2009 Rulers of the West: Wolfe Tones Men and Harps Ladies

EDMONTON Wolfe Tones Brian Daly (L) and Rob Murphy (R) Captain with the Tom Butler Cup.

VANCOUVER Harps Ladies celebrate with the Tom Gibbons Cup.

By RONAN DEANE

EDMONTON - On July 25 and 26 the five member clubs of the Western Canada Division descended on Edmonton to compete for the Tom Butler and Tom Gibbons trophies in the Western Canadian Championships (WCCs).

The Divisional Board had determined that the WCC format in 2009 needed some spicing up and so knock-out stages were introduced. Well, spice things up they did, and perhaps, the most enthralling contest in the new millennium decided the title at the finish.

The Vancouver Celts club arrived in Edmonton top of the table, but it was the home side that, after a good showing in Vancouver, finished top after round-robin play.

Red Deer Eire Og almost shocked everyone when they ran out comfortable winners against the Chieftains to record their first WCC victory. The Vancouver Harps had to depend on points difference to ensure their qualification to the knock-out stages over Eire Og.

In the Ladies Championship, the Albertan clubs had far better turn-outs than their recent trips to Vancouver and Calgary Chieftains, with powerhouse mid-fielder Sinead Leacy dominating, edged Edmonton to set-up a show-down with the all-conquering Harps.

Their title on the line, the Harps showed their class. With impressive performances from tournament MVP Angela Oldknow, and strong work in mid-field by Rita Burke and Stacy Lewis-Jaklin, they were able to grind out the result that took the Tom Gibbons trophy back to B.C. for the third year running.

In the Men's semi-finals, both Vancouver clubs, though competitive, came up just short against their Albertan opposition. Any club would have Dave Tonge (Harps) and Sean Twomey (Celts) in their team.

This was the first season that two clubs competed in the Championship out of Vancouver, and the whole Division takes its hat off to the Vancouver ISSC who has taken this difficult first step to grow the games in Western Canada. Well done to all those involved.

Those semi's set the stage for a match that had everything. When Calgary and Edmonton collide, they send reverberations through the GAA world.

John O'Flynn might write another book that just recounts the 45 minutes of events that made this epic tussle such an incredible spectacle.

At half-time, Edmonton was dead-and-buried. Passes were going to ground, moves were falling apart in the last quarter of the field.

Calgary, on the other hand, were scoring at will. "Coasting," was a word heard on the side-line. Seven points up with 10 minutes to go and then, the whole complexion of the contest changed.

There is always some "niggle" in these derby matches, and this one was no different. Calgary had their strongest player sent-off and Edmonton sensed an opportunity. Up stepped Sean McMahon and Declan Reilly with crucial goals. Calgary were struggling now, but it was level.

Cometh the Hour and cometh the Man! Fittingly, a fantastic effort, that hung in the air for an age from the boot of Brian Daly, was the winning score. The Wolfe Tones had done it.

Rumour has it that a Westmeath man, on an Alaskan cruise, danced a jig for no apparent reason at 4:23 PM on Saturday, 25th of July, 2009.

The next day, in tournament play, the Champions in both codes repeated their efforts. Bill Morris and John O'Flynn should be commended for their refereeing.

The Edmonton ISSS, as always, supported the Wolfe Tones in hosting an incredible meal and an evening at the Irish Club. Congratulations Edmonton Men, and Vancouver Ladies... Kim Budd, take a bow.