Teenager with strong local links plays international rugby for Hong Kong

AN amazing and fascinating Athlone family story has been developing in far-away Hong Kong for the past 19 years. The Ryan family, originally from Sean Costello Street in Athlone, and who still have family in Coosan, decided to make the brave move to Hong Kong (one of two special administrative regions, along with Macau, of the People's Republic of China) back in 1993. It's fair to say they've never looked back since, and the family's impact on the Hong Kong sporting scene has been immense. At present, Tony and Jennifer Ryan's 17 year-old daughter, Shonagh, is excelling as one of the most highly-rated female rugby players in Hong Kong - and has already won numerous representative honours, as well as two international caps, at under-18 level, for the Hong Kong national team. Her younger sister, Aileen (16), is also a promising scrum-half, and appears to be following the same path to success as Shonagh, regularly standing out with her displays for their club side, Hong Kong Football Club Valley Pirates. Not only that but their father, Tony, who works with successful lighting firm, Creative Lighting Asia in Hong Kong, was a primary figure in establishing a structure for Gaelic football in Hong Kong, and then all over Asia, in the 1990s and into the noughties. "We moved to a place called Discovery Bay, near Hong Kong International Airport and on the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island in the New Territories," said Tony. The territories consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories, and over 200 offshore islands, of which the largest is Lantau Island. "It's a very unique place, a very sporting area, and there's huge emphasis on family there (in Discovery Bay)," he continued. "Discovery Bay was initially built in 1976 as a comprehensive leisure resort, mainly as a retreat for business-people to get away for a while from Hong Kong, and over time it's developed into a mixed, primarily residential, development. The area quickly grew on us and we found to impossible to leave. It's a vibrant place, with a lot of Westerners living there, and there's always opportunities and things going on in Hong Kong," said Tony, whose wife Jennifer originally hails from Limerick. Tony and family were on an annual visit back to Athlone and Limerick when the Westmeath Independent caught up with Tony last Friday, and he was proud to speak about Shonagh's ongoing progress in Asian women's rugby. "Shonagh began playing with the local club, Discovery Bay Pirates, when eight years old, when there was no real system in place, and she had to play with the boys' teams until U-12 level because, at the time, not enough young girls were playing rugby. There's now a fully-fledged youth system in place for girls' rugby players in Hong Kong, and Shonagh, who plays in the front-row, quickly began to catch the eye. She has played representative rugby from U-14 level upwards, and is currently captain of the Hong Kong U-19 international team. They toured Laos last year, and played matches against Laos' national team and a Thailand selection. She's won the Most Valuable Player award three years' running with Hong Kong FC Valley Pirates. There's now some 5,000 kids, from U-6 to U-19s, playing mini-rugby in Hong Kong, and that's remarkable progress over recent years," he said. Shonagh has just completed her secondary school education in Hong Kong and plans to study Sports Science, after she undertakes an internship with a highly-respected Hong Kong Sport Performance company this summer. She's also studying Acupuncture at the moment, and has successfully completed her IRB Level 1 rugby coaching certificate. Tony's own sporting story in Hong Kong is equally impressive. In 1996, he helped set up what went on to become the Hong Kong GAA County Board. He has served as chairman and club President, and continues to play in the Hong Kong County Board Summer Leagues (an annual mini-tournament held for men and women). "Amazingly, that all started with a simple conversation between friends in a pub," said Tony. "What's followed has been a monster. The Asian County Board came about as a result, and now there's county boards in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing (China), Cambodia, Dubai (UAE), Japan, Korea, Shenzhen (South China), Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Asian Championships are now held every year, they were in Korea last year, and Hong Kong in 2010. It's primarily 10-a-side Gaelic football, with a total of 55 teams at the annual championships. Usually, the make-up of teams is about 50 per cent Irish, and 50 per cent foreign nationals who have taken up the sport as a social and physical medium. Its growth in Hong Kong, and in Asia, has been remarkable to witness," he added. To further illustrate Tony's point, Gaelic football has recently been accepted onto the Hong Kong International Schools' syllabus, as an official Physical Education subject, and a total of seven schools availed of it last year. A Wexford man, JJ Neville, has been integral in implementing the system into Hong Kong's schools, said Tony. Former President Mary McAleese and ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern have been among the dignatories to visit Hong Kong for GAA matches, as well as the President of the GAA. Coosan's Dessie Dolan, a school-teacher in Moate and one of Westmeath's most skilled forwards of all-time, visited Hong Kong with the GAA All-Stars team in 2004, and they played a local select there. "Gaelic football followers came to Hong Kong from Japan, Singapore and other places to watch the All-Stars, and they were blown away by the reception they received there," said Tony. "Gaelic football in Asia helps develop friendships and maintains a link to back home through sport, and also helps from a social and economic perspective. Many business relationships in Asia are built up between members of the GAA, and it helps promote the game in foreign regions too," he added. A neighbour from Tony and Jennifer's time in Sean Costello, Ian Lawlor (son of well-known local barber Hugh) is also living in Hong Kong, and was key to the early development of Gaelic games there. A former player of renown with Athlone GAA club, Ian took the early training sessions and played an integral role in developing the sport in Hong Kong. Now running his own hairdressing salon in Hong Kong, Ian remains a well-known and popular figure in the Athlone area.