Stepinac Gaelic Football Club

Moderator:  Mr. Paul Carty (Principal/Club Chairman), Ms. Margaret Brady (Teacher/Coach), Mr. Michael McSweeney ‘12 (Teacher/Coach), Mr. Ken O’Connor (Parent/Coach)

Contact:  pcarty@stepinac.org, mbrady@stepinac.org, mmcsweeney@stepinac.org

Description: Gaelic Football is one of the national sports of Ireland. Irish immigrants have brought Gaelic games with them to New York from the days of mass immigration during the Great Hunger in the mid-nineteenth century all the way up to the present day. That, combined with the emphasis placed on New York-born and raised players, has led to NY boasting the strongest/most vibrant GAA community outside of Ireland. By being one of the first choice schools for many Irish/GAA families for decades now, Stepinac has certainly played a small yet proud role in the NYGAA story. This club was created to expand on that role in the name of culture/heritage, community, and charity (all values on which Gaelic games were founded).

Interest has been so high that we actually have two teams:

There is a “Senior” team for experienced sophomores, juniors, and seniors who will play two charity cup matches per year (one in the Fall, one in the Spring) with all proceeds going to a different charity that is selected for each match.

There is also a “Junior” team for experienced freshmen along with any upperclassmen who are completely new to the sport. This team will help make the club even stronger on and off the pitch by allowing even more students to be involved.