Edmonton Wolfe Tones
The Edmonton Wolfe Tones are a Gaelic football club based in Edmonton, AB, Canada. They play during the summer months with a very ACTIVE and vibrant group of people involved. The Wolfe Tones are members of Western Divisional Board of the Canadian County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
Jack Bell played senior football for Louth and emigrated to Edmonton in 1956. Louth went on to win The All-Ireland in 1957 and Bell took on the role of Gaelic football missionary in Edmonton. Bell, who was named to the Irish Millennium Gaelic All-Star team, formed a team in Edmonton, which folded after a few years due to lack of competition. At that time, a team would have to travel several thousand miles to compete.
In 1975, Christy Whelehan from Westmeath was responsible for the second coming of Gaelic football with the modern day Wolfe Tones. Christy’s stewardship guided the team through the good and bad years and he still wears the team jersey with pride.
Gerry Muldoon, from Tyrone, is another notable and influential figure for the club in the 90's & early part of the new Millennium. Karen Hansen & Ultan Peters have staged a sort of young player revolution, and their efforts & contributions have led to the Wolfe Tones club leading in terms of participation in the Games in the West in recent years, and, also, in helping the Ladies team dominate in the Championships.
The Wolfe Tones compete every year in the Western Canadian Championships in both Men's & Ladies Gaelic football.
The men's team has been very close to victory in the Championship on 2 occasions. In the 2004, they drew twice with the eventual winners, the Calgary Chieftains, and in 2006, were beaten in the final game of the Championship by the Vancouver Harps, who went on to win on points difference.
The Edmonton Ladies are the most successful team in the Western Divisional Board, having won all the Championships (3) played since 2004.
Edmonton Tournament - 2007
Western Canadian Championship first Round of Matches will be played in Edmonton on the Canada Day Weekend. Confirmed to date are Men's & Ladies' Teams from Calgary & Vancouver, along with the Calgary Kangaroos Aussie Rules, who are brimming with confidence after their victory in Calgary last year. The Dates again are:
- Saturday, 30-Jun-2007
- Sunday, 01-Jul-2007
Edmonton Tournament - Roll of Honour
Season |
Ladies |
Men's |
|---|---|---|
2007 |
Harps |
Harps |
2006 |
Wolfe Tones |
Chieftains |
2005 |
Wolfe Tones |
Harps |
2004 |
Wolfe Tones |
Wolfe Tones |
2003 |
Wolfe Tones |
Chieftains |
2002 |
Wolfe Tones |
Wolfe Tones |
2001 |
Harps |
Wolfe Tones |
Edmonton Ladies have dominated their own Tournaments, often fielding more than one team. However the only blips on their impressive home record have come in 2001 & 2007 when Vancouver's Ladies were able to grind out narrow victories.
Edmonton Men, to their dismay, have endured some Calgary victories on home soil. Vancouver Harps have also won the Edmonton tournament on their last two visits to the Albertan Capital.
Edmonton however have always been the leaders in terms of numbers of players, consistently field 2 teams at the home tournaments, and in 2004, notably, playing 3 Men's teams and 2 Ladies teams. Fort McMurray also fielded a team at the 2004 tournament.
Honours (Since 2001)
Ladies' Gaelic football
- Western Canadian Champions, 3 Times (2004, 2005, 2006)
- Edmonton Tournament Champions, 5 Times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
- Calgary Tournament Champions, 4 Times (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Men's Gaelic football
- Edmonton Tournament Champions, 3 times (2001, 2002, 2004)