Hurling in Toronto

For many years, hurling in Toronto was strong, and the Toronto hurling championship was a hard fought affair. Back then, it included St. Michaels, Garryowen, Clan Na Gael, St. Vincent's and Sean South's. Such was the standard in the city that Toronto teams have brought back North American Senior Hurling championship trophies 3 times in 9 years in the 70's. 

Many of Toronto GAA's greats hurled in the city in the 60's, 70's and 80's, including Armagh's Brian Farmer, Offaly natives Kevin Loughnane and Danny Kinahan, and Galway man Joe Carty.

The last sanctioned hurling competition held in Toronto was in the early 1980's, and since then the game of hurling had basically vanished from the GAA scene in the city.

Forming the Toronto Hurling Club

Dublin native Colm Sharkey, alongwith Kilkenny's Patrick Morrissey and Frank O'Hagan of Limerick, three men who came to the city for work, decided to rejuvenate the ancient game in Toronto, and start up a hurling club.

2010 saw a collection of hurlers play friendly games in house, primarily at a school grounds at Coxwell and Cosburn, under the watchful eye of Dubliner Ger Power and Castlecromer, Kilkenny native Dan O'Brien, one of the few men who has carried a NACB senior hurling trophy across the border into Toronto.

There was also a challenge match played against the Montreal Shamrocks hurling team in Montreal GAA's grounds, the Montreal Irish rugby club. This game and budding relationship was beneficial for both clubs, as hurling in Montreal was also going through a similar process of rejuvenation. 

The Toronto Hurling Club held its first official AGM, in the winter of 2011, on a cold snow covered Saturday in what was then McCarthy's Bar on Gerrard St East. Nearly 30 attended the meeting, which proved to be a perfect springboard for the club. Official colours and a crest had already been registered with Croke Park, and the club was gathering pace.

The club's first competition was the annual 7-a-side tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. The tournament proved very successful for the club, coming back to Toronto with the trophy (the club had also entered two teams on the day).

Montreal traveled to Toronto in June 2011, to play the return fixture against the hurling club. A fast flowing and tough encounter proved that progress was being made in bounds in both cities. Kevin Loughnane remarked after it that it was the first competitive game he had seen in the city in over 25 years. 

Hurling had returned to Toronto.

Na Piarsaigh CLG
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In late 2015 discussions were first had within the Toronto Hurling Club committee to rename the club, to help develop the game in Toronto. A new hurling club had just been founded, Clan Na Gael, and with it came a new sense of excitement within GAA members in the city.

The committee decided to hold over further discussions until 2016, so the new incoming committee could hold full and in depth discussions on it. At a committee meeting in Spring 2016, the committee decided to table a motion at an upcoming players meeting to change the name of the club, and to also provide a list of possible club names.

During a players meeting, held on June 13 in Toronto City Hall, the committee held a vote by secret ballot (to ensure impartiality) to change the club name. From a list of 4 choices, Na Piarsaigh CLG won the required two thirds majority. The information and a formal request to change the club name were passed to the Canadian County board later that week, and approval was granted!

A new club crest was soon designed, as well as a new playing kit, which are sponsored by Cathal & Nicholas Crossan of Buncrana, Co. Donegal. The kit is available to purchase from the O'Neills sportswear website

In 2020, a third hurling team was formed in Toronto called Cuala Sarsfields.  
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Camogie 

In 2018 Na Piarsaigh hurling club added a camogie team to it's panel and committee. The success of this was the result of an enormous amount of effort from many individuals there are too many to name.

The teams managers and trainers consisted of many Na Piarsaigh and Clann Na Gael hurlers throughout the first two years which is a testament to camogie in the city. Everyone wanted to see the team succeed. 

The team had their first training sessions at Cedervale and Jesse Ketchum park before finding themselves at home at Dufferin and Bloor, where the local bar "the Jim" (renamed to the John) became a firm favourite local. 

Team bonding was quick, the craic was mighty and numbers began to grow. That May Na Piarsaigh entered a camogie team in the Montreal tournament and just a few weeks later in June 2018 the first competitive camogie game happened between two Toronto camogie teams.  
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