Gaelic Games, Ethnic Identity and Irish Nationalism in New York City c.1880-1917 [1]

Although evidence exists of hurling being played in New York as early as the 1780s, it was not until the 1880s that codified forms of this game along with Gaelic football were seen in the city. The significance of Gaelic games for the Irish in New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries extended far beyond the provision of opportunities to play sport. Hurling and Gaelic football, strongly nationalistic and resonant of 'home', allowed sections of New York's Irish community to mix with their own people, mark themselves out as a distinctive ethnic group, retain their Irishness and adjust to the rigours of life in their new, and often difficult, environs. Crucially, these sports also allowed Irish immigrants to express themselves as Irish nationalists and to give their support to the struggle for Irish independence. This essay examines the early history of Gaelic games in New York with particular reference to the broader social, cultural and political functions that they played for the city's burgeoning Irish migrant population.