For the first time an all-American born team has won the New York Senior Gaelic Football Championship the final of which was held last weekend.
New York’s St. Barnabas Gaelic Football Club scored its first championship title on Saturday on Saturday after beating Sligo 4-19 to 4-15 following a heroic comeback after falling 10 points behind the Herring Pickers.
The thrilling showdown was made even more astounding by the fact that the New Yorkers faced a number of inter-county stars making up the Sligo team.
However, an even more historic precedent set was the fact that the 50-year-old club’s team was made up entirely of American born players rather than the usual mix of American born Irish diaspora and Irish born GAA players living and working in the United States.
St Barnabas Club president Mike Brosnan said:
“The standard was excellent, we were up against Galway star Peter Cooke and All-Ireland hurling medal winner Johnny Glynn, who are exceptional athletes,” he said.
“All in all, the Sligo team were fantastic and a very tough opposition, they’ve set the bar this past three or four years and we knew we had a challenge on our hands to beat them.
The showdown took place at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, New York and is a testament to enduring legacy of the Irish diaspora in America and their cultural heritage.
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