Indy Hurling showing how it's done at the Super Bowl Village on Capitol Street in Downtown, Indianapolis last night Tues, 31, 2012. Go INDY!

GaelicSportsCast goes live to the Super Bowl Village in Downtown Indianapolis.

It’s a fantastic night for the Indy Hurling club and the sport of hurling tonight as the game is showcased to thousands of Super Bowls fans at the Super Bowl Village.

Indy hurling is putting on a great show with basic drills and a hitting cage and football fans of all ages are having a go.

GaelicSportsCast catches the excitement when talking with club PRO, Kyle Keesling ….

Listen here:  8:12

The event takes place on Tuesday,  January 31st,  at the Super Bowl Village in Downtown Indianapolis.
GO INDY!

NOTE: Watch out for GaelicSportsCast preview of the event this weekend when chatting with the Indy club.

Listen here: 30:41

Music:  Militaire Electronic; Wallpaper and Cipher by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
and, music also by John McCartan and Lunasa.

Have a Great New Year in 2012  listeners and website visitors.

And, lots of exciting new plans for early 2012 with new programme style, content ….and delivery on the way. More on this in the coming weeks……2012 is going to be a brave new world for GaelicSportsCast!

Also in the loop Podcasts from Tennessee and Portland Maine.

Gaelic Football coaching app to be launched in December by Elevate Sports Solutions.

The world of coaching and performance analysis is becoming an increasing feature of Gaelic Sports across Ireland and on the international GAA scene.

Coaches are putting a huge amount of time and effort into the development of teams and athletes and a new company, Elevate Sports Solutions based in Derry, Northern Ireland, this December is launching a unique set of coaching tools and services that could well have a significant impact on the development of coaching Gaelic Sports.

Elevate Sports Solutions is set to launch next week the first of two resources for coaches – Gaelic Football Coaching Cards, and one of the first of its kind in the world of GAA – Gaelic Football Coaching Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.
The company also specializes in fundamentals, coaching strategies and offers an Elite Level Performance Analysis service.

In this podcast, GaelicSportsCast talks to two of the people behind Elevate Sports Solutions, former Derry footballer, Jonathon Bradley and hurler and footballer, Donal Leahy.

Listen here: 33:11

For more information go to  http://www.elevatesports.co.uk

Action from the St Mikes (back & white) and St Vincents game. (Photo courtesy of Toronto GAA).

Last Sunday in Toronto turned out to be a great day for the St Mikes GAA club as they scored success in all three of this year’s league finals at Centennial Park.

There was never any doubt about the result in the mens football league final where ‘Mikes ran out comfortable 10 point winners.  The result meant that the winners put paid to rivals St Vincents ambitions of overturning the recent championship final loss to the same opposition.

A well prepared and very fit  ‘Mikes hit the ground running and never let up all through. They lead by 1-7 to 0-3 at half time with the goal coming from corner forward Karl Foley.
St Mikes maintained their intensity throughout the second period and well on top they ran out easy winners [15] 1-12 to [5] 0-5.
‘Vincents never really looked like they could turn things around only managing a brace of points in the second half.

So St Mikes seniors add the league title to their recent championship success to crown off a great season.

Toronto GAA PRO, Ross McElhone said, “St Mikes fully deserved the win and are the best team here in the city and set the marker for others to aim.”

St Mikes captain, Barry Connolly who won an All Ireland junior club medal (2008) with Moycullen, Co Galway, and who has played with the Toronto side on and off over the last 5 years, spoke of his delight to be part of the squad.
“St Mikes are a great club and it is a huge honor to play for them. There is some great people in the club and great history. It’s different from a club at home as there is always new people coming into it and so is vibrant with new challenges from year to year.”

In the Intermediate League Final, it was the case of another championship final rematch this time between, St Mikes and Brampton.

In the recent championship decider, Brampton got the better of the Toronto side but it was no such luck on Sunday as ‘Mikes turned the tables with a [21] 2-15 to [16] 2-10 victory.
This one was intense from the off with each side going point for point in the early stages. St Mikes lead at the break and managed to maintain that edge in the second period before going on to win by five points.

Unfortunately there was no Ladies League Final as championship winners Durham, being depleted numbers wise, were unable to field
a team and this meant that victory was awarded to St Mikes and another trophy for the club – their fourth out of a total of six.

Looking back on the year, the Toronto PRO noted that it was a good season with many positives.
“It has been a successful season. You had Toronto Gaels there who were on the brink of extinction last year but were able to turn it around this year. They were very prominent in the championship and indeed in the intermediate as well where they kept things going throughout the whole season. As well as that, it was great to see Brampton picking up the Intermediate championship. They have been working very hard over the last couple of years.
“And, it was fantastic that we had the second league (intermediate) this year. The numbers were there for that and this is a great boost for GAA here in Toronto,” stated McElhone.

(Feedback in podcast interview with Ross and Barry, affected sound quality and so unfortunately no podcast with this post. Apologies.).

Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic, London GAA after a break last weekend, swings back into action with some very exciting games down for decision.

On Saturday at Ruislip, the main focus will be on the replay of the London Intermediate Football Championship, between Heston Gaels and Round Towers, while on Sunday all eyes will be on the semi finals of the London Senior Hurling Championship with 2010 champions, Kilburn Gaels against Robert Emmetts followed by last year’s runner’s up Sean Treacys taking on St Gabriels at Ruislip.

London GAA Championship

Saturday, Sept 24, 2011 @ Ruislip
London Intermediate Football Championship Final (replay)

3.00 Heston Gaels v Round Towers

Sunday, Sept 25 2011 @ Ruislip
London Senior Hurling Championship Semi Finals

2.30 Kilburn Gaels v Robert Emmetts
4.00 St Gabriels v Sean Treacys

San Francisco GAA had the honor of hosting this year’s Nationals where over three days from Sept 2-4 at their new facilities at Treasure Island, teams from all across America and Canada gathered for men’s and ladies’ football, hurling, and camogie competition in an impressive 95 games.

In Podcast 1 we look back on all the action with Northeast GAA PRO, Rory O’Donnell and Canada GAA Secretary, John O’Flynn, who give their perspective on their respective regions and teams performances.

25:15

In Podcast 2 coming up later, North American GAA PRO, Tim Flanagan gives us a rundown on all the championship action.

2011 NACB Finals Results

The event is being hosted this year by San Francisco GAA at their new facility, Pairc na nGael at Treasure Island and over the next three days some 85 teams from all across America will be joined by their neighbors, Canada for a festival of hurling, mens football, ladies football and camogie.

In today’s podcast we take a look at the representation from Canada when talking with Canada GAA Secretary, John Flynn , and also chat with North American GAA PRO, Tim Flanagan about the event, the teams and what it means for participants.

Listen here: 20:19

When it looked like ‘Vincents had done enough and would win the day, a late flourish by ‘Mikes pushed the game to Over Time and from there the champions never looked back.

In the ladies championship decider, the crowd enjoyed another thrilling match that saw Durham edge out St Mikes by the minimum, while in the Intermediate mens final, Brampton had a comfortable victory over ‘Mikes.

Here to give us team line-outs, full results, and tell us all about the finals, as well as look ahead to Toronto’s first representation in decades at the North American finals this weekend in San Francisco, is Toronto GAA PRO, Ross McElhone.

Listen here:  18:24

The two senior football championship semi finals games went ahead, however, the last intermediate semi final was disrupted by the severe weather.

In the first senior semi, St Vincents upset Durham in one of the games of the year, while in the second Toronto Gaels were no match for 2010 champions, St Mikes.

The one intermediate semi final fixture played saw Brampton beating Toronto Gaels.

Here to give us all the details of the games is Toronto GAA PRO, Ross McElhone.

20:24

Toronto GAA Championship Finals
Sunday Aug 28, Centennial Park

Senior Football Championship Final
St Mikes v St Vincents

Ladies Football Championship Final
St Mikes v Durham

Intermediate Football Championship Final
St Mikes v Brampton

Last weekend’s 3rd round of the Toronto GAA Mens Senior Football Championship at Centennial Park saw unbeaten Durham Gaels take on St Pat’s in the final game of Group A while in the other group match, Ottawa Gaels were up against St Vincents.

Durham and ‘Vincents came out trumps in their respective clashes and now go onto the semi finals where they will meet Sunday.
Unfortunately for Pat’s and Ottawa their dreams of glory in this year’s championship have come to an end.

Here to tell us about those games, the ladies action and look ahead to the semi final fixtures for Sunday is Toronto GAA PRO, Ross McElhone.

13:10

Senior Football
St Mikes V Ottawa game finished on a scoreline of [18] 2-12 to [13]1-10 in favour of St Mikes.

This result now puts St Mikes into the semi finals

The Durham V Toronto Gaels clash finished [21] 4-09 to [8] 0-08 in favour of Durham.
 
Intermediate Football
St Mikes V Toronto Gaels finished [17]2-11 to [8]1-05 in favour of St Mikes
 

NOTE: Computer issues will see no Podcasts this week but will post results where possible.
Sorry about this and hope to be back in full swing ASAP!!

This 8^th annual Continental Youth Championships (CYC) started early this morning and over the next four days will see some 100 teams from all across America, including New York and Canada with invited teams from England and Ireland all in action.

This tournament is the showpiece for underage GAA youth development in North America and will see competition in all four codes from U8 through U18.

It takes a mammoth task to organize this event each year which is expected to attract 2,000 participants and thousands of spectators to this growing tournament.

To get a feel for the scale of the four day event, we here from Boston Northeast Games Development Administrator (GDA), Mike Moynihan and Northeast GAA PRO, Rory O’Donnell.

11:46

Crest design by Ken Rea of St Vincents GAA.

Defending Toronto senior football champions, St Mikes got their championship season off to a good start on Sunday at Centennial Park in Toronto, with an impressive win over St Vincents.

These two have crossed swords many times in the past in Toronto but last weekend it was ‘Mikes who had the upper hand when running out winners by [20] 2-14 to [9] 1-6.

In the other senior opener, Toronto Gaels recorded an 8 point win over St Pats on a scoreline of [20] 2-14 to [12] 2-6.

Meanwhile in the start of the Intermediate Football Championship, it was all too easy for league leaders, Brampton in their match against ‘Vincents.

Here to give us a report on the games (named teams included) is Roscommon native and Toronto GAA PRO, Ross McElhone.

17:00

That competition saw its final round last weekend – the finals are in September - with Durham grabbing the top spot after their four point win over Toronto Gaels on Sunday. St Mikes secured the other top seed when finishing second to Durham in the league.

At the last round of the Intermediate Mens Football League, Brampton finished in pole position with St Mikes next. Meanwhile, the Ladies Football League continues at present.

Here to tell us about the final rounds, table positions, and the championship schedules is Toronto GAA PRO, Ross McElhone.

12:17

2011 Toronto GAA Mens Senior & Intermediate Championship Schedule

There are six clubs in the Toronto area – St Mikes, St Vincents, Toronto Gaels, St Pats, Durham Robert Emmets, and Brampton Roger Casements. Two other clubs also participate in the Toronto GAA  season – Ottawa, along with Buffalo Fenians who play at junior level.

Since May, the mens and ladies football leagues have been up and running at Centennial Park in the city.

Durham and St Mikes lead the way in mens senior football with last year’s league champions, St Vincents – the oldest club in Toronto – in third spot followed by Toronto Gaels, Ottawa Gaels, St Pat’s, and Brampton.

In the ladies league four teams take part and so far Durham and St Mikes look like the ones to beat.

There isn’t any hurling or camogie leagues at present but that could be rectified soon as with the large number of immigrants pouring into the city, a new hurling club has been set up and there are moves also to get Camogie off the ground.

Here to tell us all about the clubs in Toronto and how teams are going in the league, with the championship around the corner,  is Toronto GAA PRO, Roscommon native Ross McElhone.

18:00

Action from the final between winners Kilburn Gaels and Dunboyne. (Photo by John O'Loughlin).

Club managers and mentors participating in Saturday’s, inaugural Thurles Sarsfield International Hurling Festival, said that they were impressed with the organisation and future possibilities of the competition.

In this podcast, GaelicSportsCast speaks to clubs about their thoughts on this new event in Thurles.

We hear from the winning manager of Kilburn Gaels of London, Tom Bergin and Paul Reilly from runners-up, Dunboyne of Meath.

We get perspective from an American tourist and US college football coach who was at the final; listen to US Air Force Major Tim Neylon of the Lackenheath hurling club on the value of the tournament for his young all American team at Lackenheath Air Force Base in Suffolk. We hear from Naomh Moninne selector John Murphy of Louth and listen to Dee Doherty manager of the only hurling club in Derry City.

20:46

36:48

Lively debate at this year's Canada GAA AGM at Ajax, Ontario. (Photo courtesy of Canada GAA).

With some 5000 working visas expected to be issued to Irish immigrants to Canada this year, it’s no great surprise that accommodating the influx of potentially new Gaelic sports players was high on the agenda at the recent Canada GAA AGM.
The convention was held at the end of February in Ajax, Ontario, with delagates from the five provinces representing 16 clubs across 11 cities throughout this vast country.
Chairman Brian Farmer (Durham Robert Emmets) was returned as was Vice-Chairman Jarlath Connaughton (Ottawa – Gaels); Treasurer Eddie Mangan (Durham Robert Emmets); Secretary John O’Flynn (Vancouver – ISSC), and Development Officer Lorraine Morley (Toronto-Michael Cusacks Ladies GFC).

The delegates heard of a new hurling club being formed, Toronto HC but chief among the many issues brought up at convention was the number of sanctioned players allowed with any club for the season.
Here to tell us about that debate and relate the present state of Canadian GAA is re-elected secretary, John O’Flynn.

29:41

Based in Swatragh in County Derry, P O Kane Hurls is a member of the Irish Guild of Ash Hurley Makers, an elite set of 50 members who produce hurls for the top hurlers around the country and globe.

To mark the occasion, GaelicSportsCast features P O Kane Hurls in a podcast outlining the fascinating story of how Pat O Kane’s lifelong passion for hurling and camogie, steered him on retirement to begin and craft the art of hurley making.

He began by making hurls by hand for his beloved champion camogie club Swatragh but word spread of the quality of his work; demand grew and soon he was supplying hurling and camogie clubs, schools and colleges throughout Ireland and indeed to clubs worldwide.

Pat’s son Gabriel, who along with a dedicated team of staff, works with his father in the business and in this special episode of GaelicSportsCast, he tells about the process involved in making a hurl and recounts the P O Kane Hurls story.

  25:54

Western Canada GAA Chairman Ronan Deane (left) presents the winning cup to Vancouver Harp's, Mikey Hartnett. (Photo courtesy of Vancouver Harps).

The first complete Western Canada tournament to be staged in RED DEER, ALBERTA, can only be described as a resounding success.
Top-class field and facilities, responsive and welcoming hosts, and a very high standard of Gaelic Football played in lush green fields in Alberta (in August).    What more could you ask for?  OK, so the conspiracy theorists will say that the “release” of 8 billion mosquitoes in the area of the fields was a distraction that the visiting teams struggled with.  However, by all accounts, the teams from Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Vancouver are raving about their hosts, and their experiences in this latest Western Canada GAA hub.
 
The Vancouver Ladies repeated their heroics of 2008, taking both titles back over the Rockies and there were no complaints from the opposition.   The Ladies demonstrated great skills but also, keen tactical awareness, to take their 4th title in a row, and over take the Edmonton Wolfe Tones as the winning-most club in the Division.  In the mens competition, the Vancouver Harps played some great football and though the Albertan sides really put it up to them, they did enough to win the title by a commanding and deserved margin.
 
It was great to see the Lethbridge, AB, contingent in town, and their players provided great support to Red Deer Eire Og’s cause.   Red Deer were competitive in all their fixtures, and effectively ended the challenge of the spirited Vancouver Celts with their victory over the only club younger than theirs in the Western Canada Division.   Stephen Agnew produced a powerhouse display for Eire Og scoring a cracking hat-trick of goals to ensure a victory for the home side.
 
Calgary Chieftains and Edmonton Wolfe Tones renewed rivalries in the final game of the 2010 Championship with the Wolfe Tones victory providing a small consolation for the 2009 Champions.
 
Saturday night’s event at the Westerner was memorable with Sean Smith providing a brief and enlightening summary of the career of Edmonton and Co. Louth Great, Jack Bell.  Jack, a stalwart of the Wolfe Tones, died in March 2010, and the Gaelic community in Western Canada will miss his presence. The Bell family were on hand to accept from the Canadian County Board’s secretary, John O’Flynn, a Louth jersey in commemoration of his services to the County.
 
A special presentation was also made by John O’Flynn to the Lavery and Lynch families of Red Deer in recognition of their efforts in founding a GAA club in Red Deer. A recently published book called Lest We Forget that chronicles the lives of the seven founders of the GAA in Ireland and in particular, Joseph P. Ryan who is buried in Cranbrook BC, was presented to each family amid grateful applause.

Germaine Gibbons presents the Tom Gibbon’s Memorial trophy to the Vancouver Harps’ Ladies captain, Helen Keohane. (Photo courtesy of Vancouvers Harps).

Later in the evening, Germaine Gibbons was on hand to present the Tom Gibbon’s Memorial trophy to the Vancouver Harps’ Ladies captain, Helen Keohane.  Germaine’s husband and the late Tom Gibbon’s son, Liam Gibbons, sadly, passed away last winter. Liam’s vibrant personality will be fondly remembered by all who knew him in Vancouver.
 
Sunday’s fixtures were playedin brilliant sunshine and again the Battle of Alberta, between Calgary and Edmonton, produced a cracking tussle.   Even a score-board malfunction couldn’t deny a rejuvenated Chieftain team, and they produced the goals that mattered to take a 2-7 to 1-8 victory.   The Ladies played a friendly challenge to round out the game-play, but the first official Red Deer Ladies title went to the Vancouver Harps.   Back in the Men’s competition, it was the Harps, led by Mikey Harnett, who first dispatched Red Deer, and then the Chieftains, to complete a sweep of tournament titles in 2010.
On behalf of all the visiting teams, the Western Canada Division and the Canadian County Board offers special thanks to Red Deer’s Eire Og’s Tournament committee and the Titans RFC in Red Deer, for a job well done.
 
John O’Flynn

 14:53

Host teams triumph in Vancouver Tournament
Click here for Report &  Results 2010 Western Canadian Championship – Vancouver

The Green's John Casey (middle) on the attack.

In Vancouver hurling circles, the first game of the season got underway last weekend at Rupert Park with Team Green toppling Team White in the Irish Sporting and Social Club Vancouver (ISSC) Hurling Championship. Here is a report on the game.

ISSC Green Vs White May 8th @ Rupert Park
Written by: Anonymous 
 
Green – 4-12
White – 1-16
 

The first Hurling game of the year took place Saturday May 8th on a sunny evening in Rupert Park. With the grounds men having spent hours preparing the grounds and the new set of GAA sized goals erected by the experts the scene was set! Over looking the Northshore Mountains and with over 30 players in attendance the Vancouver faithful were rewarded with a thoroughly entertaining game of Hurling.
The teams: 13 men a-side in a 2-3-2-3-2 formation, as they will be for the NACB Championships, lined out as follows:

Green: Donal “ Birthday Boy” Twomey, Keith “KFC” Roche, Hugh “Stewy” Baker, Pat O’ Mahony, Sean Twomey, Mark “Strongarm” Armstrong, Tom Nolan, Paul “Corkbiie” Farmer, Eamonn “Blackeye” Bermingham, John Casey, Liam Mooney, John “Slasher” Molloy, Garreth Joyce

White: Jerry “JFC” MacCarthy, Peter “Ultimate Frisbie” Agnew, David “Daithi” Johnson, Rory “Blaah” Murphy, David “Foxy” Reynolds, Paddy Carty, Aidan O’ Mahony, Eoghan “Greyhound” Buckley, Stephen “Boardies” Young, William “Tracker” Donnellan, Andy Doohan, Billy “Sheepdog” Quinlan, Owen “Banner”  Wolfe.
Subs: Derek Reynolds, Chris Cody, Derek Jung, Tyson Van Beek, Eoin O’ Mahony.
 
With our established referee Paul “The Chief” Stack taking command the game began in Irish style – 15 minutes late, this did however give the crowds time to get settled!
The Green’s played with the wind in the first half and began in a strong fashion, points from Paul Farmer and John Casey was followed by a major from Slasher Molloy. However the White’s began to settle and some solid play in defense provided the White forwards with ball to attack with. After some narrow misses the White’s finally got on the board with nice scores from Tracker Donnellan. The Greens however upped the pace in the last 15 minutes and were rewarded with some good scores from a fluent forward line lead well by John Casey and Liam Mooney. With the supply of ball from the keeper, Birthday Boy Twomey and Tom Nolan coming thick and fast, Slasher Molloy pounced for another goal. This was followed by another from Molloy and with some good points from play from the Green team. With the half coming to an end the Greens loosened their grip on the game and the Whites tacked on a few nice points. A strong clearance from JFK to midfield led to a goal mouth scramble with BB Twomey beaten on the second attempt by Sheepdog Quinlan. This activity brought the half to a close with the Greens leading by 8 points.
After taking on some fluids at half time and not listening to a word the Manager had to say the second half resumed with a few changes, Derek Reynolds replaced Greyhound Buckley and Chris Cody remained on the field after coming on for Andy during the first half.
The first third of the second half saw both teams exchange some fine scores, strong work from the Green half backs Strongarm Armstrong and Pat ‘O Mahony, and good runs in midfield from Paul Farmer ensured that the Greens kept their distance ahead. With the game moving into the middle period of the second half the Whites began to find their form, Ultimate Frisbie Agnew and Blaah Murphy began to gain control in the defense whilst ably assisted by the Reynolds brothers. Tracker Donnellan with a good supply of ball began to dominate the half back line with help from Aidan O’ Mahony in midfield. Several more points from the Whites in a very dominant period saw them come within 3 points of the Greens with ten minutes left to play. An unfortunate injury to Tracker Donnellan, (when he ran into a hurl) and a resurgent Green team managed to halt the Whites in their stride with good play in defense by Pat O’ Mahony and up front by John Casey who made some lung bursting runs into the Whites defense. With the teams tiring scores were at a premium and with Greyhound Buckley back on up front, the Greens were under pressure for the final minutes. With the game drawing to a close some quick scores gave the Greens some breathing space and they finally ran out winners by 5 points.
 
The game was a good start to the season but still a lot of work to be done before Chicago in September, fitness, scoring and first touch needs to be improved but with team “bonding” going well, albeit in the pub it could be a successful year for the Harps yet!
A special mention must also be made to Derek Jung, Tyson Van Beek and Chris Cody on playing their first game of Hurling – Congrats lads! Also wish a speedy recovery to Daithi Johnson who broke his little finger in the first half but played through the pain! Thanks to all the supporters and of course the players and a special thanks to The Chief and his umpires Ciaran Collery and some kid behind the goals!
The evening wrapped up with some social beverages and game analysis in the Blarney Stone and continued Sunday in the Dowling residence where we congratulated the Guys and Girls on completing the Sun Run. Thanks Marie and Eoghan for the food and hospitality.

Teams at Vancouver Tournament 2009

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Secretary John O'Flynn (left) and Chairman Brian Farmer of Canada GAA at the grave of one of the founders of the GAA, Joseph P. Ryan, who is buried in Cranbrook, British Columbia CANADA during the 125th Anniversary Celebrations, December 19, 2009.

As Vancouver gets ready this evening to open the Winter Olympics, GaelicSportsCast sampled the atmosphere late Wednesday night when talking over Skype to Canada GAA Secretary, John O’Flynn about the recent influx of Irish migrants to Canada and what it might mean for GAA clubs across this vast northern land. Mr O’Flynn also spoke about the hopes and aspirations of the Canadian County Board.

32.39