Midwest Gaelic Athletic Association
USGAA News
As you may have read last month, the USGAA all-county junior men’s football team fell by one point to the back-to-back champions, New York (Nua Eabhrac). New York went on to beat Warwickshire in Abbottstown by the score of 2-12 (18) to 1-11 (14) on Friday, July 11th. The same evening, London beat Kilkenny by a goal, 1-17 (20) to 0-17 (17), putting London back into the Final.
As the opener to the All Ireland Men’s Senior Football semi-final between Meath and Donegal, New York was once again pitted against London. In a back-and-forth match, London scored an early goal, but New York battled back with Brian Coughlan scoring seven of his game total nine points in the first half. New York went to the dressing rooms at halftime with a two-point lead, 0-12 (12) to 1-7 (10).
In the second half, New York opened with seven of the first eight scores, but London battled back with the last four scores of the game. The late surge was too little too late and New York held on to become the first three-peat champion of the All Ireland Junior Football Championship.
Midwest Finals
Reminder, the Midwest Finals will be in Buffalo on the August 2nd, and 3rd weekend at the West Seneca Soccer Complex, 3747 Seneca Street, West Seneca, New York. Games will begin at 9AM on Saturday and run into the early evening.
Championship and shield matches will take place on Sunday as well. Youth teams are also working to host a blitz of games or clinics on Saturday for new and current players. It looks to be a busy weekend in Buffalo as the Irish Festival (at River Fest Park) is also on.
Midwest News
Games continued in June and July as we pick up from last month’s update through June 14th. The Buffalo Fenians fell to the hosting Syracuse Gaels in men’s football on June 21st by a final of 0-11 (11) to 2-12 (18). But the following weekend, they bounced back when they hosted the Albany Rebels, tallying 2-11 (17) to 1-3 (6).
Photos courtesy of Tom Ginley
In hurling on June 21st, Cleveland hosted a blitz with Michigan Hurling (new this year) and Akron. The Saints tied Akron 3-11 (20) to 4-8 (20) and beat Michigan 4-12 (24) to 2-4 (10). Akron also prevailed over the Michiganders 2-8 (14) to 1-2 (5). The Saints’ A-side hosted the Pucas of Pittsburgh the following weekend, but fell 2-11 (17) to 5-22 (37) with the brunt of scores coming from Commercial Hurling’s (Dublin) Shane Clohessy on sanction.
June 28th saw Detroit host Cincinnati in men’s football in Livonia, and Roc City host Syracuse. In Michigan, a few goals reportedly made the contest appear more lopsided than the competition – the Wolfe Tones 3-15 (24) to Cincinnati 0-08 (8). Meanwhile, the upstate New York match-up was tighter, with Roc City edging out the Gaels with a final 1-10 (13) to 1-8 (11).
And, also on June 28th, the camógs lined out in Cleveland for the first of two matchups: the Saints versus Na Laochra of Pittsburgh. As they say, goals win games, and the Warriors edged out the hosts 3-3 (12) to 2-3 (9). The sides meet again in Pittsburgh, on July 26th.
There are several important matchups left across all codes that will impact the seeding for the Midwest Finals. With the Midwest Division sending several teams in different codes and grades to the USGAA Finals in Philadelphia, the Midwest Finals will feature several matchups to determine the representative. Unlike college football, if you cannot win your division in the Midwest GAA, you are not eligible to win a national title.
Midwest Youth
Esther Shiner Civic Center (North York). It ended up being a tough weekend for Midwest youth teams to travel, but several Cleveland families made the trip to join the hosting Toronto Chieftains’ and the local Toronto Michael Davitt’s.
The author does not have the full report of games, but the Clevelanders found their way into the U14 hurling final after beating Davitt’s 5-3 and falling to the Chieftains 3-6. On a tiebreaker, the Saints faced off again against the Chieftains. This time, Cleveland was victorious in overtime! Congratulations to all the players, coaches, and volunteers on another successful Great Lakes Tournament. Many thanks to the hosts, Toronto.
The Midwest clubs focus the month of July on the CYC’s (Continental Youth Championships not Cleveland Yacht Club). Under eight through under sixteen players from Akron, Cleveland, and Detroit are predominantly amalgamated with San Francisco GAA for all codes. With San Francisco being from the Western Division, the cry for ‘up the west’ rings true for both divisions at the tournament.
The Pittsburgh Youth GAA are now re-organized and were back to football training on Graham Field (1125 Princeton Blvd) and Keystone Oaks (1000 Kelton Ave) on alternating weeks. Contact YouthChairperson@pittsburghGAA.com if you are in the area and want to get involved. This is a huge revelation for the Midwest Youth Division as Pittsburgh has played an especially important role in the development of the division’s youth programs.
Cleveland St. Pat’s / St. Jarlath’s GAA
All codes are in contention for the USGAA Finals. The camogie team has an automatic bid at the Junior B level, but the ladies’ (Junior C) and men’s footballers (Junior B) plus the hurlers (Junior B) must win spots by beating the competition at the Midwest Finals in Buffalo.
The club golf outing is set! Visit clevelandGAA.com for more information about the September 13th shotgun outing and dinner at Grey Hawk in LaGrange.
Anniversary Celebration and end-of-year banquet is set for October 11th at the West Side Irish American Club. More details to follow, but all alumni and supporters are welcome to attend. There will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of St. Jarlath’s GFC’s first national championship (2005) and the 10th anniversary of St. Pat’s GFC’s long-awaited national championship (2015), in addition to the year’s accomplishments, stand-out players, and (le cunamh Dé) another national title. Cleveland Abú.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
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 U.S. 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.
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or visit ClevelandGAA.com. Email ClevelandGAA@gmail.com.
