This week, the Buffalo Niagara region is hosting an amateur athletic tournament the likes of which it has never seen before. The Gaelic Athletic Association’s Continental Youth Championships are taking place through Sunday at the town of West Seneca’s Soccer Complex. Games many Western New Yorkers are unfamiliar with – like Gaelic football and hurling – will take center stage, filling nearly 5,000 hotel room nights, drawing teams and visitors from as far away as California and generating $3 million for the local economy, according to the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission.
The decision to bring the Gaelic Games to Buffalo speaks to this community’s collective determination to honor its rich Irish heritage – and put on an event that will eclipse other previous championships. Until now, the CYC has taken place in a steady rotation between Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City and San Francisco. Buffalo is the smallest city that the CYC has taken place in – though the games will be the largest yet in the United States for the GAA.
The Buffalo Fenians (the tournament host), the town of West Seneca and the entire region are motivated to make this the best CYC yet. A number of local businesses with Irish roots are pulling out all the stops to make this a great experience for the visitors, including D’Arcy McGee’s, the Buffalo Irish Center and the Tewksbury Lodge; each will host various socials, dinners and events over the course of the tournament. Even Niagara Falls will be illuminated in the colors of Ireland on Friday night from 9 to 9:15 p.m. It’s all part of the Buffalo Niagara region’s effort to leave a great first impression with a number of first-time visitors – and keep those visitors coming back for years to come.
Photo: Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission of the Buffalo Fenians Gaelic Athletic Association team