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Kansas City Irish Festivals, Music, Pubs, & Events by an Artist in Ireland

The KC GAC is featured in a wonderful article in last week’s edition of the Irish Echo.

If it’s a paper you don’t read, maybe you should.

Or if it’s just one you pick up in Kansas City, you’re going to want to turn to page 45.

The KC GAC chairman, Pete Cutliffe, is interviewd by Gerard Magee.

Gaelic Sports are long overdue in Kansas City, Missouri. We have a very strong and proud Irish community and there are numerous social/fraternal organizations such as the Ancient Order of the Hibernians and the Celtic Fringe. There is also a very prominent Irish Dancing Academy here as well.

The thing missing from the Irish scene was a legitimate organization dedicated to governing and promoting Irish sports.

The article mentions that the main focus of the KC GAC is Gaelic Football because the only equipment needed is the ball, but there are definite plans for hurling, and Cutliff also tell us there are very important plans to foster Gaelic Games in the youth of Irish Kansas City:

While Kansas City GAC has yet to have a specific youth program in place at this timee, it is a very important goal for 2009, he added.
We have approximately ten youth players at this time, and believe that underage development is vital for the survival of Gaelic Games in the USA.

The article has a picture of KC GAC members playing Gaelic Football on their old training ground at SW High but they have since moved to the excellent training facilities of the KC Wizards in Swope Park. (Note: The Wizards play soccer, also known as Association Football - “football” for short in much of Europe - where you just use your feet, whereas the KC GAC play Gaelic Football where you get to use your hands as well.)

Read the Article Online (in 6 easy steps)
A link you cry, this is the internet. Ok then.

1. Go to the website of the Irish Echo.
2. On the left under “Irish Echo Digital Edition” click on the picture of the paper. That will bring up the current edition of the Echo - which is not where the KC GAC are featured.
3. Ignore the paper now in front of you and click the black button in the top left marked “View Editions”.
4. Now you are presented with countless weekly issues of the Echo. Pick the one dated June 11, 2008 (with the front page headline of “Dakota Deportee”) For me I see the date in the European format of 11/06/2008.
5. To get to page 45 quickly, choose “menu” and then from the pop-up list “Page Browser”.
6. Use the arrow and you’ll be at page 45 in a jiffy, looking at the headline “Kansas City is addicted to Gaelic” right across from the latest news on the counties of Cavan and Donegal clashing in Gaelic Football in the Ulster Championship in Ireland.

See links and more about the Kansas City Gaelic Athletic club

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pm and is filed under KC GAC, Sport. You can follow responses via my RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your site.