Irish historical recognition for Polo Grounds site

April 15, 2015

The famed Polo Grounds where Cavan defeated Kerry in the 1947 All Ireland final.

The famed Polo Grounds site where the 1947 All-Ireland football final was played is set to be preserved as a listed Irish historical site by the authorities in New York.

The Anglo Celt reports that the site of the final in which the Breffni County famously overcame Kerry by 2-11 to 2-7 is now a housing project at 155th in Harlem, close to Yankee Stadium.

All that remains is a plaque on a wall which marks the location of the old stadium but there is no reference to the 1947 decider.

Connie O'Reilly, who owns a number of bars in New York and was one of the driving forces behind Cavan's recent visit for the Mick Higgins Memorial series, told The Anglo-Celt: "Because the All-Ireland was played there in 1947 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the famine, that's a very significant part of our history and Cavan's as well.

"We won the game, we were underdogs and it's an All-Ireland that's still talked about 68 years later.

"When Cavan return to New York I would like to unveil the plaque to commemorate that. And we'll work with Aogan O Fearghail and New York GAA and the Kerry GAA to make it happen.

"We need this, we're not going to lose anything. We need to make that mark - this is ours, this is who we are.

"I've already had two people call me from City Hall saying 'Yes, we'll do it'. It's hugely important to Cavan but it's also important to Irish culture in general."


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