An unfamiliar Sport to many is Thriving in Dutchess County… and it’s not what you would expect
Gaelic Football, which was first invented and played in Ireland well over a century ago, has built a prominent presence in the region with the Dutchess Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) continuing to grow in size and popularity.
The club was first created back in 2019 and has continued to grow and become more successful as part of the greater New York GAA, known for being a hotbed of the sport internationally. The Dutchess GAA has continued to bring in more athletes and supporters every season as they continue to try and grow the club to the serious competitive levels of some of their counterparts in the New York GAA.
The Dutchess GAA has done this by continuously recruiting potential players, raising funds for the club and playing the sport as much as possible. Though there are not a lot of experienced Gaelic Football players in Dutchess County, the club has been able to recruit people of different athletic backgrounds to compete.
“We consider ourselves fortunate when an Irish born person or an American person that has experience with the game does come across our lap because it is rare especially where we are in Dutchess County, it’s not like Woodlawn down in the Bronx which is jokingly called the 33rd county of Ireland,” said Kieran Mitchell, Chairman of the Dutchess County GAA. “We try to target people from a soccer background, a tough soccer player would transition very well with Gaelic Football. Rugby players transition fairly well but there is a lot of stamina and a ton of running in Gaelic Football and there is no tackling like you would see in Rugby or American Football.”
Right now the Dutchess GAA competes in the Junior B section of the New York GAA which is geared more toward teams that have started their clubs recently and are composed largely of players who are transitioning to the game from another sport. The highest section is Senior Football, which eventually the Dutchess GAA is aiming to grow into by also having three youth teams which allow them to teach and develop kids in the sport from a young age.
“GAA is a real community type feel and a very prideful thing. You look at these kids with any club out there, they are playing for their club with the expectation and hope that they would go all the way up the ranks and play with their senior team, and make it to that level some day,” said Mitchell. “Some soccer academies are somewhat similar in that regard, where they train them and grow them until they get to that point.”
The GAA club that Dutchess is most trying to model themselves after is the Rockland GAA which is known as one of the most prominent clubs in the New York GAA. Since their inception, the Dutchess GAA, has always strived to achieve similar success as their Hudson Valley counterparts, with dedicated fundraising and sponsorship helping them grow toward achieving their goals.
“We have lofty goals where we do someday in the future want to own our own field and facilities,” said Mitchell. “Rockland sets the paradigm example for any club to model themselves after. They have; one full sized field, another smaller field, a facility with locker rooms, showers, and a clubhouse which is what we want to strive for in the future.”
While the Dutchess GAA has a ways to go before they achieve these goals, one thing they already have is a growing community of support. The mission of the GAA is to promote the traditional Gaelic sports of Hurling, Camogie and Gaelic Football as well as all things Irish, and the Dutchess GAA has shown an ability to do that over their six years of operation, welcoming people of both Irish and non-Irish descent.
“Whether you’re Irish by birth, Irish by descent, or Irish in spirit everyone is welcome,” said Mitchell. “It is such a community aspect being involved with these people, where nobody is doing it for glory or to make money; you are doing it for the love of the game and for the people around you. There’s an expression in the GAA that says ‘it’s where we all belong.’”
This spring the Dutchess GAA will begin another season competing in Gaelic Football, continuing to grow both the club and community in the county.
