland’s recently established clubs – Cairns Chieftains, Townsville Wolfhounds, and Four Mile (Port Douglas) – will be representing the home state in the men’s and women’s intermediate competitions and they will be vying for inaugural titles for Queensland in the intermediate grade.
South Australia’s men’s and women’s squads, featuring mainly Australian-born players, are also expected to contend strongly. From across the Tasman, Auckland’s men – beaten finalists last year – and the New Zealand women’s team arrive with high hopes of bringing silverware back across the ditch.
South Australia (red) and Auckland women’s footballers playing in the intermediate competition at the 2024 Australasia Championships in Gaelic Park, Melbourne. Photo credit: An Astráil
Sunday’s finale
Temperatures are forecast to reach the high twenties for the round-robin games on Friday and Saturday and into Sunday’s finals. Finals day will start off with a youth session by the Brisbane Youths Academy. This will be followed by the six championship finals, where the top two placed teams from each competition group will battle it out for national silverware.
With top-tier talent, fierce rivalries, and a vibrant Gaelic games culture in Brisbane, this year’s Australasia Championships promise thrilling action and unforgettable moments on and off the field.
All six finals will be livestreamed on the Australasia Gaelic Games Streamer channel.
More information, including the tournament programme and fixtures can be found on the Australasia Gaelic Games website.
And you can stay up to date with activity over the three days in Brisbane on Australasia Gaelic Games’ Instagram, Facebook and X (Twitter) accounts.
By Australasia Gaelic Games Communications Officer, John ‘Bobs’ Daly
Also published on leinstergaa.ie
