Club Directors
John Grieve – President
Brendan Grieve – Vice President
Tony O’Neill – Treasurer
Tina Cullen – Secretary
Pat Cullen – Director
Shane Northam – Director
Michael Smith – Director
Our History
Penrith Gaels began from humble beginnings in the early 1970’s with the formation of a Gaelic football team. Members and friends decided to run dances to fund this team. The Gaels established a Hurling team and by the early 1980’s they had formed a very successful school of Irish Dancing, Social Golf Club, Soccer teams and a Drama School. Penrith Gaels also boasted a travel club, which helped their members get home to Ireland. Around this time the club changed its name to Penrith Gaels Cultural and Sporting Association Limited.
The Penrith Gaels Committee and their members had high aspirations of building club premises in the area. Fund raising dances were held on a monthly basis in the local halls. Through the 1980’s and the 1990’s the sub clubs maintained a very competitive standard in their fields. The social and fund raising dances continued and we also held our very successful biannual “Ireland over Here” Festivals at Penrith Football Stadium. These festivals were attended by the Penrith community and people from all over NSW.
It wasn’t until the mid 1990’s that the current premises became available. Formerly the “Kingswood Squash Courts”, the committee, generously supported by the Mt Isa Irish Association, decided to purchase the building. Renovations began in early 1997 and with the benefit of all our voluntary labour from our Foundation Members, our Club was finally opened in August 1997.
With the help of management and staff, our Club has thankfully been thriving, and with the help of a few dedicated volunteers we now boast a wonderful facility for the benefit of our members and guests.
Our Club, was built from pure persistence of the committee and members. We are proud of our achievements and would like you also to be very proud of the wee club with a big heart.
