GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 18 – January 24, 2015 | Seite 13

Photo: Gareth Williams

football but the gap perhaps is decreasing just that little bit
of late as Toronto Gaels senior team were very competitive
in 2014 and made the championship final. Toronto also
has a hurling and camogie team. With the long winter,
the Toronto season will get underway in May and will run
through September.
The main competitions in Western Canada are the Western Canada Championships, the Alberta Cup and Vancouver local leagues.
The Western Canada Championships is run over a three
day tournament format and last year was held in early
August hosted by The Irish Sporting and Social Club of
Vancouver (ISSC Vancouver) in British Columbia. The
hosts were celebrating their 40th anniversary and welcomed football teams from Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Red Deer and Lethbridge and, for the first time

two new clubs Regina (2013) and Clann na Gael Saskatoon (2014) from the province of Saskatchewan came to
Vancouver to take on host teams Vancouver Harps and
Celts. Hurling and Camogie was also on the ticket in
exhibition formats.
The men’s football title went to Edmonton Wolfe Tones
who beat Vancouver Harps by one point. The Vancouver
Harps took the ladies title. Vancouver run a local ladies
league through the summer and their Celts and Harps
sides are traditionally strong in the West. Look out for
them again this year in the championships. The Mens
Junior Championship went to Fraser Valley who are yet
another new club this time from the Vancouver region
of British Columbia. Hurling is also played in Vancouver
with a strong JP Ryan’s team dividing into 7s for a local
competition. Edmonton GAA host the Western Championships in 2015.

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