Cayman Islands GAA is a not-for-profit organization (NPO-349), established to promote Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camógie (Gaelic Games) in the Cayman Islands, to promote Irish culture and to encourage social interaction amongst its members. Our membership consists of playing and social members and stood at over 600 in 2023, making it one of the largest sporting clubs in the Cayman Islands. The club’s membership is one of Cayman’s most diverse, with members heralding from dozens of different countries around the world. The club’s flagship is the Harneys Gaelic Football League, which runs between February and June consisting of 12 mens teams and 8 womens teams, with all matches being played on Friday nights and Sundays at Camana Bay Sports Complex. Our national teams represent the Cayman Islands annually each August at the USGAA Finals in the USA, winning our first Hurling competition in 2022 and our first Gaelic Football competition in 2023. Other sporting events taking place during the year are the Corporate Mixed 9s/11s in January, featuring 20 teams and over 350 players in 2024 and our annual Hurling blitz, which was held for the first time in 2023. Our social highlights include our annual fundraising boat party which takes place in April/May and our end of season awards GAALA, taking place in September. If you want to know more or get involved, further details are provided on the various pages on this website. Also feel free to give us a follow on our social media pages.
Club History
The first ever Cayman Gaelic football match was played between an Ulster 15 and a Rest of Ireland Select 15 at the Rugby Club in South Sound on July 18th, 1987.
The Ulster side captained by Noel Reilly (and unsportingly fielding former Cavan county player J.J. Reilly) started as favourites however it was the Brian Gillen lead Rest of Ireland side that took the spoils pulling away in the end to record a (2-9) to (2-5) victory over their Northern brethren.
Following on from this inaugural game it was decided that a second match be organized for St.Patrick's day 1988. This proved successful to the point that the football game now marks the centerpiece of the annual St.Patrick's day celebrations on these islands.
It is worth recording that the first ever Puc Fada competition took place back on St. Patrick's Day 1974 between Tommy Costello and Rory Healy - the result of which is still in dispute!
An informal men’s 7-a-side league was established in 1998. The team names; Western Gaels (Green), Wolfe Tones (White), Gabriels (Red) and Cabra Gaels (Blue) which were picked by the captains have been retained to this day.
Anthony Fallon organised the fabrication of transportable goal posts, an engineering feat in itself! with bankers Ben Gillooly, Sean Flynn, Joe Keane and Conor O'Dea generating generously to this cause.
Following the success of the league (over 40 players) it was decided to establish a formal club complete with constitution and officers and so a meeting of interested parties was held on May 19th, 1999.
The following officers were elected:
President: Rory Healy (Kerry) Chairman: Adrian Lynch (Limerick) Secretary: Viv Morahan (Roscommon) Treasurer: Noel Reilly (Cavan) PRO: Dara Hurley (Wexford)
Officers: Anthony Fallon (Galway) Mick Barnes ( Dublin ) Dermot Dennis (Dublin) Godfrey Cooke (Galway) Gerry Gregg (Dublin) Paul Deegan (Wexford) Dave Sheehan (Cork)
The inaugural ladies football league was organised by Joan Connolly in 2001. The team names which were picked; Na Piarsaigh, Buffer’s Alley & Oliver Plunketts have also been retained by the ladies league ever since. The league started at the South Sound Rugby Club before moving to its current home in Camana Bay in 2012. It has grown exponentially in recent years, to the point there are now over 600 players playing on 12 mens teams and 8 ladies teams in the league.
