The Western Divisional Board of the North American GAA colloquially San Francisco GAA is the governing body of hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

, camogie

Camogie

Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....

, and Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is affiliated to the North American Board

North American GAA

The North American County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or North American GAA is one of the boards of the GAA outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the United States of America, excluding the New York metropolitan region, which is under the control of the New York GAA...

.

Since its inception, its games have been played at various venues throughout the city of San Francisco on municipal fields rented from the city, such as Beach Chalet playing fields in Golden Gate Park, and Boxer Stadium at Balboa Park. From 2009 onward, its games were held at Páirc na nGael, a facility that was renovated and leased by the GAA on Treasure Island.

The playing season runs from mid-April until late August. Local San Francisco championship winners advance to the NACB Playoffs that take place over Labor Day weekend every year. The playoffs rotate between cities like Chicago, Boston, Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco. They were previously held in San Francisco in 1993, 1997, and 2001. The Continental Youth Championship

Continental Youth Championship

The Continental Youth Championship is an annual weekend tournament of gaelic football and hurling organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is contested by teams from the USA and Canada, and is a separate competition from the existing youth championships in the New York, Canadian, and NACB...

s return to San Francisco in 2009 and will be played at Páirc na nGael, as will the adult national finals in 2010.

Clubs

Men's Football

• Celts
• Michael Cusack's
• Sean Treacy's
• Peninsula Naomh Padraig / Shannon Rangers
• Sons of Ború
• Ulster
• Young Irelanders / St Brendan's

Hurling

• Na Fianna
• Naomh Padraig
• Na Sabhaic
• Rovers
• Stanford University
• University of California, Berkeley

Ladies Football

• Clan na Gael
• Fog City Harps
• Saoirse
• Cailiní Ceilteacha

Camogie

• Shamrocks

Youth

• Irish Football Youth League
• Éire Óg

Páirc na nGael

Páirc na nGael was opened on Sunday, December 7th 2008 by GAA President Nicky Brennan prior to the Vodafone GAA All-Star football game starring the top inter-county gaelic footballers in Ireland. It contains three regulation sized Gaelic fields for hurling and football spanning 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) covering the space of three city blocks. Páirc na nÓg is the name of the youth field further to the east on the island adjacent to the home grounds of the Golden Gate Rugby Club. Páirc na nGael's development was funded by financial and labor donations from the Irish community in San Francisco, plus $500,000 from the GAA in Ireland. A disused adjacent elementary school building was later remodeled to become the club rooms, and funding for this was also secured from the GAA in Ireland.

External links

• San Francisco GAA Official website
• Irish Football Youth League Official website
• North American Board official website
• GAA official website
• Continental Youth Championships official website