In Canada’s capital, a Gaelic Football club is at the heart of a thriving Irish community that calls Ottawa home. The Ottawa Gaels, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2015, has seen a surge in participation from athletes of all ages and a boost in visibility throughout the local community.
Driving this growth in recent years, has been an emphasis on the development of the club’s youth program combined with a highly successful introduction of the sport to students at local public schools. Since 2000, Gaelic Football has been offered in the grade seven and eight Physical Education program in the Catholic School Board in Ottawa.
Each year the program culminates in a city-wide school tournament that sees over 600 kids playing Gaelic Football. The program has enjoyed steady growth, with Gaelic football being added to the grade five and six Physical Education program in the 2014/15 school year. This added an additional 65 elementary schools, a first in Canada. Two highly qualified coaches from Northern Ireland delivered the program to over 7,500 students across three school boards in Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley and for the 2015/16 school year, the participation level is expected to be even higher.
Outside of their school initiative, the Gaels run youth programs in four separate locations across the city which culminate in the Annual Mike Robinson Tournament every September. For the past seven years, the club has been hosting summer camps for its youth athletes that has seen between 50 and 75 kids take part each July.
These camps and the youth program have been the beneficiary of the Gaelic Athletic Association’s (GAA) goal: to grow Gaelic sports internationally. To help expand the game’s footprint, countries around the world have been paired up with individual GAA councils in Ireland as part of a developmental program. Canada has been twinned with the Ulster GAA, allowing Ottawa to import certified coaches from Ireland to run the schools and youth programs through the spring and summer months. Working with highly qualified coaches in Ireland has helped the Gaels develop a year-round program that allows for further player development and the certification of coaches.
International competition has also helped to drive development, for youth and senior players alike. Since the inception of the Continental Youth Championship (CYC) 11 years ago, each summer the Ottawa Gaels have sent youth players to participate in the largest Gaelic Games tournament outside of Ireland. The senior program has been galvanized by the introduction of the World Gaelic Games taking place in Dublin this summer. In August 2016, Men and Women from the Ottawa Gaels will be participating in the World Gaelic games as part of the Eastern Canadian Board representing Team Canada.
While the on-field program is flourishing, the team’s impact extends well beyond the pitch. The Gaels act as an anchor to the Irish community that is based in Canada’s Capital. The history of the Ottawa Gaels club dates back to 1975, when it was founded by a group of Irishmen, led by Galway man and long time Ottawa resident, Pat Kelly, co-owner Bradley Kelly Construction and the Heart & Crown group of pubs.
For Irish emigrants, the Ottawa Gaels club offers a home away from home and for Canadians of Irish heritage, the opportunity to connect with the Irish community and culture. The Gaels actively engage with the Hon. Ray Bassett, Ireland’s Ambassador to Canada. Mr. Bassett is big supporter of the GAA and of the Ottawa Gaels, given the club’s proximity to his diplomatic home in Ottawa. Mr. Bassett is often seen attending games and events.
The Gaels regularly liaise with other Irish community programs in the city such as the burgeoning Ottawa Irish Film Festival, the popular The SFH Irish Dance Studio and The Irish Society of the National Capital Region, which organizes the city’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. The Ottawa Gaels always bring a large contingent of Gaels supporters and players to join the parade, proceeding through Ottawa’s downtown core.
While celebrating the club’s 40th anniversary this past October gave the club and its members the chance to look back on four decades of accomplishments, the Gaels have their eyes set firmly on the future. A growing Gaelic Football program is showcasing the sport to a new generation of local Canadian athletes, while the club continues to act as a social hub of activity for the local Irish community. Building upon this 40 year old foundation, Gaelic Football and the Ottawa Gaels are well positioned to be a part of city’s cultural and sporting landscape for many years to come.
To learn more about the Ottawa Gaels and their programs, visit their website at http://ottawagaels.ca/. You can also follow them on Twitter @OttawaGaels and like them on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/OttawaGaels/
