Never too young to learn hurling.
Why do hurlers wear helmets? Every one of the little people who lined up to learn a bit about the no-hold-barred Irish sport, knew the answer, summed up by one little girl eager to take a crack at the ball herself: “‘Cause if you don’t, you will hurt your head.”
The football field at Bishop McDevitt High School on Sunday afternoon was filled with small, enthusiastic kids, all of them running, jumping, and kicking. Because those are the things you do when you play the traditional Irish sports of hurling and Gaelic football.
Brendan Gallagher and his many colleagues on the new Glenside Gaelic Athletic Association club are hoping the fun of the weekend clinic will carry over into a season, and more, of youth GAA competition.
“I’m very happy with the turnout today,” Gallagher said. “We probably had around 35 kids. I’m not sure how many have registered so far. Some were here out of curiosity, and some were friends of kids who had already signed up. We’re encouraged by the numbers and the interest level. For a club to get off the ground with a sport that maybe 99 percent of the population in an area have never heard of, that’s always going to be a challenge, but we’re very happy.”
A hands-on clinic is one of the best ways to get kids interested in Gaelic sports, Gallagher said. Also helpful? A demonstration game by kids from the Delco Gaels GAA.
For Gallagher, a youth GAA club based in Glenside is about more than sports. It’s also about the survival of Irish culture in the Philadelphia area, including music, dance and more.
“Any Gaelic club formed in a parish in Ireland is well known because of its sports, but it also has speech and drama. It has music. It has dancing. It’s all part of the club. It’s a hub for the whole community. And that’s what we want; we want to be part of the community.”
Other Irish cultural organizations have had a good deal of success in perpetuating all the various aspects of Gaelic culture—notably, the dance schools. “They’re our role model,” Gallagher said. We’re trying to emulate their model. They’ve been so successful. We have a little catching up to do. If we want our culture to be passed on down and survive, we have to step up and do something about it.”
The next registration will be held April 20 at 10 a.m. at the MacSwiney Club, 510 Greenwood Avenue, in Jenkintown.
For more information, contact: gaelicclubglenside@hotmail.com
