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Rain Puts a Damper on Week 2 League Matches

After a very chilly opening day for Nashville’s spring hurling league, hopes were high for a warm, sunny day yesterday. Mother Nature had other plans. The pouring rain discouraged many from attending, leaving Homegrown to forfeit both matches. The match-up between East Nashville Beer Works and Quore, however, brought lots of excitement and culminated in another win for the green team.

The standings as we head into week three are as follows:

 

Week One

Quore: 3 points

ENBW: 0 points

Homegrown: 3 points

 

Week Two

Quore: 4 points

ENBW: 2 points

Homegrown: 0 points

 

Totals:

Quore: 7

ENBW: 2

Homegrown: 3

We’re only two weeks into a twelve-week season, so anything can happen! PS, it’s still raining in Nashville.

 

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Did We Meet You at Music City Irish Fest?

ngac at music city irish fest

We had a blast meeting everyone yesterday at the Music City Irish Fest, whether we saw you at the bar or at our own NGAC tent. Several of you took cards and learned about hurling and Gaelic football, and a few of you even seemed interested in joining.

If that’s you–interested in joining or just learning how to play–here’s what you need to know:

Training on Tuesday is now at Richland Park on Charlotte Avenue. It still starts at 6 pm and we’ll go until it’s too dark to see the ball. If you have to come late due to work or family, that’s okay! Don’t let a little tardiness keep you from the greatest sport you’ll ever play.

Thursday’s training will be at Centennial Park at 6 pm, just as we talked about at the Irish Fest.

Don’t forget our Music City Invitational Tournament on March 24. You’re all very welcome to come out and watch us as we play hurling and camogie clubs from Indianapolis, St. Louis, Memphis, Atlanta, Knoxville, and Hampton Roads.

Then, on April 8, we’ll start our spring league. You can register here any time. We still have a few weeks for you to learn the skills before you apply them in a match.

Remember: everyone who wants to play will play. There are no tryouts. No minimum for entry. We play sports, but we’re a club first and foremost. If nothing else, come join in the fun on the sidelines and have some beers with us after.

We can’t wait to see you again!

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Music City Invitational Tournament to Take Place on March 24

music city invitational tournament

Nashville will again welcome hurling and camogie teams from across the Midwest and Southeast for our Fourth Annual Music City Invitational. This year, the tournament is an official Music City Irish Festival event! Here’s what you need to know so you can come enjoy a day filled with Irish sports.

Date: March 24, 2018

Where: Metro Soccer Complex, 1266 Donelson Pike, Nashville

Opening ceremonies: 9:30 am

Championship matches: 5:00 pm

Afters: 7:00 pm at East Nashville Beer Works

We’ll be playing on two fields throughout the day. They’re located at the far end of Metro Soccer Complex. Games will start every hour on the hour. A food truck will be available at lunch time, so bring some cash! As always, no alcohol is allowed in any metro park. Besides, there will be plenty of beer at afters, where we’ll also hold the trophy ceremony.

The tournament is free to the public. We hope to see you there!

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17 Irish Things to Do in Nashville in March

irish in nashville

St. Patrick’s Day is on the way, and that means the Irish are out in force in Nashville. If you’re looking for something to do, we have a big list to choose from. Sports, music, art, beer… It’s all right here! So pull out your calendar and start making plans.

Irish Music Session at The Violin Shop – March 4

Visit the Violin Shop on 8th Avenue on Sunday between 4 pm and 8 pm to enjoy some classic Irish tunes. Bring your own instrument and join in the fun, or just sit back and listen. Some light snacks and beverages will be available, too, so you can make an evening of it.

Gabriel Donohue at BB King’s – March 5

Singer and instrumentalist from Galway Gabriel Donohue will perform at BB King’s, along with other Irish musicians. The show starts at 7 pm and a $10 cover charge will get you in.

Dropkick Murphys at Marathon Music Works – March 6

Celtic rock giants Dropkick Murphys will come to Nashville on March 6 for their St. Patrick’s Day tour. Pick up tickets for the show at the Marathon Music Works website.

Molly Ramone at The Old School – March 8

Nashville Irish band Molly Ramone will appear at The Old School restaurant on March 8 at 7 pm. Tickets for the event are $10. If you can’t make this one, you can see Molly Ramone again later this month.

County Sumner Irish Festival in Castalian Springs – March 10

Hosted by Visit Sumner TN, the County Sumner Irish Fest will take place form 10 am to 2 pm at Bledsoe’s Fort Historical Park. Enjoy live Irish music, brews, and great Irish food. You can also tour Rogan cottage, an authentic Irish dwelling. Don’t miss the hurling and Gaelic football exhibit matches by your favorite Gaelic club in Nashville.

Paul Brock Band at The Old School – March 10

The Old School will host Paul Brock, Denis Carey, Eimear Arkins, and Shane Farrell, playing Irish, French-Canadian, and bluegrass favorites. The show starts at 7 pm, and the tickets are $15 at the door.

Celtic Rhythms on Fire – March 10 & 11

The Nashville Irish Step Dancers will perform their annual March show on March 10 and 11 at The Capital Theatre on Main Street in Lebanon. Tickets for adults are $20, and $15 for kids and seniors. You can purchase tickets online here.

Triona at BB King’s – March 12

Ireland’s singer-songwriter Triona will perform original songs at BB King’s on March 12 at 7 pm. A cover charge of $10 covers entrance and the show.

Exploring Your Scots-Irish Genealogy – March 12 & 13

Join Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation during their annual North American lecture tour to learn how to get the most out of Irish resources and records, gain strategies for breaking down brick walls, and grasp important historical context that may help fill in gaps in your research. Monday’s workshop is $15 for non-members. Tuesday is devoted to private consultations for $45 per person.

Irish Night at ACME – March 13

Come at 6 pm for the Finnegan & Carmichael concert and stay for the film John Hume in America at 7 pm. Following the film will be a Q&A session with the filmmaker Maurice Fitzpatrick. Admission is free!

Chloë Agnew of Celtic Woman at The Old School – March 15

One of the original Celtic Woman members, Chloë Agnew, will perform favorites and original tunes at The Old School from 7 pm to 10 pm. Tickets are $15 to $30 and can be purchased any time before the show.

Gulliver’s Travels at Nashville Public Library – March 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, & 31

Irish stories and puppetry will take over the library during these weekends at the Nashville Public Library. Perfect for the kids, but fun for all.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Riverfront Park – March 17 & 18

Two days of fun, drink, food, music, and Irish goods await at the Nashville Riverfront Park. A stage will host musicians throughout both days, including Molly Ramone, Colm Kirwan, Nashville Pipes & Drums, The Willis Clan, Skerryvore, and We Banjo 3, among many others. Admission is free!

Main Street Brew Fest in Franklin – March 17

Tickets are available for the Main Street Brew Fest on St. Patrick’s Day, where dozens of micro-breweries—local, national, and international—will be featured. Enjoy live music, food trucks, and of course, beer.

The Luck of the Irish Pub Crawl – March 17

Registration begins at Winners Bar & Grill at 11 am. Stops on the crawl include Winners, Whiskey Rhythm Saloon, The Slider House, DawgHouse Saloon, and many more! It’s a great way to drink your way through Music City.

Shane Hennessy Shows – March 19 & 22

Irish guitarist Shane Hennessy will perform first at BB King’s on March 19 and then again at The Old School on March 22. BB King’s charges a $10 cover to get in. Tickets for The Old School show are $10 each.

Music City Invitational Hurling Tournament – March 24

The NGAC will again host clubs from various cities across the United States in a hurling and camogie tournament. Festivities will kick off at 9 am on March 24 and end with an after party and trophy presentation at East Nashville Beer Works at 7 pm.

There are quite a few more fun events planned for the Music City Irish Festival, which lasts all throughout the month of March. If this just isn’t enough Irish for you, check out their calendar for more!

As always, if you see anyone wearing a Nashville Gaelic Athletic Club crest, stop us and ask about hurling and Gaelic football. We’re starting our spring league soon, and we’d love to welcome you out to play or watch any time!

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Upcoming Nashville Gaelic Athletic Club Events

It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter—except for those rare, sunny days when we got to scrimmage at Centennial Park. Spring is on the way, and everyone in the club is itching to pick up a hurl or Gaelic football and get back on the pitch.

Fortunately, March will offer several opportunities to play (or watch!), so grab your calendar and start making some notes.

Intro to Hurling – Feb 3

Let’s get back in shape for the coming Music City Invitational and Spring League! Training starts at 9:00 am at Centennial Park.

Beginners are always welcome. We’ll make sure you have all the right equipment and show you the basics before you join in on a scrimmage. Don’t be afraid! Every member will take the time to walk you through the rules and help you learn technique as you go. There is absolutely no experience necessary. Of any kind.

Future training sessions will be announced via Facebook until it’s warm enough to set recurring dates.

County Sumner Irish Festival – March 10

On March 10, the NGAC will travel to Castalian Springs to take part in the County Sumner Irish Festival. The fest takes place between 10 am and 2 pm, with exhibition matches of hurling and Gaelic football on at noon.

If you come out to watch, stay to learn about the history of Irish sports and even learn how to play. If you love it, we’ll sign you up on the spot!

Music City Irish Fest – March 17 & 18

It’s two days of glorious shamrockery! The NGAC will man a tent where you can learn all about the sports of hurling and Gaelic football. We’ll show some classic matches and walk you through the rules. Or we’ll just clink beer mugs together with a “Sláinte!”* and sing along to Irish tunes with you.

You’ll also find us slinging beers at the beer tents. We’re always recognizable in our gold and green. Say hi when you find one of us!

Music City Invitational – March 24

We’re still ironing out the details, but you’ll definitely want to save this date. Hurling clubs from all over the United States will travel to Nashville for our 4th Annual Music City Invitational—probably our biggest yet.

The event lasts all day, with food and drink available for purchase on site. After the winners have been decided through fierce battles for the Watson and Wall Cups, we’ll party the night away with our sponsors, East Nashville Beer Works. You don’t want to miss this!

*Sláinte (slahn-cha) To your health, or “Cheers!”

 

 

 

 

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Meet Your 2018 Board Members!

At our AGM, we held elections for two open positions on the board. The first was for Chairman, as we said a heartfelt “thank you!” to Ryan Buckley for his two years of dedicated service. The second was the Treasurer role, held by the very capable Rayne Leonard. These elections also created additional vacancies within the board, so a meeting was held to appoint members to these roles.

We’re now thrilled to introduce your 2018 NGAC Board of Directors!

Chairman – Liam Barry

Vice Chairman – Danny Espensen

Secretary – Molly Buckley

Treasurer – Jesse Gentry

Registrar – Ryan Culligan

Games Development – Brendan Rauer

PR & Marketing – Jen Barry

Molly has previous experience serving on the board, most recently as Registrar. The Board is excited to welcome Molly back, as she brings with her an immense dedication to training for and growing the Camogie team.

The newly elected Board upheld the previous decision to eliminate the Member at Large position for various reasons, not the least of which is a need for odd numbers for voting purposes. As such, each and every member of the Board is available to any and all club members at any time. Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns. We’re all here for you, and we’re always excited to help.

Let’s have a great 2018!

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Open Board Positions for Election

Nominations will be accepted for the following open Board positions from November 25th to December 9th.

1. Chairman

Chairman: The Chairman shall convene regular board meetings, shall preside over meetings. The chairman sets the agenda for the board meetings, special meetings, and Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Chairman can arrange for one of the other officers to preside over meetings in the Chairman’s absence.

2. Treasurer

Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for keeping accurate records of the account. The Treasurer is the legal custodian of the moneys or other valued assets of the NGAC. The Treasurer shall file or cause to be filed any State or Federal tax filings. Any moneys collected by the club shall be deposited immediately into an FDIC insured bank account. The Treasure shall give a report of the fiscal status of the club at board meetings, and present an annual report to the membership at the AGM.

Nominations should be sent via email to: nashvillegac@gmail.com.

Please check with the nominee before nominating them to make sure they are interested in the position.

Nominees are permitted to send one campaign message to the club during the days of December 9th-15th.

Elections will be held at the Annual General Meeting on December 16th.

Non-playing members are encouraged and welcome to serve on the board.

Descriptions of all Board positions can be found in the bylaws section of the club handbook.

Relevant language from the club bylaws:
4.1 Board role, size, and compensation: The Board is responsible for the overall direction and governance of the NGAC. The Board shall consist of 8 members: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Registrar, Public Relations Officer, Games Development, and Member at Large. Any member in good standing is eligible to serve on the Board. The Board receives no compensation.

4.2 Terms: All board members serve two-year terms and are eligible for re-election.

4.6 Election of the Board: The board is elected by the NGAC membership at the Annual General Meeting. Votes shall be cast through written ballot, and simple majority of those present elect board members. The Secretary solicits nominations during a nomination period, which opens 3 weeks prior and closes 1 week prior to the Annual General Meeting.

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Congratulations to Fall League 2017 Champions East Nashville Beer Works!

After a long, hard battle, the East Nashville Beer Works Ports took home the Harper Hurl yesterday. The team, led by captain Jesse Gentry beat the Quore Blue Notes with a score of 4-14 to 3-1.

 

Start making plans to join us in the spring! We already have several things in the works, including our Music City Invitational tournament, an intro day for beginners, and some Gaelic football training to prep for our next league. If you’d like to keep up to date on the latest so you don’t miss any chance to play hurling or Gaelic football during the off season, like our Facebook page. See you soon!

Many thanks to Timothy Walter for the incredible photos!

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NGAC’s East Nashville Beer Works and Quore Teams Prep for Championship Match

In what was the club’s most competitive league season yet, East Nashville Beer Works and Quore came out on top to qualify for the championship match. This Sunday, November 11, the club will gather to see which team will take home the life-sized steel trophy, the Harper Hurl.

The season opened on September 11, with three teams sponsored by local businesses. The Homegrown Taproom and Marketplace was led by club veteran and true Irishman Liam Barry. Quore also had an experienced hurler at the helm with Jamie Norris, who came to us four years ago from the MTSU Hurling Club. Jesse Gentry, the $100 Man (called so because he was the only person to show up to an event we paid $100 to boost on Facebook) led the East Nashville Beer Works team.

Homegrown came out ahead on the first day with two wins. ENBW took home the third, leaving Quore with zero points after the opener.

Week two brought one win to each team, with Homegrown besting ENBW, Quore then defeating Homegrown, and ENBW taking Quore down. Week three was a similar scenario, with each team winning one match. At this point, it became clear that the season would be a nailbiter all the way to the end.

Later in the season, however, the upset of three forfeited matches—two for Homegrown and one for ENBW—changed everything. As hard as Homegrown fought, they just couldn’t come back from the crushing losses they experienced in that one day.

Even the wins they managed to eke out in the final two weeks wouldn’t save them, giving Quore the edge they needed to move to the top of the table. ENBW was just behind by one point, and Homegrown at the bottom, missing a tied season by yet another single point.

On Sunday, the two teams left standing will battle it out for the trophy. Who will take home the Harper Hurl? Will it be East Nashville Beer Works, captained by Jesse Gentry, or Quore, with Jamie Norris as captain? As close as this season has been, it’s sure to be an exciting match. Play starts at 1 pm at Heartland Fields.

If you’ve been wondering what hurling in Nashville is all about, this is the day to come find out. We’ll see you there!

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Did We Meet You Today at the Middle Tennessee Highland Games?

We had such a blast at the Middle Tennessee Highland Games, and it was all because of YOU, the people we were able to meet. Thank you so much for spending some time with us, learning about our sport, and cheering us on as we played. How exciting it was to hear applause and shouting from the sidelines!

The whole idea behind playing expo matches is to show off Irish sports and find other people who might also fall in love with hurling (and maybe Gaelic football, too). We were able to talk with several of you, and we know you’re interested in giving things a shot. We want that more than anything!

You have nothing to be afraid of. Everyone one of us was new at one point, even the very few of us who’d actually played hurling before. Imagine how nervous our founder was when he started a Gaelic sports team with just he and his wife. Sometimes you just have to take that leap, right?

We don’t want you to be scared, so we’ve put together a few articles to help. You should find all the info you need to get you started. If you have any more questions, you can always send us an email. Even better, come out to a match or a training and ask in person.

Everything You Need to Know When Joining the NGAC

How to Get Involved with the NGAC When You Don’t Play

Before we go, we’d like to invite you out tomorrow at 1 pm to watch our fall league opener. It’s going to be a lot of fun, with three very competitive matches with three very evenly matched teams. If you thought you saw some amazing hurling today, you’ve seen nothing yet. We were just having fun, but tomorrow, a trophy is on the line.

We’ll play every Sunday through the rest of September and all of October. Our championship match will take place on the second Sunday of November, on the eleventh. If you can’t come out tomorrow, you can find us at Heartland Fields any other week until the day we find out who will win the Harper Hurl. You’re welcome any time.

We hope to see all of you again soon!