Vienna Gaels New Committee 2021

A GAA club thrives on the sweat and determination of its members. It needs volunteers who care in order to be effective and drive things forward. Vienna Gaels is lucky to have such a large body of committed people who are working hard to develop and grow Gaelic games in Austria.

At the helm of that determination each year is the executive committee, elected annually at the Club AGM.

This year’s committee consists of:

Alan McKenna – Chairperson
Cian Scollard – Secretary
Zina Scimemi-O’Sullivan – Vice Secretary
Ronan Newman – Treasurer
Mark Campbell – Vice Treasurer
Elisa Cola – Health & Wellness
Shane Moloney – PRO

We all extend our warmest thanks to the outgoing committee for all their hard work, and for managing and guiding the Gaels through such unprecedented times.


Alan McKenna – Chairperson

Alan comes to us via one of the oldest towns in Ireland; lovely Drogheda. He’s lived in Vienna for almost 5 years and works as an Engineering Surveyor. He has been involved with the Gaels for almost all that time. This is his second year on the committee and he’s excited about taking the helm for 2021. This year brings many challenges as well as opportunity, and Alan is ready to take it on. If you’d like to know more about Alan, check out his player profile.

Cian Scollard – Secretary

Cian joined the Vienna Gaels in 2015 and has been on the committee since 2018. Originally from Tralee, Co. Kerry, but don’t hold that against him! Cian is an active player with the football and hurling teams and has very fond memories of travelling to tournaments the length and breadth of Europe. Cian enjoys golfing, cooking and dancing the tango. He’s a vegetarian (with occasional relapses) and is committed to reducing his carbon footprint wherever possible.

Zina Scimemi-O’Sullivan – Vice Secretary

Zina has been with the club since August 2018. Joining the Gaels was the third thing she did in Vienna after moving into her apartment and starting work. A coworker suggested that she should come to training, and she has loved it ever since. The club has been like a family. In her new position she hopes to give back to the club as much as it has given to her.

Ronan Newman – Treasurer

Ronan joined the Gaels two years ago, six months after moving to Vienna. Last year he took on the role of Treasurer in the club. Unfortunately due to COVID, the Gaels were somewhat restricted in developing further in 2020 – but he’s very much looking forward to working together with the committee in 2021 to seek out new investment opportunities in recruitment of new members, youth development and continuing on the success of previous committees to drive the club forward and promote all 5 codes that the club now has in place.

Mark Campbell – Vice Treasurer

For the second year running now, Mark is the Vice Treasurer of the Vienna Gaels. He helps ensure money is always “resting in the account’. This is his 3rd year with the Vienna Gaels and he is looking forward to another year on the committee and hopefully a few training sessions, tournaments and social gatherings to boot.

Elisa Cola – Health & Wellness

Elisa’s love of sport is rivaled only by her love of prosecco, so you’re in safe hands! Elisa joined the Gaels at the end of 2019. She is a very active person, across all kinds of different sports ( football, basketball, handball, swimming etc). She is also a vegetarian and tries to live sustainably. She finds her lifestyle is perfectly suited to being the H&W officer and is excited to see what we will be able to plan and organise as soon as contact sports and regular fitness activities will commence once again.

Shane Moloney – Public Relations Officer

Shane joined the Gaels in the strange year of 2020, and hates writing about himself in the 3rd person. However, Shane can’t break voice & tone style this far into the document so Shane must continue as he was.
An avid hurler, having played for Setanta in his youth and Réalt Dearg in his not-so-youth. Shane is excited about bringing dank memes and viral content (no pun intended) to Vienna Gaels in 2021, as written in his acclaimed self help GAA book “How to Recruit New Players and Influence People”.


2021 will not be a normal year, but we’re nothing if not optimistic. There is still plenty of opportunity for progress as a club, particularly with regard to recruitment and youth development. Covid-19 casts a shadow over everything, but it cannot diminish our eagerness to get back on the pitch. For some of us, these games we play form part of our very consciousness. Ask someone what Vienna Gaels GAA is and you’ll get a few answers, but at the heart it’s a community. It exists to enrich the lives of its members. We hope we can bring some enrichment to your lives this year, and look forward to seeing you on the pitch soon. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.

Beir bua agus beannacht,
Shane.