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. Jack Bell died on March 23, 2010.

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 1990s & 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.

In 2009 the Wolfe Tones secured the Western Canadian Championship for the first time under the current format and the first Western Championship overall since 1991. The 2nd round of the competition took place in Edmonton on July 25. Edmonton defeated the Vancouver Harps 3-7 to 1-4 in the Semi-Final setting up a final featuring the Wolfe Tones and the Calgary Chieftains. During the final Calgary took an early lead and continued to control the match until a Chieftains player was sent off in the second half; from that point the Wolfe Tones carried the majority of the play. The Edmonton club staged a dramatic late comeback including two goals and a two late scores to secure a narrow one point victory, 2-4 to 0-9.

The Edmonton Ladies are one of the most successful teams in the Western Divisional Board, having won three Championships in 2004, 2005, 2006.