The Roasterie Cup Gaelic Football Tournament 2010

Some short video clips from the 2010 Roasterie Cup Gaelic Football Tournament down at Swope Park. The Tournament was on June 26th at The Kansas City Wizards practice facility. A big THANK YOU to them for letting us use the field and to all our sponsors for making it such a brilliant day. (The KC Wizards, The Roasterie, The Celtic Ranch, Boulevard Brewing Company, The Celtic Ranch and Mike's Tavern.)

It was over a 100F on the field again this year and took a toll on all players, but everyone from The Twin Cities, NW Arkansas, Little Rock and Kansas City A and B team put on a great show and made it a really competitive day.

If you have any great photos or video footage from the tournament please share them with us through our Facebook page or a link in the comment section on here.

Bloomsday at The IMCC

It was SRO at The IMCC for this year's Bloomsday celebration. Organized by Tom and Nancy Shawver, the annual reading of Joyce's Ulysses brought people from all over the Kansas City community together.

Boulevard provided the beer, The Roasterie the coffee and board members and volunteers brought the food. It really made The IMCC come alive and showed what a great space it is for bringing the Irish community together.

In addition to the reading,  Eddie Delahunt warmed up the crowd with a great set of Irish songs and was joined by the girls from the Driscoll school of dancing. They created an atmosphere that made you feel you were 5,000 miles away in Dublin and not in the basement of Union Station.

 Big Tom Shawver and Eddie Delahunt get on the level with each other

 Steve from The KCGAC talking to the Rugby King of Kansas City

I hope he was asking him to send us more young, fit players!

Coffee Morning at The Roasterie Cafe

With our tournament only a week away, June 26th, The KCGAC green-machine spent the morning at The Roasterie Cafe in Brookside to spread the word.

A big thanks to Scott, Angie, Kurtis, Ryan, Chelsea and Paige for getting up early and showing your support for The KCGAC. 

It was a nice and relaxing morning enjoying tasty beverages and pastries hanging out chatting to people. I was surprised that several people we met were already aware of Gaelic Football and were excited to hear that we have a local club. So hopefully we'll get a good crowd down at Swope Park next Saturday.

The Roasterie will be on site at the tournament providing iced coffees with their silver bullet air-stream. And if the heat is anything like last year, we'll all need a little something to cool down.

Boulevard Pub Quiz at The IMCC

Last Saturday we had another fun night down at The IMCC in Union Station thanks to our sponsors Boulevard Brewing Company and Raglan Road Irish Pub.

Competition was close, but last month's winners The 3 Bs were back, minus a B, but still managed to take home top honors. Brian Sulley is officially a nerd.

Tom and Nancy Shawver from Bloomsday Books were in attendance. Tom is on the IMCC board and it was great to see him and fellow board member Chris Tschihart representing.

For another great night out at The IMCC you should attend their Bloom's Day celebration on June 16th, it is organized by Tom and Nancy Shawver and is a great Kansas City tradition.

Next month's quiz will be on July 10th, hope to see you there.

Rumble in the Rock 2010

Another Memorial Weekend in Little Rock for the KCGAC and a near identical finish to last year: 2 and 2.

We beat NW Arkansas twice and lost, not by much mind you, to LR and St. Louis.

The lads had a great time traveling down there, some had more fun than others, no names mentioned.

Next year we need to start a push early for the trip to LR to get as much of The KCGAC as possible down there and show them what we are made off.

We can get revenge in, oh say, 23 days!

KCGAC at Community America Ballpark

Not quite Croke Park, but the Kansas City Wizards let us take to the field after their game against Columbus Crew at Community America Ballpark. This is the biggest venue the KCGAC has played in to date and it was an amazing experience. 

The speed of the ball on a professional surface like that is something you can't understand until you've played on it yourself. That's no excuse for my lack of fitness, but Chr*#t it was hard going in that early summer heat. Made me feel all 32 of my years.

We all had a great day out there on Sunday at C.A.B. and a lot of the lads got there early to watch The Wizards in action. A big THANK YOU to Betsy Pollard and Chris Wyche for helping to make the day possible. And if they'll have us back, maybe we can turn this into an annual event and get all the Irish community out.

Jerron Taylor, James Taylor and Brad Gaughan...Brad in mid-air still not as tall a Big Taylor

The KCGAC easy to spot in the crowd

Craig and Jeanne Rohner, two of our greatest fans. They've watched us play in Little Rock, our home tournament, pub league, Ran the Wellie Race with us, shoveled snow at the Twin Cities game and here they are supporting us at The Wizards and they took most of these photos and videos. The KCGAC hearts U!

Big Ross on the ball

Ross Vs Teasdale...who gonna win

 Brad, Jake and Carl go for the ball

The Unsung Hero of Gaelic Games

Our Referee most days: Mr. Chad Griffin

When the ball goes wide, when you get a hard challenge and don't get a free, when you miss kick the ball, when you give a bad hand pass, when you run out of energy and gasp for breath: You blame the Ref.

That's right, the guy who is out there of his own goodness officiating YOUR game, so YOU can have fun and play Gaelic games and all you want to do is tell this fella where to stick it. So, today all us hot headed players are going to cool it and show respect for the man that makes tournaments happen and keeps friendly games friendly. All hail the Ref.

Here's some refs in the spotlight:

Haskell Game - A great night in Lawrence, KS

The second annual KCGAC Vs Haskell University Gaelic Football challenge match was a huge success for all involved. Both sides fielded strong teams and showed great skill and athleticism. 

We want to say a big THANK YOU to their teacher Hugh from Mayo and all the students for hosting the KCGAC.

After my injury in practice I was relegated to the sidelines on camera duty. So here's a sample of the shots I took, I've got a bunch more I will post to the website and facebook page.

It's not often that Carl gets out-paced, but this guy gave our team hell, we need to draft him

A physical game...

T'is but a scratch

Taylor takes to the air

 We're all looking forward to next year's game and hope to see some of the Haskell players at our practice, they'd make a great addition to our team.

Mayo Vs Dublin 1996 - Spring Inspiration

With another Mayo-man on board with the KCGAC we have to share this great video of some very fine Gaelic Football. Watch how well the ball flows and how they take points at great distance and sharp angles.

Sevens Tournament was a Huge Success

It didn't snow, it didn't rain, it wasn't freezing...not sure if we're in Kansas anymore Toto.

The Irish gods were smiling upon us and we had the most perfect March day for our KCGAC Sevens tournament. Director Sully divided the club up into the four Provinces of Ireland and we had a round-robin first and then knock-outs for the championship position.

Connaught 3-5 Vs Leinster 1-0...Winner Connaught

Munster 2-4 Vs Ulster 1-5...Winner Munster

Connaught 1-9 Vs Munster 2-3...Winner Connaught

Ulster 2-3 Vs Leinster 1-3...Winner Ulster

Munster 2-3 Vs Leinster 2-7...Winner Leinster

Ulster 0-1 Vs Connaught 4-5...Winner Connaught

CHAMPIONSHIP

WINNER Connaught

Instead of having a 3rd and 4th place playoff, we combined some of the lads from the other teams to give the finalists a few extra subs to help the tired and weary legs after so many games in a row.

It was great craic and we even had a few fans down at Swope Park cheering us on. Best of all this year, we were injury free.

 A quick stretch before the tournament

The local PD were there to keep an eye on the club treasures

Devin warms up with the Aussie Rules lad

Drake got down on his knees and prayed for the win

Sully's ringer from Rosscommon

The final seconds of the Final, it could have gone either way, very close

Carl looks for the catch

Kieran hold Brandon off, as he makes for another point from the 40 yard line

Ulster - KCGAC Sevens Champions 2010

Seven A Side Tournament - March 28th

This is the most fun weekend in Kansas City Gaelic Football if you ask me. Small teams, on a smaller field, means more action and more scoring.

This is also a great time for new people to come down and experience Gaelic football. Bring $35, a registration form and a medical waiver from our site and we'll stick you on a team.

Our club will be split up into four teams representing the provinces of Ireland: Ulster, Leinster, Connaught and Munster. This should make for some good rivalry and great craic. Rumor has it there is going to be an amazing trophy for the winning team.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your boots if you're playing or a deckchair if you're cheering from the sidelines, and bring the family down to Swope Park, either way you're in for a good Gaelic time.

Time: 3:00pm on Sunday the 28th of March 2010

Place: Swope Park soccer fields
Cost: Free for Spectators

To find out more information about Gaelic Sports in Kansas City visit our website www.kcgac.org.

Here's some Gaelic Football highlights to get you in the spirit.

Snow Day - KC Vs Twin Cities

"Good morning Kansas City, it's gonna be a beautiful day, sunny, sixty-five here in Cowtown." That was the collective VOICE of the local news channels on Friday. 

By Friday evening it was cold...by night it was sleeting and freezing.

We woke up Saturday morning to a good three inches of awesome powder. Great if you're a cross country skier, not so much if you're a Gaelic footballer.

Snow, smow, The Twin Cities were determined to play, they eat snow for breakfast, actually I don't know if they do, but I imagine it's a huge part of their diet living that far north. 

Now, our only worries were finding enough KC players silly enough to play in these conditions. Fools, they all showed and we even had a hardcore fans show up.

We all met up at Shawnee Mission East HS and played a game that will be remembered for years to come. Not for athleticism or skill, but for pure madness.

This was far from the normal warm-up

Big THANKS to The Twin Cities GAA for making the trip to KC

Combined IQ? Ans =27

After the game we all got a lot smarter and went to The GAF for food, warmth and refreshments, and by refreshments I mean beer.

I felt bad for the Twin Cities because last time they were here we had the hottest day on record for 2009. All the same, it was tons of fun and who knows we could make this a tradition and go up North for a similar game next year.

St. Patrick's Day - 2010

We were promised warm, sunny weather from the local news stations. All of Kansas City woke up expecting a beautiful St. Patrick's Day and even though we looked outside and saw drizzle, we held to the belief that by mid-morning it would become a tad more clement. It never did. We froze our collective arses off.

Here's some action from the parade. Thanks to all those that came out to march and to watch from the sidelines. And a special thanks to Lynn Klein for bringing her truck to carry the Irish flag for the KCGAC, which she did in memorial for her mother Jane Klein. We miss you Jane.

Green (as in the environment) was the theme this year

The things parents will make their kids wear: Wellies, Kilt, Paddy Cap. Check, check and check

This guy looks like an extra from Patriot Games.

Hurling and ATV riding = Multiple Dental Visits 

Irish Potato Famine Victims

Irish Cowboys

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

The Taylor Lads and their Dad braved the cold

Robert was Protected from the Elements

This wee Galway man came out to show the KCGAC hurlers how to play the old Celtic Cricket

Another great and safe St. Paddy's Day under our belt, hope to see you all again next year, when it will be bigger, better, faster and greener than ever.