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In 1897, the Greater New York Irish Athletic Association was granted a charter by the City of New York. In 1898 they purchased nine acres of land in the Laurel Hill section of Long Island City, Queens, and in 1898 built their state-of-the-art athletic facility, Celtic Park. In 1903, less than a month after its first issue, The Gaelic American newspaper ran a front-page, three-part series devoted to the accomplishments of the Greater New York Irish Athletic Association. (In 1904, the Greater New York Irish Athletic Association changed their name to the Irish-American Athletic Club). Below are images from this series featuring the leadership of the GNYIAA.

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The Gaelic American was a weekly newspaper published in New York City by The Gaelic American Publishing Company from 1903 to 1951. According to its masthead it was a "journal devoted to the cause of Irish independence, Irish literature, and the interests of the Irish race." Irish nationalist leader John Devoy founded the paper in 1903 and was the editor until his death in 1928. Under Devoy's editorship, the paper staunchily supported the militant views of the Clan-na-Gael. The Gaelic American frequently featured articles about the Irish-American Athletic Club and advertisements for events held at Celtic Park in Long Island City, Queens.

Ads from The Gaelic American

 

One of the goals of the Winged Fist Organization is to digitize The Gaelic American newspaper and make this publication available to public online. If you would like to make a donation towards this project, please email wingedfist@gmail.com.

The Leadership of the
Greater New York Irish Athletic Association