Gaelic Football: Cill Dara v. Mhuineacháin

Neither rain nor shine will keep our Dublin Navigators from joining the locals for a good ole’ Irish tradition: Sunday Football…Gaelic football that is...and this time we don't mean soccer. This Sunday we attended the quarter finals match between Cill Dara v. Mhuineacháin at Croke Park.

What is Gaelic Football? Played exclusively in Ireland between counties, Gaelic Football can be described as a mix of soccer, rugby, handball and sometimes volleyball. Though we can’t claim to be professionals, our Irish guide Tony educated us on some fun facts of the game such as:  

• As an Irish sport, all the team names are written in both Irish and English such as Cill Dara v. Mhuineacháin (in Irish), or Kildare v. Monaghan (in English)
• Gaelic Football players are semi-professional, which means that they play and represent their county (and only their county) at a professional level. However, they are not paid as professional athletes and instead have day jobs.
• Gaelic football fields 15 players per team, meaning 30 players are on the pitch at a time.

Tony convinced the group to cheer for his team, Monaghan. To our enjoyment, they won the match after remaining tied until the last five minutes of play.