This Memorial weekend saw another chapter in the remarkable story of how Gaelic games on American college campuses have become the latest "prairie fire" in the GAA's history. Teams from as far afield as Cal and the University of Montana made the trip to New York where a total of seven hurling teams and five football teams assembled to determine the fourth national college hurling championship and the first national college Gaelic football championship.

Hurling: Football:
University of California, Berkeley (Cal)
University of Montana
Indiana University
University of Pittsburgh
Iona/Kean (joint team from New York)
St Thomas Aquinas College, New York
University of Connecticut Iona
Kean
Boston College
Manhattan College
St Joseph's University, Philadelphia

The number of teams represents a quadrupling in size for the now four year-old competition, and more than one field was required for the first time. Paddy's Field in Woodlawn was called into play along with Gaelic Park, with the New York GAA community throwing their weight behind the venture to put on a grand show. A total of 39 games were played over two days, with Gaelic Park's famous pitch hosting two seven-a-side football games at once while the hurlers battled it out on the full size field at Woodlawn on the Saturday, with everyone decamping to Gaelic Park on the Sunday afternoon.

The fifteen hurling group games saw a few one-sided affairs but also some epic and close tussles. The Montana Grizzlies, a new club at the University of Montana which has been generating a lot of local attention in the area, emerged as by far the strongest team with only the University of Connecticut and St Thomas Aquinas able to challenge them for supremacy. The Grizzlies have burst onto the scene in the last twelve months thanks to a few Irish students appearing on that campus from Ireland as part of the Fulbright program and getting hurling established there.

By Sunday Cal had already qualified for the semi-finals by guaranteeing a spot in the top four with a last-minute game winning goal against Pittsburgh, but had to play against St Thomas Aquinas to avoid Montana in the semis. In a testy and heated encounter, St Thomas Aquinas prevailed and the stage was set for a dramatic end to the competition. Montana swept away a valiant but outgunned challenge from Cal in their semi final, and UConn faced San Thomas Aquinas in a tight and tough game that had NCGAA officials clarifying contingency plans for the event of a tie. UConn got a last minute point that seemed to seal the deal, but in the dying seconds conceded a penalty in their own goal mouth that was converted to a goal putting St Thomas into the final.

During the spectacular hurling grand finale, the raucous crowd rallied behind Montana who had won the respect and the hearts of everyone throughout the weekend. St Thomas looked dangerously close to pulling an upset by the interval, trailing by only four points, but Montana had come too far to take their foot off the pedal. The Grizzlies kept up the pressure with a clean and skillful game scoring 1-6 to stretch their lead out to 3-10 to 2-4 by the final whistle. Captain and club founder Naoise Waldron delivered an eloquent acceptance speech mostly as Gaeilge after being presented with the cup donated by San Francisco GAA's Seamus Canning and medals donated by the Irish Deputy Consul General in New York, Peter Ryan.

Iona v Manhattan College in the football finalThe football competition was another impressive showcase for the distinctly American flavor of Gaelic football that has been emerging in the last decade. The basketball skills of the New York college teams were very much in evidence, indicating a playing membership that has predominantly played in the New York GAA's very successful Minor program. Since Gaelic Park is part of the Manhattan College campus, the Manhattan College team had a home advantage in the final against Iona. In a tight game played in searing heat, extra time had to be played in which Iona squeezed in a last minute point to secure their place in the history books.

Considering that the previous year's competition was contested by only three hurling teams and no football teams, this year's quadrupling in size is a major development. Simon Gillespie, the New York GAA's Games Development Administrator and Chairman of the Northeast Collegiate GAA, hailed the event as the highlight of his four years of working in his role. "The collegiate sector is the cutting edge of games development," he said. "It is the part of the GAA in the USA that has the biggest potential."

Eamonn Gormley, NCGAA Chairman, hailed Gillespie's work. "Simon has taken the bull by the horns and shown great leadership in running our regional committee in the Northeast," he said. "He has energized these startup clubs with a regular program of local games, and now has taken the nationals to the next level. All weekend we have been discussing tactics about where to go next, and we have big plans to consolidate our presence and expand our games onto even more campuses."

He added that the divisions between New York and the rest of the country at club level in the GAA must be overcome. "There is no business case for New York being isolated from the rest of the country. We have seen what can be achieved with greater cooperation between New York and the North American Board at youth level through the Continental Youth Championships, and now also at collegiate level through the NCGAA. The concept is proven. I would hope that the NACB and New York GAA authorities see the benefits of closer cooperation and work to heal the divisions that in my opinion have stifled the growth of Gaelic games in this country."

Photography by Jerry Hess. Tweet

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