Saturday, November 29 2014 is lining up to be a day to remember at the Irish Cultural Center. The cream of Gaelic Football talent from Ireland, along with adult and underage players from Boston and New York will be part of a celebration of the GAA and the sport of Gaelic Football.
Preparations are picking up coming up to All Star Day at the ICC. The 2014 All Star team was picked last week and features 5 players from champions Kerry, 4 from beaten finalists Donegal, and 3 each from semi finalists Mayo and Dublin. These players along with the 2013 All Star team, will play at the ICC in a game featuring the cream of gaelic football talent from this year and last year.
We all know about Red Sox v Yankees and Patriots v Jets, now we have another dimension to the Boston v New York rivalry. A Boston selection will meet their counterparts from New York in a Gaelic football Challenge. The New Yorkers compete in the Connacht Championship each year and this will be a chance for the home based players in Boston to put their best foot forward. There have been Boston v New York matchups in the past, both in Canton and Gaelic Park. In recent games the New Yorkers have had the better of things, but that was not always the case. In the earlier rounds of the “Challenge” the local side gave New York a fair surprise or two. Things have picked up in recent years at the Boston end of Interstate 95 with some talented players having made Boston their home and underage players from the youth leagues making the transition to adult football.
In addition to the adults, Gaelic footballers based on this side of the pond, the kids will also get their chance to shine. A Boston Under 12 team will play Shannon Rangers on All Star Game day. Players from the local underage teams will get together to face Shannon Gaels, one of New York’s pre-eminent underage clubs. Training for the Under 12s takes place on Sundays at 1:30 at the ICC. GDA Kieran Cox is managing the Boston team.
2014 GAA GPA All Stars
Goalkeeper: Paul Durkin (Donegal)
Full Back Line: Paul Murphy (Kerry), Neil McGee (Donegal), Keith Higgins (Mayo).
Half Back Line: James McCarthy (Dublin), Peter Crowley (Kerry), Colm Boyle (Mayo).
Midfield: Neil Gallagher (Donegal), David Moran (Kerry).
Half Forward Line: Paul Flynn (Dublin), Michael Murphy (Donegal), Diarmuid Connolly (Dublin).
Full Forward Line: Cillian O’Connor (Mayo), Kieran Donaghy (Kerry), James O’Donoghue (Kerry).
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