The Glenside Celtic Soccer Club is expanding a little more each year.

Founded in 2019 by Brendan Gallagher, Chris Scullion and Donal Walsh, the organization was initially an arm of the Glenside Gaelic Club. Logistics and internal rules led the trio to form a separate nonprofit to promote and preserve Irish culture in greater Glenside with an aim to replicate the strong Glenside community as part of the club.

“This a genuinely community-based club,” Gallagher, a Glenside native, said. “A lot of the new clubs are actually for-profit corporations with a Philly branch. It’s not exactly what U.S. Soccer wants to see. They want grassroots efforts.”

Gallagher noted that the first year in operation was “a little tricky.”

“We were shipping players from one game to another to serve as substitutes. We’d arrange the schedule so the games didn’t overlap,” he said. “We had a successful start and it’s grown organically from there. We had some really good players who happened to be Gaelic players.”

These days, the organization runs a summer camp about Irish culture and sport at their home fields in Temple Ambler.

“It’s easy to find that crossover. We wanted our kids to participate in Irish-American life. That’s why we founded the club,” Gallagher said. “Teams are named after Irish counties, so the kids are learning geography without realizing it.”

While the club has Irish roots, it welcomes players and families from all cultures and backgrounds within the immediate area. Its focus is to create a fun, respectful and structured environment to teach kids the sport and to learn about competition and being part of a community.

The club also runs an in-house feeder program called Wee Kick Abouts for four- to seven-year-olds. The  in-house program plays intramural games and matriculate to the travel teams.

Molly Farley, the club’s president/chairperson, said they fielded 275 players across 16 travel teams—ranging from U8 to U14—last year.

“Most of our teams have two within their age group. I have three boys in U12, U10, and U8. We’ve been through the growth of it all,” she said.

Gallagher’s stepson was on the original team.

“That team didn’t lose a game for two seasons. They were playing on multiple teams, they stayed together, and they were super successful,” he said. “They won national championships in Gaelic, and we credit that to getting them to play year-round. Keeping the same core group of kids around each other all year has allowed those championships. “

Each team’s gear comes from a sporting goods outfit in Ireland called O’Neills.

“We’re a community. It’s really lovely for the families on the sidelines to support their kids. There’s fun conversation and they’re part of something that’s more than a sporting event,” Molly said. “We have uniforms and gear that kids and parents want to wear. That was intentional.”

Jerzee’s Pizzeria & Sports Bar has served as an unofficial clubhouse and a significant sponsor, along with other local places of business including the Glenside Pub and Rooster’s.

“There’s internal networking, and a lot of social overlap. We’re visible, people wear our gear, and I think people see that and see the larger community aspect,” Gallagher said. “That’s how we advertise. The logo is the American shield, and we put 32 shamrocks for 32 counties in Ireland. The vertical bars represent 2013 when the Gaelic club was founded.”

“If you look at every major city around the world, they always have at least two soccer clubs. It’s that rivalry that boosts the sports and the sense of community. We’re hoping to create those rivalries with clubs in our area,” he said. “It adds passion to the community and the clubs, and it helps the soccer community in greater Glenside. We hope to build on those friendly rivalries going forward.”

Travel tryouts are now open. More details in the flyer below:

For more information about Glenside Celtic Soccer Club, you can visit their Facebook page, website, and Instagram page.

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Photos: Glenside Celtic Soccer Club