Parading about the Town

It has been a tradition in Ireland now for about a million years to march in a parade on March 17th in honor of our patron saint: St. Paddy or Patrick if you are not a close friend.

I don't know if it's a coincidence that we march in March, but I like it and as my almost-one-time-father-in-law used to say "march fourth" is a sentence and a date, totally irrelevant.

The lads and ladies of the KCGAC will be putting on their marching shoes this year at two parades in the Kansas City metro.

Brookside Parade

First up is the Brookside Parade on Saturday the 13th of March. The parade kicks off at 2pm, but we will commence the gathering at spot no. 48 from 12:30pm onwards, so if you are looking to join the party come on down and join us or cheer for us. Oh, and it's a 1980s theme St. Patrick's Day for the Brookside folks this year. Good thing my Gaelic Football nut-huggers fit the bill perfectly, no costume needed.

Kansas City Parade

The BIG ONE. Rumored to be one of the biggest St. Paddy parades in the whole Universe. Last year over a billion people came out to cheer us on, let's make it a billion and one this year. Go on, get on your  green and don't be mean.

While I was marching with the gang last year, I had the wife on photography duties and here's a sampling of what you've got to look forward to this year.

Pete was driving this bus, he loves rainbows

Cool Cops...Chips for Life

Ah, there is nothing I can say that the picture doesn't already

The big man himself, looking a little bloated I might say

Traditional Giant Irish Shamrock

Irish Boud

His buddy Jack

Jack had the luck of the Irish

Have a great time and a safe time at the parades this year. If you find yourself having a pint or two, make sure to take advantage of the free rides home with Yellow Cab. Slan!

March - Irishness is in the air

We're a few days into March, which as we all know is the most Irish month of the year, apart from December, 'cause we all know Jesus was an Irishman, but March is a close second.

You'll need to be up on your St. Patrick's trivia so you don't get accused of any stereotyping.

Then to help you in your quest to be a well rounded Eire-phile watch the following videos.


The Real St. Patrick Story

Seriously this guy from Denver is the classic Drunk-Irish-American that lives the stereotypes for everyone in Ireland! Go on the Irish.


I love this girl's history of the potato...talk about a sexy spud


And for just a few more laughs

Back to Swope - Footy Time Again

Finally a day that was not thirty-below and the ground relatively snow free. But it was still cold as hell and I froze my Irish-nutz off taking these photos, I can only imagine how it was for the lads on the field.

The sun struggled to come out and did little to warm the air, which made for tough breathing for the players running around the pitch.

The lads hadn't lost much of their pace and skill after the long winter, a few more sessions like this and we'll have all the rust removed. And you know what they say about breaking the seal: once you go you just have to keep on going.

Breakfast at Browne's

Another tasty breakfast this morning at Browne's Irish Market & Deli.

It was a wee bit cold, but this smiling Paddy gave us a warm welcome.

The gang at Browne's were very welcoming to us and even burned a small piece of turf to make it smell like a cold day in Ireland.

Mayo-man James Bradley joined some of the KCGAC players for a bite to eat. As the weather warms up we'll be seeing Mr. Bradley out on the field as a football coach.

International Rules Series

Back in the day when an Irishman won an all-expenses paid trip to Australia, courtesy of The Empire, it was not a thing to celebrate. Australia was one great big penal colony, Britain's problems sent to the far corners of the earth, never to return (until they started showing Neighbours on the BBC).

The exiled Irish brought with them their language, religion, funny last names, work-ethic, pasty white skin and their sports.

There is still plenty of debate as to the origins of Aussie Rules football, but just watch the game for a few minutes and you'll see plenty of similarities to Gaelic Football, and you just can't help but think; definitely a bit of Irish in that sport.

There have been compromised games between the Irish and the Australians in the past, but in 1998 this was organized into a series between the Gaelic Athletic Association and Australian Football League, called the International Rules Series.

It took place in Croke Park, Dublin in front of 22,000 people and it was probably raining. The series enjoyed great success in both countries and grew to the point where in 2006 the crowd was over 82,000 people, mostly because the sun came out.

Unfortunately, that year there was a wee bit of rough play on the pitch and the GAA postponed the 2007 series. It resumed again in Australia for 2008, but the future of the series is uncertain.

See below for some of the reasons for that decision. There is no sound, but something like this needs to be watched in pure silence!

In August 2009 when we were the guest of the Twin Cities GAA at their seven-a-side tournament they invited the local Aussie Rules Club: The Freeze. Their fitness and stamina was on another level compared to our lads, but our ball control and ability to score saw us as victors over The Freeze on the day. You could say we froze them out...

We have a club here in Kansas City called the KC Power and we might have to talk to them about a modified game of the International Rules.

Blog Hunting...Gaelic Style

I've been up early this morning and taken a nice wee walk around the Internet and here are some blogs I've come across to share with you. And if you find any cool blogs about Ireland and its culture, sports etc...please share them with us.

Dave's Football Blog
I thought I was the first man here from the KCGAC, but it looks like Murphy beat me to it!

Official GAA website from Ireland

Asian County Board
I didn't know Asia was made up of Irish counties, but you learn something new every day.

Seattle Hurling Blog
This is a part of the Seattle Gaels Men's Hurling website, quite funny too.

Check out this honorary Irishman


See, Irish news is not all doom and gloom


And now some serious clips on Ireland

The Full Irish

If you've ever been over to Ireland (or anywhere in the British Isles) you will hopefully have had the pleasure of a Full Irish (insert country here) Breakfast or just simply a big fry-up.

Depending on the geographic location and the actual establishment what you get on the plate will differ ever so slightly, but bacon, sausage, egg and tomato are the unifying ingredients. Some will add baked beans (love 'em), chips, mushrooms, black or white pudding, toast, soda farels, potato farels, brown bread. Whatever lands on your plate, you know it's going to be one hell of a hearty breakfast. The kind of food that could fuel a Gaelic sportsman all day.

We can't all have the good fortune of traveling to Ireland, so the good folks at Browne's Irish Market & Deli are going to save you the price of airfare and offer the full Irish breakfast at their store every Saturday leading up to March 17th (why such an arbitrary date I don't know?).

So, put on your favorite Irish themed shirt and head over for the best breakfast this side of biscuits and gravy and if you like you can even have a pint of Guinness while you are there and make it the real deal.

Photo Courtesy of FreshFishCreative