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THERE WILL BE thousands of Irish fans travelling Down Under in the next few weeks to be part of the Lions’ famous ‘Sea of Red.’ Given the hefty Irish representation in the Lions squad and staff, there has never been more reason to make the trek.
But this tour is also significant for the Irish who call Australia home. Around 2.5 million people there have Irish heritage and more than 100,000 Irish-born people are living Down Under.
We’re talking about roughly 10% of all Australians being connected to Ireland. So a green-tinged Lions tour is very welcome indeed.
And the Lions’ first stop on tour is a case in point. Perth is a popular destination among the estimated 40,000 Irish people who emigrate to Australia annually. Mining, construction, and medical jobs are big draws, as is the chilled-out lifestyle and natural beauty on the west coast.
Tralee man Brendan O’Mahony – who has been in Perth for 14 years – is a project manager with Civmec, a construction and engineering company that was involved in building Optus Stadium, the venue for the Lions’ opening game against Western Force on Saturday.
O’Mahony is also the president of Perth Irish RFC, who are celebrating their 10th season as a club.
Lions fever has been rife among Perth Irish and they welcomed the tourists’ chairman, Ieuan Evans, and CEO, Ben Calveley, down to their home at Centenary Park earlier this week.
All the local senior competitions have a bye this weekend because of the Lions’ visit, but Perth Irish are hosting a junior rugby carnival on Saturday morning.
Most people involved in Perth Irish will then be at the Western Force game on Saturday evening and many of them will fly to the east coast to be at one or more of the Lions’ Tests against the Wallabies.
“Rugby union is struggling in Australia but within our expat circle, there’s a lot of excitement around the Lions,” says O’Mahony.
“Thankfully, the Wallabies have started to pick their socks up a little bit. Two years ago, it wasn’t looking good for a Lions tour, but I think they’ll give them a good match now.”
Whatever about the Wallabies’ renewal under Joe Schmidt, there’s no doubt that Perth Irish hope to keep going from strength to strength.
The club was founded in early 2016. Seamus Walsh, a Waterford man, had been bringing his son to play junior rugby elsewhere and couldn’t help but notice how many Irish kids and parents there were.
We could nearly start our own thing, he thought. So they did. A meeting took place at the Irish Club of Western Australia in the Subiaco suburb of Perth. Walsh and some friends formed the rugby club and took to Facebook to get the message out.
O’Mahony was among a group of around 40 lads who turned up for the first few training sessions. He played in the club’s first-ever trial game against Curtin University in March 2016.
“It was a tough slog for a couple of years,” says O’Mahony, “but it was always good fun and it was all about growing the club.”
Perth Irish expanded slowly but surely and they won their first silverware in 2019 with Western Australia Championship Grade success, which remains their only title so far. The women’s team was launched in 2017, another big milestone.
But then Covid hit and almost killed the club. They just about clung on and launched their “second phase” in 2022, using what tiny amount of money was left in the club account to hire an online marketing specialist to get their name out to the Perth public.
Nowadays, Perth Irish have more than 100 registered adult players between two men’s and one women’s teams, as well as around 45 junior players.
Premier Grade is the highest level of club rugby in Western Australia and Perth Irish aren’t at those lofty heights yet, playing instead in the Championship Grade competition.
There is a crop of Irish expats involved in the Premier Grade competition, but Perth Irish have had a few former All-Ireland League players through the club over the past decade. They even welcomed ex-Leinster number eight Leo Auva’a in for a short stint.
“You wouldn’t want to be standing in front of him,” says O’Mahony with a laugh.
Perth Irish are always keen to let people know that the club isn’t just for those with Irish roots. They have even debated whether the name is holding them back a bit, but the message is getting out there. They’ve had 23 different nationalities play for the club.
They currently have four Kenyan players – one of whom is among their leading lights – and they’ve had English, Scottish, Welsh, Australian, Kiwi, and even Japanese players at different stages. Everyone gets a good Irish welcome.
As well as the other rugby clubs in Perth, there is competition from the many other sporting codes. There are two local Australian rules teams in the AFL – both play in Optus Stadium – while cricket, soccer, basketball, netball, and field hockey are all popular. A rugby league club, Perth Bears, are due to join the NRL in 2027.
Then you have the Irish competition. The Gaelic Athletic Association of Western Australia is made up of seven football clubs and four hurling teams. So the natives and expats alike have plenty of choice.
Perth Irish will be hoping this Lions tour gives rugby union a much-needed boost. And they will welcome any future arrivals from Ireland with a typical céad míle fáilte.
“Perth is not a big city, it’s probably no bigger than Cork,” says O’Mahony of living there.
“It’s all spread out in the suburbs and it doesn’t feel like you’re living in a big city. It doesn’t feel like a big rat race.
“It’s a lot more laid-back, a good beachy vibe, you’ve got Margaret River down the road. It’s a nice way of living.
“I do feel like there’s always a preconceived notion of Australia where everybody’s reference point is Home & Away, so they think we’re surfing before work and at lunchtime and we go down and buy a juice off Alf Stewart and all that carry on.
“But no, we work hard over here. I reckon that the Irish at this stage probably have a better work-life balance than we do over here.
“So you do work hard but when you’re off, it’s a beautiful place. For nine or 10 months of the year, you don’t even need to check the forecast. That makes a difference.”
Having the Lions in town this week has made it even more enjoyable.
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