Midwest Gaelic Athletic Association

USGAA News

More news out of the Men’s Junior Football All-County Team as Brian Kennedy of the Shannon Blues (Boston) takes the helm as 2026 Manager. His full management team will be announced in the coming months. Cheers to Aidan Corr and Louie Bradley (both Delco Gaels, Philadelphia), who stepped down as head coaches, for their service to the county and the success of the program so far.

Midwest Finals

The games did not disappoint at every level up in Buffalo over the August 2-3 weekend. The first championship final of the weekend pitted familiar foes; the Cleveland Lady Saints and Pittsburgh Na Laochra.

Cleveland looked well in control through three quarters of the camogie match, but the Pittsburgh warriors battled back to win by one point. A last minute, long free by Cleveland to level the sides sailed wide of the posts. Na Laochra triumphed 2-5 (11) to 2-4 (10) to be crowned Midwest Camogie Champions.

Saturday also included two matches to decide the Midwest representatives for the USGAA Finals. For Junior B Hurling, the Cleveland Saints faced the Pittsburgh Pucas, and for Junior C Football, Buffalo Na Fianna faced the Detroit Wolfe Tones.

The Pucas managed the game well and stayed on top to finish 4-22 (34) to 3-15 (24), getting revenge on Cleveland’s win last year.  Closing out the day Saturday with many Buffalo locals, Detroit travelers, and players still at the pitch; Na Fianna and Detroit traded blows for most of the match. The finishing of Na Fianna proved the difference as they bested the Michiganders 1-11 (14) to 1-8 (11).

Sunday funday started with the men’s junior teams, football and hurling, competing for the D-level representation bids to the USGAA finals. For football, the best of the north met the best of the south in the Buffalo Fenians versus Pittsburgh Celtics (second team). Although there were several moments of brilliance from the Fenians, the Celtics’ year long competition internally with their first team showed through. The final: 4-12 (24) to 1-4 (7).

For hurling, another second team in the Pittsburgh Pucas squad faced the defending Albany Rebels. The Rebels were notably down a top player who was on a red card suspension from Saturday. The match remained tight, but the Pucas B-siders won out, 5-11 (26) to 4-8 (20).

Staying with hurling, the Midwest Junior Championship saw the Puca A-siders face Roc City. The Pucas confirmed their Junior B status over Roc’s Junior C with a dominating 0-0 (0) to 3-6 (15) performance.

The ladies’ football Junior C USGAA bid, and Midwest Junior Cup was on the line between the Cleveland Saints and the Pittsburgh Banshees. For Cleveland, the goals came early, and steady points came late.

Despite the initial deficit, the Banshees always felt like they were in striking distance to regain the game (perhaps that’s just the Cleveland pro-sports mentality in this writer). The Saints held on with a final score of 4-7 (19) to 2-5 (11) and prevented a clean sweep by the Pittsburgh clubs.

To finish the weekend, Cleveland and Buffalo Na Fianna squared off in the men’s Junior Football Cup. Cleveland opened strong, but Na Fianna never went away and nearly took control after a purple patch of scores in the second half. Cleveland did hold on to claim the cup by the score of 2-13 (19) to 1-11 (14).

On a special note, the men’s football final was refereed by Mr. Conor Hawkins of Buffalo, who announced he will be stepping away from the whistle after many, many years of service. Hawkins has supported the GAA in Buffalo, the Midwest, and the USGAA and will continue to do so. His on-the-field labor will be missed. Ádh mor leis an t-am soar.

Championship Schedule

For all you Cleveland fans, the camógs play at 7:30 AM Friday against an amalgamated team of Coastal Virginia and Richmond (Mid-Atlantic Division). Immediately following, the men’s football team takes on Los San Patricios de Ciudad de Mexico at 8:55 AM. At 2:30 PM the lady footballers face the Tacoma Rangers. All matches are quarter finals.

The USGAA has also provided an update on the Championship Cup names. The names are updated every few years on a rotational basis. This year, the Junior A Men’s Football cup is in memoriam of Coleman Lydon (Galway and Boston), the Intermediate Men’s Football cup is in memoriam of Liam Hegarty (Kells and Philadelphia/Delco), and the Junior B Ladies’ Gaelic Football Cup is in memoriam of Mike Moriarty (Tralee and San Francisco).

When asked for comment on the naming of cups,  “Each of these members served our Association in different but important ways.” said John O’Brien, one

of the founding members of North American County Board in 1959. “Our goal in 1959 was to create a structure that brought all GAA people under the one umbrella. This then led to the emergence of events like this coming weekend’s USGAA Finals, where teams from each corner of the US compete for a National Championship.”

This year’s USGAA Finals will see 110 teams compete in over one hundred full-sided championship games for twenty-two national titles across all four codes of our games.

Midwest Youth

Our Midwest youth players attended the Continental Youth Championships in Chicago for four days of football, hurling, and camogie (July 24 to July 27). More than half the players were experiencing their first CYC.

Although largely amalgamated with San Francisco and Chicago teams, the Midwest players brought a high standard and contributed mightily to their teams. At the U12 level, they rallied under the Cleveland Saints banner to represent the division out right.

The Midwesterners and their San Francisco cohorts managed to bring home a few runner-ups and one championship medal. Congratulations all. The division is looking forward to next year in Philadelphia and strong, wholly Midwest teams to continue the growth.

On a quick turnaround from the CYC’s a week later, the Division arranged for youth games at the Midwest Finals in Buffalo. With massive help from the visiting Toronto Michael Davitt’s club, full rounds of matches and a final were held for the combined u8/u10 level and for the combined u12/u14 level. Each group had three teams for football.

The Davitts largely split their forces to accommodate players from Akron, Cleveland, Detroit, and offspring of the adult games. At the older level, the Pittsburgh Youth came in full force to win the football championship while the Davitt’s took the younger level hardware. A longer game of hurling was held between two combined teams at each age group after lunch.

The Midwest Finals Youth games were a success in bringing those clubs and players who missed the CYC’s into some meaningful games and solidified the division’s relationship with the neighboring clubs in Toronto.

Next up will be the Great Lakes Tournament – Detroit Games on September 20^th. Teams are already confirmed from Akron, Cleveland, the Chicago clubs, Toronto Chieftains, and Toronto Davitts to join the host. The tournament continues to grow by exponentially through the support of the USGAA and the Global Games Development Fund (a partnership between the GAA and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade).

Cleveland St. Pat’s / St. Jarlath’s GAA

The club golf outing is set! Visit the clevelandGAA.com website for more information about the September 13^th shotgun outing and dinner at Grey Hawk in LaGrange.

Anniversary Celebration and end-of-year banquet is set for October 11^th 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 10^th 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.

I gCuimhne

Many readers from Cleveland and around the Midwest will remember Malachy Higgins.  Malachy served on the USGAA Board (NACB) for many years, helping our local clubs at the national level, in addition to his service to the Western Division, Youth leagues, and his local club.  Malachy passed away peacefully on August 9^th after a brave battle with cancer.  Ar dheas Dé go raibh a anam.

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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