By Jenny Scary
When Micheal Cusack started the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) on November 1st, 1884, it was a place where all men, rich or poor, could play hurling. Women did not have a place in the GAA at the time due to societal norms, but that didn’t stop them from wanting to play.
Irish women, never content to be sidelined, begin playing the sport informally locally, but that wasn’t enough. Between 1903 and 1905, the game of camogie was invented by Máire Ní Chinnéide, Cáit Ní Dhonnchadha and Tadhg Ó Donnchadha.
The name comes from the word caman, which is the Irish word for the stick used in the game. The ladies originally used a shorter stick (camog) than the men, and the game has different rules than hurling. In 1904, the Camogie Association was founded, and it’s been “game on” ever since, with over 100,000 women playing world-wide.
Some of those women are in the United States Midwest Division, where we currently have two camogie teams: Na Laochra Camogie Club Pittsburgh and Cleveland St. Pat’s St. Jarlath’s GAA.
Three of our ladies from the Midwest (Emily Earnest and Kate O’Meara, Pittsburgh and Nikki Kovick, Cleveland) recently were honored to attend “Caman to Carnew” in Ireland, where they played matches with the Carnew and Glenmore camogie clubs. The ladies had a great time and were wonderful representatives for the Midwest. The ladies were also in Ireland for the historic vote by the Camogie Association, which addressed and voted overwhelming, by 98%, to let ladies wear either skorts or athletic shorts on the pitch.
Camogie 360
Earlier in the spring, ladies from all over the country went to Camogie 360. Camogie 360 is a development workshop organized by the USGAA Camogie Development Committee. The first Camogie 360 was developed and hosted by Cleveland and the Midwest Division with help from Colm Egan, John Young and Damon Margida.
This spring, Pittsburgh hosted the event and over 100 athletes from across the United States traveled to learn about the game of Camogie and develop their skills. This event has grown enormously since the inaugural year in 2021.
The Camogie 360 development weekend was accessible and valuable to players of all skill levels. Ladies from the Akron Celtic Guards Hurling and Camogie Club attended, with players varying in experience from 5-15 years, as well as a few new recruits experiencing the game for the very first time.
The Akron Celtic Guards Hurling and Camogie Club is currently a co-ed club with our female players training with the men’s team and filling out their squad at times for tournaments. Due to USGAA and GAA guidelines, women and men cannot play together for sanctioned matches. Akron ladies currently team up with Na Laochra Camogie Club in Pittsburgh and Cleveland St. Pat’s St. Jarlath’s GAA, Cleveland.
Events like Camogie 360 give players from growing clubs like Akron the incredible experience of playing the game of Camogie with a full team. A huge thanks to the members of the USGAA Camogie Development Committee for organizing this event.
If you’d like to try camogie:
* the Akron Celtic Guards practice Wednesdays at 6:30 PM and Saturdays at 10 AM at Goodyear Heights MetroPark Eastwood Ballfields 1950 Eastwood Avenue Akron, Ohio. Like us on Facebook and visit our webpage: Akron Celtic Guards.
* Cleveland: Follow @ClevelandGaelic on Facebook, Instagram, X, or visit ClevelandGAA.com. Email ClevelandGAA@gmail.com
* Pittsburgh Instagram: (@na_laochra) and nalaochracamogie.com/
