Canada Day is a day to celebrate our country and what it means to be Canadian.
That includes welcoming those from other parts of the world while embracing their culture and heritage.
Like the Irish.
So perhaps it’s a fitting time the Queen City is hosting the Western Canadian Championships of Gaelic football and hurling. They’re sports that are popular in Ireland and throughout Europe, but many in Saskatchewan may not be familiar with them.
“The most apt way of describing it is a cross between lacrosse, soccer and basketball,” described Peter McGloin, chair of the Regina Gaels, while adding hurling is similar, only with sticks.
The organization is hosting the championships at the Regina Rugby Club by Lewvan Drive and Parliament Avenue July 1 and 2. Teams from British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan will be competing.
It’s a big accomplishment considering no local team existed three years ago.
“When we came here that was the first thing we went to reach out for and we found that there wasn’t any so what we did is we’d just said we’d start it,” remembered McGloin.
He said Gaelic football and hurling are still relatively new to people here and they’d like to grow interest in the sports. Find out more about the Regina Gaels here.