Two Players in the News

Two RVC youths, 10-year-olds Morgan McGuire and Isabel Schwagerl, recently competed in the Continental Youth Gaelic Football Championships in Boston, Mass. The girls, who are both fifth-graders at Watson Elementary School, play for the Long Island Gaels but were recruited to play with the Shannon Gaels, of Queens, for this tournament.

Participating in the Continental Youth Championships were more than 200 teams from places as far away as San Francisco, Quebec and Ireland.

The Shannon Gaels made it all the way to the finals of the U-10 girls division. In the championship game, the girls played in pouring rain and were beaten by a strong team from Rockland, New York. McGuire and Schwagerl were high scorers on the team, with eight goals and 15 points between them.

Gaelic football is one of the most popular spectator sports in Ireland. Teams of 15 play on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. To score, one must kick or strike the ball with their hand and get it through the goals. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. Players advance the ball up the field by a combination of carrying, soloing (dropping and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands), kicking, and hand-passing to their team-mates.

The Long Island Gaels are looking for more players to join their teams. If you know anyone age 6-16 that may be interested, please contact Jackie Kerr at 516-763-6725.