By Paul Schneider
If there’s ever a right time to be in your cups, it would be this Sunday. That’s when the Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy Cups, the championship trophies of Gaelic football and hurling, respectively, will be on display during a Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association quadrupleheader at Cardinal Dougherty High School, 6301 N. Second Street, Philadelphia.
Following the games, the cups will be whisked to a Beef and Beer fundraiser at 7 p.m. Sunday at The Commodore Barry Club, at Carpenter and Emlen Streets. All proceeds from the event will go towards the development of the new Philly GAA facility in Limerick, PA. Tickets for the Beef and Beer are $20.
Nicknamed “Sam”, the Sam Maguire cup was named for an influential figure in the GAA early in the last century. The original cup, which was created following Maguire’s death in 1928, was retired following the 1988 finals and was replaced by the current version, “Sam Og.” The Liam McCarthy Cup was first presented in 1921 in honor of a leading figure of Cumann Luthchleas Gael.
Sunday’s schedule kicks off with an Intermediate football game between Kevin Barry’s and Tyrone, followed by a Junior B matchup between Eire Og and St. Patrick’s and a Junior A game between Young Ireland and Kevin Barry’s. The Brian Boru and Shamrocks hurlers will go at it in the finale.