History

Hurling has been played in North America ever since Irish immigrants began landing on North American shores. The earliest games of hurling in North America were played in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1788. The GAA's history in North America goes back a long way. In recent years, hurling has started to become popular in several cities in the United States, most notably the Milwaukee Hurling Club. The MHC will start its 10th competitive season in the summer of 2005 after finishing last season with eight teams and over 160 players. Other clubs include the St. Louis Hurling Club and a club in Seattle also have hurling clubs with older more established clubs existing in the cities that traditionally have a large Irish population, such as Boston, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. The sport is starting to gather support at the club level at some universities as well, notably the University of Notre Dame. Each year, the North American Gaelic Athletic Association holds a tournament between the North American clubs in different U.S. cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston. What marks out the Milwaukee Hurling Club from other established clubs in North America is that, while most North American clubs are predominantly Irish, Milwaukee's players are predominantly North American. About half of the Twin Cities GAA Hurling Club players are Irish and about half are North American, with the number of North Americans on the rise. The most impressive thing about the MHC that makes them stand out along side the other clubs, is that they now have youth teams. They are now bringing the art of hurling to North American children so they grow up with the natural skills of what the Irish-American players have.

The 'traditional' way for clubs to operate is to have a core of Irish-born or Irish-American players who will get together and raise funds to invite players from Ireland for the summer. A debate is currently going on in the GAA about concerns about this practice which some say should be abandoned in favor of promoting the game among people who actually live in North America. Advocates say that inviting players is the only way to reach the numbers necessary to field a team. Critics say that the money spent inviting players would be better spent getting local people into the game, and would result in a stronger game in the long run.

New York Board

North American County Board

The North American Playoffs are held in various cities each year over the Labor Day weekend. The 2005 playoffs were held in Philadelphia, they will be held there again in 2006, and in 2007 they will go to Chicago.

North American GAA Today

Today, the GAA in the North American County Board area is thriving and moving into a new era where the games are being spread beyond the Irish community. Youth programs are springing up across the country, as are adult clubs consisting of American-born players who don't necessarily have any Irish connections but love the games on their own merits.

The Continental Youth Championships

The Continental Youth Championships began in 2004. This is an annual weekend tournament that takes place in various cities from year to year. The inaugural competition was held in New York, in 2005 it was held in San Francisco, and in 2006 it will be held in Boston. It involves underage teams from all three of the GAA jurisdictions in North America playing football, ladies' football, and camogie at all ages from Under 8 to Under 18.