The 10th annual West Coast Sevens – San Diego Gaelic Games is coming to Southwestern College over the Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 25 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the outlying fields surrounding DeVore Stadium. West Coast Sevens is the second largest Irish sports competition in the United States. This event is free to the public.
For centuries, Gaelic Football and Hurling have been played in Ireland, and today these sports continue to be a significant part of Irish culture. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the event, The San Diego Gaelic Athletic Association has teamed up with the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick to expand the event with a festival atmosphere including traditional Irish music from Comhaltas San Diego, Irish dance by Clan Rince School of Irish Dance, music performances by local bands, food, drink, Irish community information booths, and a kid’s zone. It is a free event for the entire family to engage with the Irish community and watch some exciting Irish (Gaelic) sports.
West Coast Sevens Committee Chairman Declan Hartney said this is a San Diego event, but due to its growing popularity, it has had to change venues to accommodate the larger competitions and crowds.
“Out of our 10 years, this is our biggest event yet,” he said. “We have 48 [men and women’s] teams coming all corners of the United States, several teams coming from Canada, as well as our local clubs here in San Diego who will be competing. We have games all day Saturday, live music, an open beer garden. This year we are expanding the event to be more than a sports tournament and getting more of an Irish festival feel. We want to open it up to families, so we have a kid’s zone with a bounce house so parents can bring their kids.”
Hartney said this will be a foreign sport to most people who are not familiar with the games.
“We have our own form of football, Gaelic football. It is a little bit of a cross between lacrosse and American football, played with a round ball. Then we have our own stick sport, Hurling, professionally known as the fastest sport on grass. It is a very fast-paced, skillful game. We have our local teams playing Hurling also, and they are a very competitive team across the country. Currently they are the U.S. champions.”
Hartney said the women’s version of Hurling is called Camogie.
“There is absolutely no difference in this sport, Hurling is men’s teams, and Camogie is women’s teams,” he said.
Hartney said the Sons of St. Patrick of San Diego County, an Irish networking organization, and works to bring the Irish community together.
“There are many different Irish groups in and around San Diego. What the Sons of St. Patrick does, is to bring them all together. They partnered with West Coast Sevens this year to bring more of a festival feel to the event, so that it is not just an Irish sports day, but an Irish festival,” he said. “This will help this event grow. It has been growing over the past 10 years. Year after year, this word gets out about this tournament, both locally and nationally. That is our intent, and why we partnered with the Sons of St. Patrick.”
