Gaels 15th Anniversary Slideshow
Gaels15thAnniversary from Brian McCarthy on Vimeo.
Our Story
Forming the Gaels
No doubt the lure of Gold and Silver brought some of the first Irish to Denver in the late 1850's. Over the years more Irish followed their footsteps and fell in love with the 300 days of sunshine, and beautiful mountain playground that nestles up to the Mile High City. Some say it was those same distractions that prevented the Irish from organizing a formal Gaelic Sports club. Others say it was the multitude of Colorado Breweries. Unfortunately, this pre-dates Internet history so we’ll never know.
The year was 1996, and something magical was brewing in the Denver sports scene. The Rapids kicked off in the inaugural year of MLS. The Blake Street bombers were reeling after their first playoff run in the newly christened Coors field. The Broncos were building the foundation of their back-to-back Super Bowl teams. And to cap it all off, the Colorado Avalanche brought the first professional sports championship to the Mile High City in their inaugural year. Inspired by the pros success and a few pints of Guinness, several Irish nationals shared their own dreams of Gaelic glory in the hallowed halls of LoDo. The dreams and whispers finally became reality, when a plucky Dubliner named Shay Dunne called the first ever club meeting. Shortly after the Denver Gaels were formed as the first official GAA club in the Rocky Mountain region.
The Growth of the Gaels
Initially the team was made up of Irish Nationals living in the Denver Metro area and we fielded just one Men's Football team. Realizing that the Irish community in Denver wasn’t particularly large, we began recruiting and training young Americans to adopt and play the sports of Ireland. To our delight they learned quickly and have proven to be very capable Gaelic players.
After five years of early exits from Championships, the Gaels marched into the 2000 games and earned victories over D.C., Seattle, and Florida’s St. Pats to capture the Junior B Men’s Football Crown. . Buoyed by our championship performance the club continued to grow and earned the right to host the North American County Board Championships in 2004. It was a huge undertaking but our young club proved itself on and off the pitch. The Gaels youth Football teams took two trophies at the U12 and U14 levels in addition to fine performances by our men's and women's football teams. North American County Board marveled at the organization of the event and for that we still owe many thanks to the fantastic efforts of our many volunteers and sponsors. The result of that tournament helped add enduring youth Football, women's football, hurling and camogie teams to our club’s ranks. With those additions came more success on the field. Just four years after adding Hurling, the Gaels took Chicago by storm defeating Milwaukee and St. Louis en route to earn the Junior C Hurling Championship. The Youth team continued their mini-dynasty earning a championship in U16 Football.
Today we field 5 club teams and have over 120 members in our ranks. We feature players of all skill levels from County Medal winners, to first timers. We’re always looking for new players to join our club and celebrate the athleticism and tradition of Irish sports. We’d like to thank all of our players, sponsors, and volunteers from the past and present. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you.
