Original text by Niall O’Grady. Updated by Paul Hyland and Tracy O’Sullivan.
Gaelic Football is an Irish sport very similar to Australian Rules. It’s played on a rectangular pitch with ‘H’ shaped goalposts much like the goals on a rugby pitch. Under the crossbar, goalkeepers protect the goals just the same as in soccer.
The football can be kicked or “hand-passed” (a hand-pass is a striking motion with a closed fist). The football can also be carried but only for 4 steps. After every four steps the ball must be ‘played’. This means the ball must be either bounced or “soloed”.
Soloing is the action of dropping the ball onto the foot and kicking it back into the hand. To carry the football over a distance a player must ‘play’ the ball every four steps. Players can solo the ball as many times as they like but may not bounce the ball twice in a row.
To score, the player can kick or hand-pass the ball over the crossbar for one point or kick the ball under the crossbar and into the net for a goal which equals three points. Each team consists of 15 players. Tackling is allowed in the men’s game but not in the ladies. The sport can be robust but not as much as in rugby.
Laochra GAA club was founded in June 2011 and thanks to our sponsors Sharky’s, we have grown extensively since then. The club was set up to give the people of Busan an opportunity to play a new sport, meet new people and to bring the Irish culture to this dynamic city.
Following two exceptional seasons in 2012 and 2013, Laochra Busan are back and want you. The 2014 season is about to kick off and Laochra are looking to recruit new players who are interested in playing.
The club consists of both a men’s and a women’s team and players of all levels and abilities are welcome to join. Whether you have played the sport before or not doesn’t matter. Many of the members of the team had never played Gaelic football prior to coming to Korea but picked up the technique very easily.
It is an excellent sport and a fantastic way to keep fit, meet new people and have the famous Irish ‘Craic’ (that means fun, nothing to do with dodgy stuff!!!). The 2013 squad boasted players from Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, America, South Africa, Australia and Korea and hopefully we will add more nationalities to this year’s squad.
It’s not all running around a pitch after a ball either. With Sharky’s Bar and Grill in Haeundae and Gwangali our main sponsor for 2014, all Laochra members will be given discounted prices on selected food and drinks. Sharky’s will also host all events we will have which is another great reason to join!!
The season consists of three tournaments in Korea. One tournament is hosted by each of the three Gaelic football clubs, Daegu Fianna (May), Laochra Busan GAA (June) and Seoul Gaels (July).
Last year the Laochra’s ladies team had a very successful year. Following hard work through out the season they beat Daegu and Seoul in the tournament and brought the cup to Busan. This was a great boost for Laochra as it was the first cup we had ever won. We are anticipating similar success for this season.
In October, the Asian Gaelic Games will be held in Kuala Lumpur. In 2011 and 2012 Laochra sent teams to the AGGs but were unfortunate not to return with any silverware. We missed out on the opportunity to have a team represent us in the 2013 games, but we are hoping to send a team over this year and end a great season on a high.
The Club trains at Samryak Park in Sasang at 11 am every Saturday, so come on down and have some fun! We’re a great bunch of lads!
Laochra Abú!
How to find us…
Laochra Busan GAA Website – Here
Contact Us by Email – busangaa@gmail.com
Or Join Us On Facebook
Facebook Members Page
Laochra Busan 2012 Season
Irish Association of Korea 한국아일랜드협회 