World Cup? The Gaelic Games Are Here!

Continental Youth Championships Head To NY

By Jason Gallagher

For all the GAA fans out there that long to see a spectacle that would match the All-Ireland Championship, you might want to read further.

The Continental Youth Championships will be hosted in New York this year, continuing the 7-year tradition that sees over 3,000 players, from North America, Canada, England and Ireland participate in the 4-day event on July 29th in Eisenhower Park on Long Island.

The competition will host over 150 teams which includes boys Gaelic football and hurling, and also football and camogie for the girls, between the ages of 8 and 18.

As well as having the English Minor champions, the CYC have organized an Irish team from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, which will comprise of players from 4 catholic schools and 4 protestant schools to join the event.

With GAA and O'Neill's funding, as well as organized fundraisers across the country, the event will be of the highest standard with transportation, food and drink, and first aid all provided for the teams.

Participants will also be able to take advantage upon the special discounts to attractions throughout Eisenhower Park, and nearby at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, the IMAX Theater and the Long Island Children's Museum.

There will also be a parade to commemorate the event on Thursday 29th, in the town of Rockville Center at 7pm, with children and local pipe bands marching the same route as the St. Patrick's Day parades, highlighting the true sense of the occasion.

To conclude the event, the Minneola Irish Center will hold their Annual Irish Night Concert at the Lakeside Theater in the park.

Chairman of the New York Minor Board, and organizer, Daniel McKenna, sees this is a chance to recruit more followers to GAA.

"'This is the showcase of Gaelic games in America, so we hope that more and more people might take up the sports and follow in the footsteps of Boston and New England who have created new divisions due to the popularity,'" he said.

With such effort going into these games, there is no doubt that the number of attendees will continue to rise as the GAA aims to leave an even bigger mark on the country than the World Cup did.

These games are definitely not worth missing so why don't you join the over 10,000 people that are estimated will travel to Eisenhower Park for the event.