(Photos by Gwyneth MacArthur)
Until recently, they seemed to be the Philadelphia-area Gaelic football club nobody had heard of. Except, possibly, for some local Gaelic footballers.
In any case, the St. Joe Hawks made a great impression on a crowd of Gaelic Athletic Association fans in a special game at Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Montgomery County. They notched a tight victory over a team from Boston College, 5-12 to 5-8.
With the victory, St. Joe’s earned the Daniel Sweeney Cup, honoring the Philadelphia firefighter of that name who died in the line of duty in April, 2012.
(Gaelic football explainer here, including scoring.)
The Hawk will never die.
The game was the centerpiece of a day dedicated to raising local awareness of Gaelic sports, sponsored by the Glenside Gaelic Club. Glenside is building a youth program, and showing early signs of success. Some of the kids showed their stuff at the half.
Our roving photographer Gwyneth MacArthur was there to record all the action. Check out her photo essay.
