Category:
Sports/Recreation & Recreation > Miscellaneous Sport – Irish

Members: 5


In 1898, a group of Irish immigrants in New York formed an organization called the Irish American Athletic Club. They adopted as their emblem a winged fist adorned with American flags and shamrocks with the Gaelic motto “Láim Láidir Abú” or “Strong Hands Forever.”

They built a stadium in Queens they named Celtic Park that became a primary meeting place for Irish immigrants in New York, a venue for Gaelic football, hurling and track & field events, and a training ground for some of the best athletes the world has ever seen. Members of the Irish American Athletic Club competed for the U.S. Olympic team in six Olympic Games, bringing home dozens of medals for their adopted country.

They particularly excelled in the controversial 1908 Olympics held in London, winning ten of the U.S. team’s twenty-three gold medals. In their era, they were world-renowned, but today they’ve been all but forgotten. In 1930, the stadium was demolished for the construction of Celtic Park apartments, which retained the stadium’s name.

The Winged Fist Organization was founded in the summer of 2008 (one hundred years after the Irish American Athletic Club's outstanding peformance at the 1908 Olympics in London) to preserve the legacy of the Irish American Athletic Club and to bring their athletic accomplishments to the attention of the public. In January of 2009, the Winged Fist Project became a sponsored project of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

If you have any information about the IAAC, if you think you may be descended from one of their athletes, if you have any photos or ephemera relating to the IAAC, if you have any questions pertaining to the IAAC or Celtic Park, or if you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please email: wingedfist@gmail.com



In celebration of Irish History Month, historian and Celtic Park resident Ian McGowan will present an illustrated lecture on the history of the Irish American Athletic Club and Celtic Park.

On March 23, at 7 p.m., there will be an art exhibit, presentation and fundraising reception to launch the Winged Fist Project of the Greater Astoria Historical Society in the historic Quinn Building, 35-20 Broadway in Long Island City. This event will feature an exhibit of color trading cards of the Irish American Athletic Club athletes, historical photos and original medals and trophies won by the Irish American Athletic Club more than one hundred years ago.

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Group URL: http://groups.irishabroad.com/group/wingedfistorganization/

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1 of 1 Members View All

- Ian McGowan

4 of 4 Members View All

- James Nagle

- Walter Kehoe

- Joe Keaney

- Mick Rice