By Vincent Beach
GAA News
After the senior intercounty league and a special congress, the rules changed for men’s football are here to stay for championship. The rules are also filtering down to all levels of play, including club and minor.
To ensure clubs and players are ready, clinics have rolled out across the world, including Buffalo and the Midwest Division. Not only do the players, referees, and coaches need to be proficient in the new rules, but also linesmen and umpires, who often do not know they have the job until the teams are warming up.
USGAA News
The USGAA all-county junior men’s football team continue to train and compete in preparation for this summer’s All-Ireland junior tournament. This year, the USGAA will go up against the current back-to-back champions, New York, in a quarter final match. The stage is set for New York’s Gaelic Park (Bronx, Manhattan University) on June 14th. There will also be a live feed for those unable to attend.
The winner will go on to play in Croke Park on July 13th. The other side of the bracket includes Kilkenny and the winner of the Great Britain Junior Championships (London, Warwickshire, Lancashire, or Hertfordshire).
Our county team has had several challenge matches this year, including a recent matchup against a Philadelphia select side and St. Michael’s GAA of the Creeslough-Dunfanaghy area of Donegal. The squad will also head up to Boston at the end of April for a bout of matches.
Another all-county team was selected earlier this year. A panel of American and Irish born USGAA camogie players will compete in the International Camogie Festival, dubbed, “Camán to Carnew” (camán being the Irish for the camogie/hurling stick). The USGAA will play Carnew Emmet’s Camogie Club (County Wicklow) and Glenmore Camogie Club (County Kilkenny). The forty selected players will actually be constructed into two teams. With stiff competition,
Cleveland is proud that at our own Nikki Kovick has been selected to the panel. Joining Nikki from the Midwest Division and Pittsburgh are Emily Earnest and Kate O’Meara.
The ladies’ tournament will occur over the May 24-25 weekend.
Anyone wishing to support the team may enter a raffle to win two tickets to the Ireland-New Zealand rugby match at Soldier Field (Chicago) on November 1 by venmo-ing $50/donation and “Camogie” to @officialusgaa.
Development News
The USGAA have and continue to undergo a development blitz, with heavy and continuous support of Munster Provence. A county development weekend in Chicago in late January led by Pat O’Shea kicked off planning and coordination from each division and the selected county code leaders (men’s football, ladies’ football, camogie, hurling, youth).
Coaching clinics, referee clinics, player upskilling, team development like that of the camogie development board, have been up and running. The Camogie 360 was held in Pittsburgh this April 12-13 weekend and saw over one-hundred players participate.
A large push is on to develop a county minor team, as well as keep the underage-to-adult transition strong. The scheme is dubbed ‘USGAA Towards 20six.’ The effort is currently focused on men’s and ladies’ football.
Development camps are being set-up in San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston, reflecting the locations of Games Development Administrators (GDAs). Young players from outside these cities and divisions are welcomed to select their closest camp.
The elite camps are set for five phases. Phase 1 for this Spring provides introductions to the scheme, team identity and sports sociology, drills, and intersquad competition. Phase 2 for this Fall will see regional matches: Boston v Philadelphia, and Chicago v San Franciso.
In 2026, Phase 3 in the Spring will consist of two camps and will bring the 2010-born players into the program to join the 2008 and 2009 participants. Phase 4 will be around the Continental Youth Championship in Philadelphia (July 27-29, 2026) where the minor team panel will be selected and announced for boys and girls.
In the Fall of 2026, Phase 5 will see the USGAA county minor teams square off against New York and/or possibly a Munster GAA club.
Midwest News
The Midwest Board largely stayed the same as 2024. One proposal was received for hosting the Midwest Finals. Buffalo’s presentation met all the requirements and is positioned to be a great weekend on August 2-3 as the city also hosts their Irish festival.
The Midwest summer schedule has also been announced, and games begin the first weekend of May. The summer play is a mix of league games, exhibitions/friendlies, and tournaments. The league play may determine the Midwest Championship weekend seeding.
Cleveland St. Pat’s – St. Jarlath’s GAA
Mark your calendars for a busy mid-May with the Cleveland GAA. In partnership with the West Side Irish American Club (WSIA), the annual Night at the Races will be May 10th. Check the Cleveland GAA or WSIA website for details. The funds go directly to the GAA operating funds for the year.
The following weekend (May 17) opens the field, Páirc na Naomh, for official games with the Memorial 7’s tournament. This year is dedicated in memorial to Martin Lowery. Please find the wonderful insert and write up from his daughter, Tish, below.
The day after the adult’s tournament, the youth host the Great Lakes Tournament – Cleveland Games on Sunday, May 18th. Last year saw one-hundred youth players from age U6 to U16 on four different fields play. Commitments have already been received for this year’s tournament from Akron, Detroit, and two clubs out of Toronto. Both hurling and football games will be played from 10AM and until 3PM.
Come on up to the WSIA for the culture of the GAA, enjoy the competition and community, and stay for the craic. Saturday there will be a food truck, the pavilion and pub bars will be open, and music will be played throughout the evening.
Outdoor training sessions have started for all codes and youth. All teams are accepting new players throughout the season. Stay tuned to social media or reach out directly if you or your family are interested in playing.
Thanks, y’all, to our readers and supporters. We need your help and involvement but would most like to share the fun of Irish sport and Cleveland community with you. Consider getting involved at any level.
Fáilte (welcome) to all. The Gaelic Athletic Association is Ireland’s largest sporting organization and a bit of home for the Irish abroad here in the US of A. Beyond sports, the Association also promotes Irish music, song and dance, and the Irish language as an integral part of its objectives. Cleveland GAA is open to all who want to play competitive sports, meet new people, and join an athletic, fitness-minded club for all ages.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
Follow @ClevelandGaelic on Facebook, Instagram, and X for the 2025 activities for Men, Women, and Youth, or visit ClevelandGAA.com. Email: ClevelandGAA@gmail.com
2025 Cleveland 7’s Memorial
In Honor & Remembrance of Martin Lowry
(Written by his daughter – Tish)
When we were notified that our father was going to be honored at the 2025 GAA Memorial Tournament, we were thrilled. My brothers and I would like to thank the committee for selecting him. He would be truly humbled but not excited at the attention. We are very grateful to be a part of an organization that has had a tremendous impact on our family and so many other young men and women in Cleveland.
Our dad, Martin Lowry, was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo in March of 1923. He was the second oldest of 12 children, five of whom passed away at a young age. Dad was always active, and he got involved with Gaelic football as a child.
In his early years, despite poverty facing the majority of the Irish, he and his friends were not deterred from playing football, the game they loved. Often, not having a ball to use, our dad claimed that he and his friends would inflate a pig’s bladder and use that as their ball.
Getting together at a neighbor’s house was the social outlet. And, in our dad’s neighborhood it was the Burke’s house. This is where Nancy Burke lived. Nancy would play a pivotal role in all our lives. Sometime in the 1940s, Martin left Ireland for England to find work. Ironically, Nancy also left for England.
Our dad worked manual labor; Nancy got a job as a nurse’s aide at the Curraugh. In 1949, Martin received a job offer from his uncle if he moved to Cleveland.
Recognizing a good opportunity, Martin knew this was the place to be. Dad made plans to return to Ireland before heading off to the states. Before he left, our dad asked Nancy to see him off. We can only imagine how devastated he was when Nancy showed up with another man.
Dad and his brothers, Owen and Mike, travelled together to the States. Arriving in Cleveland in June of 1949, they stayed with our great uncle on the eastside. There they lived until they could find a place of their own.
(Can you name the others?)
Being in a new country did not dampen my dad’s or Uncle Owen’s love for football. The boys were introduced to the Cleveland GAA Club, and they found a new home to enjoy their passion.
In 1954, Martin headed back to England. This time to ask Nancy Burke to marry him. My mother said, “he never really asked me, but I knew what he came for.”
Before coming back to Cleveland, they returned home to Ireland to see family. Later that year they were married in Cleveland. Martin and Nancy settled in East Cleveland, where they had their first two children, Kevin and Patricia (Tish).
After migrating to the westside, Marty, Jay and Stephen were born. Sundays with the Lowry’s were spent at Gunning field watching Gaelic football. This is where Kevin, Marty, Jay and Stephen came to love the sport, as our dad did. They played throughout their teens and young adult lives.
Not to be left out, I made one hell of a cheerleader. Now the next generation of Lowry’s have taken up the sport. Unfortunately, he never got to meet most of his grandchildren, but I know he is beaming with great pride on how it all turned out.
What a great legacy our dad has left and continues to be created! Unbeknownst to many, our dad belonged to the Irish Musicians Association (IMA). Dad, accomplished on the accordion, would attend or even host the IMA meetings.
You never saw him playing at an event, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. One year while visiting Ireland, he bought a mouth organ. Occasionally he would be caught laying back making wonderful music.
Our dad was a man of few words. But we quickly learned by his actions what he intended to convey. Over the years we have learned of countless occasions where our dad would quietly show up at a friend’s house to lend a hand, fix something, or just bring food. Our dad was an honest, determined and loyal man.
Whether through his hard work, his love of Gaelic football or the tunes he played when no one was watching, he was a man of many facets who left an indelible mark on those around him. We were so blessed to have had him as our father and we know that his legacy will live on in our hearts and in the hearts of many friends and football players.
