About This Program

Hurling has been played in San Francisco for many years, but it has predominantly been played by Irish emigrants who play at a very high standard in two clubs called Naomh Padraig and Na Fianna. Experience has found that US-born beginners who join these clubs don't get many competitive games due to the number of Irish hurlers who arrive in town every summer.

The Youth Program (see www.ifyl.org) has been developing the game for American-born children from U8 all the way up to U18 since 2005.

The Hurling for Beginners program was developed by the GAA in San Francisco to cater for adults taking up the game for the first time. Its main objective is to promote growth in the number of people playing the game in the Bay Area, particularly on college campuses, with a view to establishing collegiate teams that could eventually cater for students who may have come up through the youth program.