3
0th ANNIVERSARY
30 YEARS OF GAELIC GAMES
IN CALGARY
BY JOHN O’FLYNN
30 YEARS of GAELIC GAMES in CALGARY!
It has been a privilege to gain further
knowledge about the Calgary-Irish
sporting community. Through the
cooperation of many people, too many to
name, it has been a treat to speak with
all who participated in the interview
process or in the sharing of Chieftain’s
history during my time of research. Your
pride and enthusiasm about the Gaelic
Athletic Association and your club was
very evident. Congratulations for 30
years of service, community and
championships!
I hope you, dear Chieftain, bring to my
attention the errors in this effort to
record and celebrate the history of the
Gaelic games in Calgary. Your
contributions will be most welcome to
john.oflynn@gmail.com or 1.604.803.7232
I regret any errors or omissions. Those
who have never made mistakes have never
attempted or accomplished anything.
The presence of the GAA in Calgary is a
validation that a very important part of
our cultural legacy lives on in a
strong, healthy and vibrant fashion. To
all those who have made this possible in
Calgary – the players, their families,
the coaches, the club and members, the
supporters and sponsors –
Congratulations! By your efforts,
unselfish sacrifices and contributions
you have enriched our Irish presence and
sporting culture ‘a mari usque ad mare’
(from sea to sea) across this great
country of Canada.
Is mise le meas,
John O’Flynn
RÚNAÍ CONTAE
John O’Flynn has been a life long member
of the Vancouver Irish Sporting and
Social Club. He has had the opportunity
to play Gaelic football in three North
American County Board Gaelic Football
Championships (1984, 1985 and 2001) and
attended the founding meeting of the
Canadian County Board in 1987. John
serves as the Canadian County Board
Secretary and presents workshops on
Gaelic football to teachers and summer
camps that introduce the Gaelic games to
youth.
THE GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION of
CALGARY
(1977-2007)
COW TOWN TO THE CHIEFTAIN’S TOWN
In 1977, Mike Quirke of Fylemore, Kerry
helped to start the Calgary Chieftains
with a group of avid supporters. This
was probably the strongest year ever for
Gaelic Football in Alberta, with
Edmonton hosting a nine a-side
tournament that was contested by no
fewer than six Albertan teams; two from
Edmonton, two from Fort McMurray, the
Calgary Chieftains and a team from Red
Deer.
Two years of competitive hurling in
Alberta with Calgary playing in a 13
a-side game against Edmonton. In 1980,
Edmonton won convincingly 7-15 to 2-4
but Calgary would win the following year
in similar fashion.
Northwest Division Champions and the
80’s
It was 1983 when the Calgary Chieftains
joined the Northwest Division of the
NACB that consisted of teams from
Vancouver, Edmonton and Seattle. Quite a
splash for the rookie club was
accomplished that year as they won the
championship over Vancouver. Calgary did
not need to play a qualifier
quarterfinal match, as the NACB had
suspended the Western California Board
for their decision not to travel to
Canada. The Chieftains went on to
Chicago to play the St. Brendans of
Chicago in a junior semi-final. In a
losing cause, Calgary gave a great
effort in their determined play
throughout the match.
Some of the Chieftain stalwarts in these
years included Paddy Slater, Tom Casey,
Sean Hayes, John Connolly, Eamonn
McMahon, John Doyle, Joe Thornton, Tony
Broderick, James Doherty, Fintan
McGivern, Gerry Foley, Finian Leahy (R.I.P),
Adrian O’Mahoney, Brendan McCaffrey, Dan
Donohue and Micky Clark.
The Chieftains traveled to Seattle for
the weekend of May 19-20, 1984 and
suffered losses to Vancouver 3-12 to 0-8
and to Seattle 1-8 to 0-6. The club went
on to host a Northwest Divisional
tournament June 29-30 that year and
organize quality food and entertainment.
The Chieftains played Seattle for 60
minutes of close football where the game
ended in a draw, Calgary 2-4 to Seattle
1-7. Calgary played Vancouver in the
final game of the weekend where
Vancouver got off to a quick start with
a goal in the opening minutes from
midfielder Davey Carroll. At half time,
Vancouver led 2-2 to 0-4 and though the
lead extended to 6 points in the second
half Calgary rallied back with a goal
but two outstanding saves by Vancouver’s
Pat Burns meant a Chieftain loss by only
3 points (2-6 to 1-6).
In 1989 and 1990 the Chieftains would
win the Northwest Division with
outstanding play and team spirit. Great
support came from Sean Murray, Kieron
Garvan, Sean Kelly, Frank Campbell, John
Connolly, Sean & Ray Kavanagh, Stephen
Kane and John Doyle in promoting Gaelic
football in Calgary. Sean Darby (Down)
served as a player coach in the mid
90’s. He had played in Vancouver,
Toronto and Edmonton during his football
career and his fondest memory was being
part of the 1985 Vancouver Championship
team.
The Rebuilding Years
After a brief Gaelic football recession
in 2001 where the club was inactive, the
Chieftains regained form and had
extraordinary success in 2002 and 2003.
Calgary leadership in the GAA scene
included the likes of brothers Paddy and
“Deno” McCallion (Tyrone), Dave Kiernan,
and Ronan Deane who were instrumental in
reviving the Chieftains.
Other Chieftain players of note include
Noel Tuohy of Fr. Murphy’s Pub, Simon
Kelly, John McGrath, Wayne Kavanagh,
Nigel McCarthy, Stephen Connolly, Chris
Kelly, Brian Geoghegan, Kenneth Flynn,
Mark Hoey, Ted Beales, and Phil
Henderson (2007 Poc Fada Champion).
Calgary would win Seattle’s tournament
in 2003 with a convincing victory over
the Seattle Gaels and, once again, over
Edmonton at their tournament later that
summer.
Ronan Deane
Ronan Deane was born in Cork City and
played both hurling and football in his
early years. He was active in Western
Australia in 2000 as a member of
Southern Districts GFC and took part in
the Australasian Championships in
Adelaide that year. Ronan traveled to
Canada where he became a member of the
Vancouver Harps in 2001.
His work related move later that year to
Calgary saw his rise to being the
President of the club in 2003 and 2004.
His charitable work was noted with fund
raising for the benefit of community
members and a four part series of
articles that he wrote promoting
development of the games in Western
Canada.
Ronan was also a founding member of the
Fort McMurray Brian Dillons who competed
in a few tournaments in 2004. Thanks to
a handful of Irish workers working in
the oil industry there, Ronan handed out
his contact details to anyone who could
walk during the St Patrick’s Day parade.
A week later he had fifteen lads lined
up for training.
Ronan once said, “Basically you have to
look at the positives rather than the
negatives, you have to allow yourself to
step away from all the GAA norms, and
then you have to be absolutely focused.”
Ronan later went to Vancouver in 2005
where he injected his enthusiasm into
the GAA scene where his love for the
Gaelic games continues to shine forth in
his activities with the Western Canada
Divisional Board and the Vancouver ISSC.
“All you really need is a field, a ball,
and a strong focus. You’ve got to set a
time and place for training. Be there
ahead of time. Ask everyone you meet
will they play. Argue with them when
they say they're not interested. Take
phone numbers of people that you've
convinced to play and call them back.
Bully people from already-in-place teams
to support your initiative. Go to the
schools.” This may sound far-fetched to
some, but the results by Ronan Deane
speak for themselves and the approach
works.
Paddy McCallion
Paddy McCallion immigrated to Toronto in
1992 and played Gaelic football for the
Roger Casement club in Brampton. In 1996
he moved to Calgary and played for
Edmonton but in 1997 established himself
as the Captain of the Calgary
Chieftains. His leadership with the
Chieftains soon had him coined as the
“Christy Whelehan” of Calgary with the
turn around in the clubs good fortunes
with his efforts.
Tim Hamill
Tim Hamill (2007 Poc Fada Canadian
Champion) is the son of St. Mike’s
legend Mickey Hamill who played on the
1975 NACB Hurling Championship team.
Other former Calgary players of note
include Steven Kane who played with
Toronto’s Clan Na nGael (1973-77) and
John Fitzgerald who was actively
involved with the Clan Na nGael as
Captain.
Irish and “Aussie” Adrian Lagan
One of the current playing stars and
club leaders of the Calgary Chieftains,
Adrian Lagan, has represented his home
County of Derry at senior level in both
Gaelic Football and Hurling, picking up
a National League and Mc Keanna cup
medal for football `along the way.
Adrian has also been active in a variety
of sports including Aussie Rules
football. He played for Canada at the
International Cup in Melbourne and
contributed to the team’s success with a
number of scores from play. Adrian’s
father, Michael, played for Toronto’s
Clan Na nGael in the mid-60’s but
transferred to St. Mikes when the club
was gathering up players to form their
club. Michael Lagan also played for the
Toronto All Star team of the early 70’s
that toured America and was well known
for his gifted abilities and skill on
the field.
Western Canadian Championships
The men’s team won the first Western
Canadian Divisional Board championship
in 2004. They combined forces with the
Edmonton Wolfe Tones in 2005 and 2006 to
participate as a junior team in the
Powerscreen 7’s in Toronto, Ontario. The
“Chief-Tones” had much success in
round-robin play but close losses in the
semi-finals each year have prevented
them from setting any of the gold watch
prizes to “Mountain Time”.
In Vancouver during the 2006 tournament
there was a classic “Battle of Alberta”
championship final with the Calgary
Chieftains squeaking by the Edmonton
Wolfe Tones 12 to 10. The J.J. Hyland
Trophy was awarded to the Chieftains
with the Most Valuable Player being
awarded to County Tyrone’s Connor
McNally from the Wolfe Tones.
In 2007, the Chieftains doubled their
membership and won the Western Canada
Divisional Championship again without
winning one of the two tournaments in
Edmonton and Vancouver that were part of
league play. Still, the championship
proved that the talent was available for
Calgary when it came to winning the
matches that mattered in the standings.
Members of the Championship team
included Will Henderson (Corner Forward)
Tom McAroe, Gary McCafferty (Goal
tender/Full forward) , Ted Beales (Mid
field/Forward), Brendan O’ Hara, Dan
Fagan, Sean Louge (Canadian Corner
back), Micheal O’Donnel (Half Forward
and 2007 Calgary Tournament MVP), Adrian
Lagan (Midfield/ Full Forward Captain),
Jeremy Klemkey, Chris Rodgers (Half
Forward), Liam Mailey (Manager), Brendan
Bakay, Sean Moriarty, Calum Bonnington
(Center Half Back), Tim Hamill
(Midfield), Ryan Bakay (Full Back),
Eamon Gormley (Half Back), Barry
Sinclair (Full Back) and Noel Tuohy
(Coach).
The Chieftains developed a firm
relationship with the Calgary Kangaroos
Aussie Rules team which first began to
play Gaelic on June 21-22, 2003 at the
Calgary Irish Rugby Club. That year, the
first International Rules Series was
played between the two teams with each
team winning a game a piece. The Aussies
had the bigger margin of victory
however, and so took home the bragging
rights.
History was made August 5-6, 2006 when
the Kangaroos, who are not affiliated
with the GAA but are part of AFL Canada,
won the Calgary Cup with victories over
Vancouver in the semi-finals and Calgary
in the finals. MVP Brad Flowers from the
Kangaroos was gracious in his award
mentioning his father’s connection to
the sport of Gaelic football.
Preliminary talks with the “Roo’s” to
affiliate with the Western Canada
Divisional Board continue, yet the
Chieftains were delighted to win back
the Calgary Cup in August 2007 with a
dominating victory.
Supporters of the Calgary GAA
The Irish Cultural Society of Calgary
(1989) is located in Bowness where there
are two separate areas available for GAA
activities. The first is Bunratty Hall
which holds upward of 170 people and
includes a full kitchen, bar and stage.
The second area available is Rosie
O’Grady’s pub that seats 80 people in a
comfortable atmosphere. Many
entertaining evenings following GAA
tournaments and games have occurred with
guests from all over Canada commenting
on the functionality of the premise.
Special thanks are directed to Colette
Smithers and John Doyle of the ICS for
their promotion of the Calgary GAA over
the years.
The Calgary Irish Rugby and Field Hockey
club at 4334 18th ST NE has served as
the Calgary Chieftains home since 2004.
The club has been training and playing
there regularly and the Chieftains have
developed a good friendship with past
president Ron Oates and staff members
such as Gary and Carolin Hewison whose
sons, Rhys and Dye, are learning the
game. The Calgary Irish Rugby grounds
provide excellent facilities with
quality pitches, showers, gymnasium and
live All Ireland Championship games. The
Chieftains would like to acknowledge
current President Ron Lockhart for his
help and Catholine Butler of the Celtic
Connection newspaper for her
instrumental support of the Calgary GAA
over the years.
LADY CHIEFTAINS
June 12, 1999 at the Viscount Bennett
football field proved to be a historic
event as it introduced the first women’s
Gaelic football team to represent the
city of Calgary. The Lady Chieftains
were up against a Vancouver women’s team
that was seeing action for the second
time that day. Despite the roaring
support from the sidelines for the home
team girls, the opposition proved too
much. The following day Calgary played
Edmonton but the experienced opposition
claimed a victory too.
Though there were challenges in
maintaining a competitive team in the
early years of the team, June 2003
provided a Calgary 7’s Tournament
victory over Edmonton 11-3. Players that
day included Sinead and Leigh Kavanagh,
Jody Patrick, Caroline Ross and Mandy
Tuohy.
The Lady Chieftains were proud to have
two of their Albertan born players
(Mandy Tuohy and Kim Tulloch) help
represent Canada at the International
Women’s Tournament of 2005 in Dublin.
Cindy Chalmers was commended for being
chosen as a Western Canadian all-star in
the lead up to the naming of the
Canadian team.
The 2007 squad saw dedication and
commitment throughout the season from
Anna Doyle (daughter of former Chieftain
John Doyle), Erin St. Clair and Sinead
Brady. John Fitzgerald, a former captain
of Toronto’s Clan Na nGael, capably
served as the team’s coach and manager.
LEDCOR’S WESTERN CANADA DIVISION
LADIES’ALL- STARS 2007
Alecia Baldwin (Edmonton) Goalkeeper,
Dawn Krawchuk (Edmonton) and Stephanie
Hahn (Vancouver) Full Backs, Mandy Tuohy
(Calgary) and Rae Deen (Red Deer) Half
Backs, Cathy Jackson (Vancouver) and
Rene McGloin (Vancouver) Midfielders,
Carlin Acheson Johnston (Edmonton) and
Katrina McAndrew (Vancouver) Half
Forwards, Ainsley Baldwin (Edmonton) and
Tara Philips (Vancouver) Full Forwards.
Notable mentions were Kate Bohan, Tanya
St. John, Elan Park, Sandra Parriere
(Vancouver), Kim Budd and Pam Mathieu
(Edmonton) and Maeve McKiernan
(Calgary).
LEDCOR’S WESTERN CANADA DIVISION MEN’S
ALL- STARS 2007
Gary McCaffery (Calgary) Goalkeeper,
Jerry Murphy (Vancouver) and Mick
O'Toole (Red Deer) Full Backs, Tom McRae
(Calgary) and Peter Agnew (Vancouver)
Half Backs, Tim Hamill (Calgary) and
Brian Daly (Edmonton) Midfielders, Rory
Lynch (Red Deer) and Colin Baugh
(Edmonton) Half Forwards, Adrian Lagan
(Calgary) and Derek Healy (Vancouver)
Full Forwards.
Notable mentions were Brendan O'Hara
(Calgary), Peter Markey (Vancouver),
Brian Byrne (Edmonton) and Blaine Lavery
(Red Deer).
CALGARY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Ladies Mens
2007 N/A Draw Chieftains
2006 Wolftones Kangaroo's
2005 Wolftones Chieftains
2004 Wolftones Chieftains
2003 Chieftains Chieftains A
2002 Wolftones Chieftains
2001 Wolftones N/A
2000 Wolftones Wolftones
WESTERN DIVISION TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Ladies Mens
2007 Harps Chieftains
2006 Wolftones Harps
2005 Wolftones Harps
2004 Wolftones Chieftains
To become a member of the Calgary
Chieftains GAA Club log on to;
www.calgarygaelicfootball.com
or
Contact club Registrar Maeve @
(403) 689-4732.
Chieftains Ladies Team that competed in
Vancouver 2007 tournament.
The 2007 Western Canadian Championship
winning team.
Fellow Chieftains,
I present to you the new Calgary
Chieftains Board as elected by the
membership on December 15 2007.
Chair: Adrian Lagan
Vice-Chair: Liam Mailey
Secretary: Erin Sinclair
Registrar: Maeve McKiernan
Treasurer: Barry Sinclair
Players Rep: Tim Hamill
Members at large: Orla McKiernan,
Brendan O’Hara, William Henderson, Noel
Tuohy.
Dear Chieftains,