Club Mission Statement

 

The Houston Gaels Gaelic Athletic Club’s mission is to expose the city of Houston to the Gaelic games. We exist to promote Irish culture in the form of its most popular Gaelic sports. The club is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are managed by an Executive Committee who manage the assets of the club, and the operation of activities within the club regarding membership, management structure, subcommittee structure, club property, games, training, etc.

 

About Houston Gaels GAC

 

Established October 2011, our membership is a mix of Irish emigrants and Americans (as well as some British & Australian ex-pats) that share a passion for Gaelic games. The Gaelic games we currently focus on are Gaelic Football, men’s and ladies.

 

Since 2012 the club has participated in the Texas State Football Championship along with Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. Games take place, roughly, between March and July.

 

Houston field three teams in the Texas Football Championship; a senior men’s team, a development team and a ladies team. Each team compete for their respective State Championship. An additional aim of the development team is to give players, new to the sport, game time to allow them to potentially progress to the senior squad. Teams play 13-a-side.

 

In addition to the Texas Championship the club also compete in the North American Championships which take place in a different US city each Labor Day weekend.

 

Since 2014 the club has held an internal pub league which takes place either side of the Texas Championship. This is a co-ed tournament with four teams, each based out of a local Houston pub. There is a draft night to pick the teams early in the New Year.

 

The goal of the pub league is to get new recruits game time experience and help new players to develop their Gaelic Football skills. This is a fun and competitive tournament with the winners taking home the Gavin Glynn Memorial Cup. A portion of the league fee goes to the foundation set up in his name, a cause that supports the family of sick kids like Gavin and his family. For more info check out http://thegavinglynnfoundation.ie/

 

The rest of the fee goes to the winning team who will host a night at their sponsor’s pub for all the teams, with drinks free for as long as the tab lasts!

 

Club Social Scene

 

The club has an active social scene with many club events taking place throughout the year, both to raise funds for the club and to promote the club / Gaelic sports. We continue to develop links to other Houston-based Irish/Celtic groups, such as Irish Network Houston and The Irish Society.

 

The club also participates in the annual Houston St. Patrick’s day parade, in downtown Houston.

We also host a tournament in November called Space City Scramble. 

The end-of-year awards usually take place in late November/ early December.

 

2024 Committee

 

Each GAA club has a committee, voted in by the club member, to manage the business and affairs of the club. The committee for 2024 is listed below