Quick insight into how the best athletes in the world eat and train. Looking at the U.S. Soccer training camp. 

We posted the two slideshows debuted at the Christmas party to the website. 

Denver Gaels Celebrate Another Successful year

Rookies and Veterans contribute in a monumental year for the club.

On December 17^th, the Denver Gaels held our annual banquet celebrating accomplishments of the club on and off the field. This year was as busy as any other in the club’s fifteen-year history.  We showcased our sports locally through exhibitions at Infinity Park, Youth Clinics, and Irish Festivals. We hosted our annual pub-crawl, golf tournament, and numerous other social events.  We played in Seattle, Albuquerque, Kansas City, Denver, and San Francisco. Through it all, we spread culture, built friendships, and celebrated victories. 

We appreciate the incredible efforts of all our club members and those who support us. We also are incredibly grateful for all of our sponsors; Guinness, The Celtic, The Fainting Goat, Dougherty’s and Scruffy Murphy’s. As we do every year we like to recognize the particularly special efforts of our teams and their members.

In Men’s Football we had an incredibly special rookie class. We had 7 new American players pick up the sport and make huge contributions to our performances.  However, two players stood out among the rest. Damien Borg was named rookie of the year. Through his incredible commitment and dedication the fullback improved more than any other player and became a stalwart in defense. For the player of the year, Adam Johnson stood out for his tremendous play in multiple competitions. The former college soccer player took to the game quickly and brought tremendous athleticism and skill to the field. Both players performances helped lead us to our Midwest Championship and Nationals shield.

Hurling also had one of its largest rookie classes in recent memory, with 13 new players in 2011.  The new players bolstered the energy and depth of the club and helped push the Jr. C team to a higher level in 2012. However it was a very surprising rookie who took to sport at the middle of the year who earned rookie of the year status. Joining on as a Dual Player from Football, Adam Kiefert made the sliotar and hurl his own, and wreaked havoc from the full forward line scoring goals like a machine. For Jr. C hurler of the year, John O’Neill lead the team as a Vice Captain, and provided steadfast grit and determination from the halfback line all year long. The man showed a warrior like heart battling through injuries to inspire his team.  Finally the Jr. B men’s hurler of the year should come as no surprise to anyone who followed the Gaels stories and stat-lines from Nationals. The Waterford native Vinny Commeford once again lead the charges with his tenacious and skillful style.

Last but certainly not least we have our Rouge Camogs who celebrated an absolutely historic year. The club grew more than ever adding 7 new Denver based players. With the new members the team was able to host Denver's first ever camogie competition, and that experience helped lead the team to its first ever National Championship. The rookie of the year stood out in an incredibly talented and dedicated group. Jennifer Park translated her tenacity and field sense from the Soccer Field to become a halfback that didn’t get up an inch. As for the MVP, we have a woman that proved her value 100% on and off the field. Off the field she dedicated countless hours to train new players and build the chemistry that was so vital to the success of the club. On the field, Kyle Shane battled back from a devastating knee injury with a positive attitude and absolutely played the game of her life stopping shot after shot from the D.C. attack to lead the Rouge Camogs to their well-deserved championship. Congratulations to Kyle and Jennifer and all the ladies of our Camogie team who put together an incredible performance all year.

In addition to the players on the field we also recognize, our club person of the year Tom Walsh. Tom stepped into the committee and provided tremendous value as the voice of reason. He took on a lot of the dirty work to get the club’s business affairs in order and helped bring our club to a new standard. In much the same way we also recognize our team photographer Amanda Reiker. In the past few years she has snapped countless photos and made us look better and more skillful. She has emerged as a tremendous asset to our club, and one of the premier Gaelic Photographers in the Country. We are incredibly lucky to count her as one of our own.

You can view some of Amanda’s work as well as the rest of the club’s celebrated history in our slideshows. 

2011 Annual Club Slideshow

15th Year Anniversary Slideshow

Here’s to a very successful 2012!

2011 Club Members of the Year Summary

Camogie: Jennifer Park Rookie of the Year and Kyle Shane Player of the Year

Hurling: Adam Kiefert Rookie of the Year, John O'Neill Jr. C Player of the Year, and Vinny Comeford Jr. B Player of the Year

Football: Damien Borg Rookie of the Year, and Adam Johnson Player of the Year

Club Person of the Year: Tom Walsh 

The Denver Gaels Annual General Meeting has been re-scheduled for Monday December 12th at The Celtic Tavern at 7pm.

The Denver Gaels would love for all members, friends, and family to join us in celebration of an incredible year. This a particularly special moment for us as we will be commemorating our 2011 National Champion Rouge Camogs, and fifteen fantastic years of history for our club. 

RSVP TODAY 

When: Saturday December 17th, from 6:00 - 10:30 p.m.  

All club members are invited and encouraged to attend the Annual General Meeting. During this meeting we will provide an update of all club affairs, present the action plans for key areas of the club, and elect club officers, directors, and general committee members.  This is a very important meeting for the business of the club and we encourage all members to attend. Particularly those who are interested in getting more involved in the club.  Agenda 7:00 - 7:05pm: Welcome and introduction 7:05 - 7:30pm: Annual reports from men's hurling, men's football, camogie, ladies football and the club treasurer 7:30 - 8:15pm: Presentation of action plans from the recent club survey 8:15 - 9pm: Election of new club officers, directors and general committee members 9:00 - 9:30pm : Q&A Board Members will be elected at the Annual General Meeting. For each available position, the candidates with the most votes shall be elected as members of the board of directors.    Please CLICK HERE for a comprehensive descriptions of the roles and skills involved with each position.                                Club Officers - Chair - Secretary - Treasurer  Other Board of Director Roles - Vice Chair - Vice Secretary - Public Relations Officer - PRO - Registrar  General Committee Members  - Recruiting manger - Social events coordinator - Webmaster - Hurling manager - Men's football manager - Camogie manager - Ladies football manager - Youth manager - Equipment and merchandise manager - Fields manager   Additional Committees - Youth committee - Recruitment committee - Social events committee

by Amanda Reiker

When the Denver Gaels first competed in the North American championships in 1996, the lone Men’s Football team was just happy to be representing the Mile High City. Just 15 years later, the Gaels were the largest club en force at the Championships. Forty-seven players representing five different teams competed in the Championships at Páirc Na nGael in San Francisco. Unlike the club founders the players from Denver weren’t just happy to compete, they had their sights set on bringing home some silverware.

The tournament started out very brightly for the Denver Gaels, with the Junior C Men’s Hurling team taking on long heated rivals Seattle. Denver came out of the gates firing, finding dual star Adam Kiefert up front, who quickly turned his man and fired a shot at goal. The Seattle keeper had a nice reaction save, but he couldn’t recover the rebound shot from Adrian Stalbaum giving Denver an early lead that it would never relinquish. Denver’s captains Matt Santambrogio and John O’Neill lead the Gaels backline in a stellar performance that held Seattle to just 3 points. The Gaels continued the scoring thanks to tenacious play of Farris McManus, Mike Prince, and Stephen Pinsonneault. Their pressure earned frees throughout the game, which Adrian coolly put over the bar to extend the lead.  In the end the Gaels won comfortably 1-11 to 0-3, a great result for the squad of American hurlers.

The victory earned the Junior C squad a matchup against St. Louis in the quarterfinals just three hours later. St. Louis and Denver also had a hurling history as it was this same St. Louis squad that Denver beat in 2007 to progress it’s top squad to Junior B. The young C Hurlers came out with energy but ultimately could not fight toe to toe with the quality of the St. Louis. The Gaels battled hard, and found some bright performances from Kyle Dunne, Cormac McGann and Jay Bagwell who tallied the lone Gaels goal in the contest against the eventual champions of the C division, St. Louis. 

The Junior B Hurlers began their quest for a championship against the same Twin Cities squad that they defeated in last years semifinals. Gaels manager Alan Murphy warned the squad “They’ve spent the entire year thinking about what we did to them in the semi’s last year, and you know they’re chomping at a bit for a chance at another shot at us!” The Gaels took the words to heart and applied the pressure early. Veteran hurlers Ciaran Dwyer and Vinny Commeford combined for some early scores and soon after the All-American half forward line got into the action with scores coming from Pat Ream and Bobby Canaly. The game broke open soon after when the Twin Cities keeper let in a couple soft scores. The Gaels rode the early lead to a comprehensive victory 6-5 to 1-6.

In the semi-finals the Gaels faced Indianapolis. From the throw in defensive pressure dictated the pace of the game.  Both teams struggled to maintain possession and get score in the opening minutes with half-chances flying well wide. Again it was Vinny Commeford who settled the nerves of the Denver side, as the Waterford native began to take control of the midfield and nailed three long-range points from the run of play. His charge inspired Bobby Canaly and Pat Ream once again who each got scores from the half-forward line. Indy clawed its way back into the contest earning several frees in Denver’s half. Indy made Denver pay for every free given with a free taker who possessed deadeye aim from anywhere within 65 meters. With Indy gaining momentum, full-forward stalwart, Ciaran Dwyer stepped up in the moment and delivered a huge goal giving Denver a one point lead headed into the second half 1-5 to 0-7.

The second half, started out much like the first with both teams battling for an offensive rhythm. The Denver backs kept Indy at bay for much of the contest, lead by tenacious fight of captain Brian Togher and keeper Bingo Byrne. The sides traded a few scores from frees giving Denver a two point lead with about fifteen minutes left in the contest. Sensing the urgency, Indy began to mount more pressure on the Denver goal area. Using fierce ground hurling; Indy slipped a rebound past Denver keeper Bingo Byrne. Indy rode their momentum, and put away their second goal within 5 minutes. Down four, Denver was rattled but not defeated. Vinny Commeford got one score from play, and another from a free-in to draw the game to within two points with five minutes left to play.  In a move of desperation, the Gaels put in manager Alan Murphy into goal, and pushed Bingo into the forward line. The move paid off, with Brian Togher taking a nice cross-field pass from Pat Ream and put the ball over the bar to draw the game within one. With three minutes left, Denver earned a free 45 meters out from the Indy goal. Vinny stepped up and as he had all weekend he put the ball over the bar to tie the match. The Denver sideline erupted urging the team forward for one last push. Unfortunately, Indy had other plans in mind as they placed another ball in front of the Denver net and slotted a late goal past the Gaels defense. With just extra time left in the contest Denver had already expended all the energy it had in the tank. Indy put away one more free-in to cap off the cracking match 3-11 to 1-13. Although bitterly disappointed, the Gaels Hurlers kept their heads high. In the huddle Ciaran Dwyer reflected, “That was a battle between two teams of men. You know sometimes you don’t get the breaks, but we can be proud of how we played out there.”

The Gaels men’s football squad was coming off a promising finish as shield winners of last year’s Junior C Football competition. Captains Brian McCarthy and Adam Kiefert had put extra emphasis on recruiting and development and brought a strong team with four new American players featuring in the starting lineup. The Gaels received a bye to the semifinals where they played last year’s Junior D division champions Baltimore Bohemians. The Gaels back line were challenged early in the contest by a very skilled Baltimore forward line who were moving the ball all around the Denver half for scores and frees. Denver’s nerves settled down once Adam Kiefert received the ball 25 meters out and drove at goal finding an open Ross Doonan for an early goal to level the score. A second goal came just five minutes later for the Gaels when first year player Adam Johnson initiated a great combination with Ross, who played it to Rònàn O’Màitiu for the goal. The Gaels only held onto the lead briefly as a fight for a loose ball in the box lead to a penalty for Baltimore who converted to take the lead. The half ended with Baltimore leading 1-8 to 2-1. Determined to stop leaking points, the Gaels adjusted its defense and brought on some additional firepower to make a push in the second half. But Baltimore kept putting on the pressure, and always seemed to find an open man thanks to the hard running of their halfbacks into the Denver half. Only a great reaction toe save from Bingo saved Denver from going down two goals. Late in the second half Denver seemed to benefit from the altitude and began to mount a comeback with scores from Seamus Blaney, Kieran Lynn, and Rònàn to bring the Gaels within three points. In the last five minutes the Gaels had three good chances at goal to tie the match, but could not convert before the whistle blew as Denver fell to Baltimore 2-6 to 1-12.

The weekend was not over for the men’s Footballers who found themselves in a shield contest against Charlotte. Short a few players battling back from Injury the Gaels looked to the panel to get the job done. It was another cracking contest for the footballers who received stellar performances from the midfield duo of Rory McGarry and Adam Johnson. Rory lead the way in scoring getting several points from the run of play as well as a couple frees to push the Gaels forward. The Gaels also received stellar performances from ageless veterans Martin Concannon in the full forward line, and Shay Dunne in the back line who was relentless in breaking up the Charlotte attack. To their credit Charlotte hung in the whole way and kept it close on a steady diet of points and frees. Late into the second half the two sides exchanged goals and points to take the contest to overtime. With five minutes added onto the contest the Gaels got a great score from Adam Johnson who split the uprights on a 40-meter kick from his right boot. The Gaels held onto the lead for four minutes before conceding a point on a free. Denver determined to go home with a win, kept the pressure up and Adam Kiefert drove at goal, hit the post but then followed through to see the ball into the net for the deciding score. The Denver Footballers again took the shield 3-8 to 2-8.

Although the Men’s squads didn’t take home the silverware they set out to earn, every one of their voices could be heard cheering at the Ladies Camogie Final. There a combined team representing Denver and Twin Cities made history by winning the Junior A Camogie Championship in an epic extra time victory (their story is found above this one). At the final whistle all forty-seven players, family members, and friends, flooded the field to congratulate the ladies on their tremendous accomplishment. In her speech captain Kyle Shane proclaimed, “This cup belongs to our entire club; our men’s teams for training with us, our managers for coaching us, and our friends and families for supporting us! We are all a part of this club, and deserve to celebrate this cup!” And in true Denver Gaels fashion, celebrate we did!

The Denver Gaels are always looking for new players and supporters. Think you have what it takes? Click here to join.

The Denver Gaels are continuing play with our Fall League. Games will be played on Sundays at Cook Park (Cherry Creek Drive and Monaco, see calendar for more details.)