{{Infobox GAA overseas club,
club gaa = Milwaukee ,
irish = ,
crest = Milwaukee Hurling Club Logo.jpg ,
founded =1996 ,
county = North American ,
division=
Central Division Board
The Central Divisional Board of the North American GAA is the governing body of hurling, camogie, and gaelic football in an area centered on Chicago. It is affiliated to the North American Board, and its territory was expanded in 2006 to inclu ...
,
nickname = ,
colours = Blue and White ,
grounds = Brown Deer Park ,
pattern_la= , pattern_b=_unknown , pattern_ra= ,
leftarm=0000FF , body=0000FF , rightarm=0000FF , shorts=FFFFFF , socks=FFFFFF ,
}
The Milwaukee Hurling Club (MHC) has promoted the sport of
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
through education and game play since 1996.
The
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
Hurling Club (MHC), founded by Tom Mills, first introduced the sport of hurling to Milwaukee in 1996 with 30 members. In 1997, four teams were formed and this enabled the club to hold regular games. From 1998 through 2001 the league featured 6 teams. The number of people playing continued growing, and by 2002 the membership grew to 160 members playing on 8 teams, as well as 30-plus members participating in
Camogie
Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.
A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...
. In 2010 the MHC grew to over 300 members, including over 100 youth. The Milwaukee Hurling Club's 15th season featured 10 adult co-ed teams, and 6 youth teams.
The Milwaukee Hurling Club and the North American Gaelic Athletic Association
The Milwaukee Hurling Club attempts to develop American players unlike some of the clubs in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
which bring in players from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The club is funded by the players and sponsors. While the MHC plays games among the 11 teams within the club there are travelling teams which compete in North American Gaelic Athletic Association (NAGAA) tournaments. Specifically, there have been two men's and a women's (
Camogie
Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.
A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...
) travelling teams. The traveling teams are made up of players who also play on the coed club teams. In 2007, the Milwaukee Men's Junior B travelling team captured its first NAGAA Championship. In 2008, The Milwaukee Men's Junior B travelling team repeated as NAGAA Champions and will move up to Junior A in 2009.
Due to the success of promoting the sport of hurling the club administrator, Dave Olson, was honored by the GAA in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
with th President's Award This was the first time ever that an American had been recognized with such an honor.
As the MHC has grown and become more organized it has been more involved with the NAGAA but has still maintained an independent status. The separation specifically allows for
coed
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
teams which is not allowed on official NAGAA teams. The mixed teams is generally the only difference as the MHC follows rule changes made annually by the GAA in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...