By Vincent Beach
Men’s, Women’s, Youth Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie Open to all this summer
USGAA News
The USGAA County Junior A football team is down to the final selections. The team will travel to Ireland for the tournament. Competing teams are Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kilkenny, Lancashire, London, New York, Scotland, Warwickshire, Yorkshire, and USGAA.
Last year’s competition saw New York beat Kilkenny by the score of 0-13 (13) to 1-09 (12). Our USGAA team includes players from Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, and San Francisco, with leadership coming from manager Aidan Corr (Delco Gaels) and trainer Louie Bradley (Delco Gaels), as well as selectors Martin Kerr (Boston), James Staunton (Chicago), and Ollie McIlhone (San Francisco).
Chairing the committee to make the County team a reality is John Young (Pittsburgh Celtics). Special congratulations to Patrick Newell of Detroit for making the team, and go n-éirí libh to the lads.
Midwest News
The summer schedule of games is out, and on the next page, so be sure to mark your calendars for a match near you. Games have already started in some locations with pre-season tournaments, including for Cincinnati, who traveled down to Nashville with a men’s football team and a combined Cincy-Indy ladies’ team. Ladies Gaelic football is the fastest-growing sport in Ireland and is coming on strong in the Midwest, with development sides forming in Cincinnati and Detroit to join the established sides in Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Rochester.
Cleveland St. Pat’s – St. Jarlath’s GAA
Cleveland will once again host the Memorial 7-a-Side Gaelic Football tournament for men’s and ladies’ teams. Confirmations this year include Pittsburgh Celtics, Chicago McBride’s, Buffalo Na Fianna, Toronto St. Michael’s, Detroit Wolfe Tones, Cincinnati, and Cleveland for the men, and Pittsburgh Banshees, Chicago Erin Rovers, Toronto St. Michael’s, Detroit St. Anne’s, and Cincinnati for the ladies. The adult tournament is on May 18th at the West Side Irish American Club (8559 Jenning Road, Olmsted Township, OH).
Games will begin at 9:30 AM and conclude by 6 PM. A Bario food truck will be onsite from noon to 7 PM and the WSIA bar will be open from 2 PM to 9 PM. After the awards presentation in the pavilion, Cleveland GAA’s official trad band, Full 90, will entertain the sweaty, dirty crowd until disbursement.
This year Cleveland has added a youth football and hurling tournament as part of the weekend. On Sunday, May 19th, once again at the West Side Irish American Club, youth players ages U6 through U16 will compete. Confirmed clubs include Akron, Chicago Celtics, Chicago Limerick, Chicago St. Jarlath’s, Detroit Harps, and the Toronto Chieftains to join the hosting Cleveland Saints. Games will begin at 10 AM and conclude around 3 PM.
Come on out to support the teams, Gaelic games, and Irish culture. Youth registration remains open to all new players – visit clevelandgaa.com/youth.
Cleveland Memorial 7’s i cuisine
This year we remember George Dunne, Senior. In doing so with each dedication, we also remember and recognize that the GAA is more than a game, it is both a community and a family – often literally, including and touching the lives of whole families. The Dunne family shares a familiar story, and that sharing of the familiar story enriches and unites the community.
These stories tell of growing up around the GAA from a young age, because of the involvement of parents, aunts, or uncles; watching games, playing with other GAA’ers, and tagging along to socials until it was their turn to take the field. With that we thank the Dunne family for their continued support, and more importantly, their continued involvement with the Cleveland GAA.
It is families like this that perpetuate and grow the Association, Gaelic games, and Irish culture for the next generation of young players to someday do the same – for that, we owe gratitude as well as comradery. Go raibh maith agaibh, a chlann Ó Dúinn.
George Dunne Sr.
His daughter, Annie
I would like to thank the Cleveland GAA Memorial 7’s committee for selecting my father, George Dunne, to be honored this year. We lost my father on November 21st, 2004, which will be 20 years this year. Hard to believe, I still hear his laugh and see his smile.
Dad was born May 4th, 1941 in Ballinabranna, County Carlow, Ireland. At seven years old, he moved to Arlis, County Laois, along with his mother, father, sister Nancy Pender, and brother, Robin (Tom) Dunne, where he began playing Gaelic football.
At age 13, he left school to work on the family farm, as many did at that time. He continued to play football for Carlow, but eventually went back to Laois as a teenager and played for their Senior team in the late 1950s, where they won many championships.
My dad and mom, Sadie, were married in 1961 and lived on the farm until they moved to Cleveland in 1965, along with myself and my brother John. Three more children were born shortly after, George (deceased), David, and Tom.
Upon arriving in Cleveland, he stayed with his sister Nancy and her husband Bill Pender. My parents eventually rented a home on Bosworth Avenue, where we joined St. Ignatius Parish and became members of the West Side Irish American Club on Madison Avenue. They purchased their first home on West 136th St and became members of St Vincent de Paul Church.
Our family moved to a lovely home on West 137th Street in 1972, where we all grew up, with great memories. It was a nice Irish community with the Masterson, McBride, Mayer, and Sheehan families – what a street it was!! Their final home was in North Olmsted in Asbury Park.
When I think of my father, I think of his laugh, his smile, and the way his eyes would light up when he walked into a room and saw his family and/or his friends. He loved people. His work ethic was legendary, his strong handshake, and the way he hugged you and maybe even kissed you!
My dad was so physically strong and at the same time had a soft heart, especially with his grandchildren. I have fond memories of dinners with the family at the kitchen table in our home. We all talked about our day, our week, school (not always the best topic), football, or baseball.
Mom always made extra food because you never knew if Dad was walking in the door with someone or even a band that had played locally at the Three Leaf Shamrock Tavern, which they owned at the time. If we were lucky, we would be treated to a sing-song after dinner. The neighbors would even join in occasionally. They loved us on W. 137.
The way the story goes, he arrived in Cleveland on a Friday night and was playing that Sunday with St. Pat’s football club. The team won the North American Championship that year (1965) and the following year as well. He continued to play with St Pat’s until the late 1980s.
Dad was a strong player and always had his teammate’s back – with authority. Our family lived at Gunning Field every Sunday for games. He loved playing the game.
Dad not only excelled at Gaelic Football, but many other sports as well: including Hurling, Broom Hockey, handball, darts, and golf (known for playing golf with his left hand when he was right-handed). He was known to be – one of the best in all sports he played – a true athlete.
Dad had several jobs before joining the Laborers Local 310 in April 1973 and retired after 25 years in May 1998. He worked hard as a laborer and was very proud of his union membership.
Not only did Dad work as a laborer, but he also did landscaping, snow plowing, waterproofing, and cement work. He was a master of several trades.
My parents owned the Three Leaf Shamrock on Lorain Road from 1973 to 1978. Irish bands played quite often, or you might hear Al O’Leary or Frank Barrett playing the fiddle or accordion. You never knew when someone, including my dad, would sing an Irish song or a waltz would be danced.
The bar is now called The Pride of Erin, owned by Jimmy Campbell. I work there now as well. Talk about coming full circle.
Dad worked and played hard; he loved life. He loved his Irish heritage and never let us forget where we came from. We enjoyed many trips to Ireland to visit family.
We learned Irish songs and dances, marched in the St Patrick\’s Day Parade, and spent a lot of Saturday nights at the West Side Irish American Club at dances. The friends we met there are still the friends we have today. He left behind memories and a legacy we are all so proud of and have passed down our Irish roots to the family he left behind: Sadie, his wife of 40 years, his five children, twelve grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren. We all strive to make him as proud of us as we are of him.
Finally, Sláinte to the Cleveland GAA 7’s Memorial committee for keeping the memories of the players of the past alive, they made Gaelic football in Cleveland what it is today. I am proud to be a part of this celebration and hope to continue – far into the future.
Is mise le meas,
Annie Dunne.
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 the 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.
Follow @ClevelandGaelic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the 2022 activities for Men, Women, and Youth, or visit ClevelandGAA.com. Email: [email protected].
Read more of Vince’s Taking the Fields of Glory columns HERE!
Vincent Beach
*V*Vincent Thomas Francis Xavier Beach is a proud Greater Clevelander and emigrant of Michigan (GO BLUE!). He joined the St. Pat’s Gaelic Football Club in 1999 and, with much help, is the current caretaker of the Cleveland St. Pat’s – St. Jarlath’s GAA. His Irish is a cross of dialects from the University of Cincinnati (suaimhneas síoraí d’anam Edgar Slotkin) and An Cheathrú Rua.
With his wife, Michelle, he enjoys watching time fly by as their three children grow. His other hustles are coaching CYO basketball at St. Mary of Berea, coaching soccer in Olmsted TWP, teaching Construction Management at CWRU, and laying down some engineering skills on local water/wastewater projects. His 1912 farmhouse and twelve darling hens beg for attention.
