Around the World in 80 Clubs: Helsinki Harps GAA Club (#3)

And you thought the Ulster Championship was as far north as the GAA goes.

Our quest to find the most far-flung GAA outposts around the globe is still very much in the early stages, but having already checked in on what’s going on in Berlin and Qatar, we’re headed north to Helsinki this week. Helsinki Harps GAA club is less than five years old but it already has 60 members in its ranks and can lay claim to having participated in the northernmost game of Gaelic Football ever played. Club PRO Tony McDonald was happy to tell us about that game and plenty more tales from Helsinki when we got in touch with him recently; just be careful not to mention bitter rivals Oulu Irish Elks within earshot.

Focus on Helsinki Harps GAA

Club: Helsinki Harps GAA Year established: 2011 Colours: Blue and white Number of members: Approximately 60 Biggest rivals: Oulu Irish Elks Biggest representation from a club/county in Ireland: Dublin Most famous ever member: A few months after the club was formed in 2011 a small group of us were fortunate enough to watch the dramatic All-Ireland Final with lifelong Dublin supporter Colm Meaney. Colm was over in Helsinki promoting his movie Parked. We were delighted to make him Helsinki Harps’ first honorary member. On the playing side in the last year our team has been boosted by the arrival of Ronan Rochford, younger brother of current Corofin manager Stephen Rochford. In recent years, Ronan has been a member of the Mayo GAA squad and he has adapted to the Nordic style of football quite effortlessly Most memorable moment in the club’s history: In 2013 we featured in a documentary aired on Setanta called The Northernmost Point. The Northernmost Point from Full Focus Media on Vimeo. There was great excitement in the club in the week leading up to the match with recorded interviews and cameras at training. The actual game, which was streamed live around the world, was played in The Raatin stadium where Liverpool have previously starred. It still remains the most northern game of Gaelic Football ever played. Most eye-catching scoreline in the club’s history: Just last month in The Finnish Championship, Harps Ladies were involved in a couple of high scoring games against Jyväskylä Gaa and Oulu Elks. Over the duration of both games (50 minutes) they amassed a total of nine goals and 10 points (37) while only conceding a total of eight points. What makes this achievement all the more remarkable is that, unlike in previous tournaments, only one of the Harps ladies had previously played Gaelic Football in Ireland. https://twitter.com/jaregan/status/604188696166932480 All the other members on the day were relatively new to the sport, most having played for just over 12 months, a few only a matter of weeks. For the lads, in early June we secured our first ever victory in the 11s over the mighty Stockholm Gaels on a scoreline of 3-8 - 1-3. Unfortunately, however, Stockholm got revenge in the final. Player who makes the longest commute to training: Juha Jokela makes a weekly round journey of 462 km to training. Readers should note that it’s about the same distance as a round trip from Dublin to Cork. Most dedicated club person: See above. It has to be Juha. He’s fiercely committed at training and on the pitch. He also has a tremendous sense of fair play and sportsmanship. Player who could have made it big if love/career/drink didn’t get in the way: Ah, probably all of us! Biggest character: Phil "Whacker" Murray. He has a bad knee these days, so we haven't seen him on the playing pitch in recent months as much as we would like. He still attends the socials though and he sings karaoke in Finnish very well too! Number of romances that started in the GAA club: The romances didn’t start in The Harps but we have helped keep them strong. Hanna and Stephen from Derry were recently married. Ladies captain Stina and Dub Graham have been romancing for quite a while too. Duck to water award – Best new player who had never played GAA before:  It's that man again, Juha Jokela! On the ladies side, to mention a few of many impressive newcomers, Tytti, Sara, Emma and Stina have all taken to the game really well. Most annoying person in the club WhatsApp group: Fionan O'Carroll from Kerry. He asks the same question on the thread again and again even though it has been answered numerous times. He never shows up for training and on the rare occasions he does, he spends half the time booting the ball at the goals! Saying that, he did score seven crucial points in our recent win over Oulu Irish Elks as we recaptured The Finnish Championship so we'll forgive him for now. If you're a member of a GAA club abroad and would like to be featured on the site, feel free to send a mail to editorial@JOE.ie or find us on Facebook or Twitter.