West Chester played gracious host to a parade celebrating the 2008 Continental Youth Championships, on tap for this weekend.

Philadelphia hosts the Continental Youth Championships for the first time. Here's your chance to support youth Gaelic athletics and get a sneak preview of future stars. There's a kick-off parade in West Chester Thursday night, too.

The Philadelphia Shamrocks and the Allentown Hibernians may have just learned the sport of hurling, but they're playing with the passion of experienced sliothar slingers. Read about Sunday's action and see our many pictures.

No matter how the ball bounces, the new Lehigh Valley hurlers will also get a shot at their first-ever championship.

It was a lovely, sunny Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philadelphia. Peaceful? Not quite. In Gaelic Football, the Kevin Barrys went up against the Young Irelanders, and in hurling, the Allentown Hibernians met up again with the Philadelphia Shamrocks.

The final score was 7-4, but the brand-new team of Americans from the Lehigh Valley kept it interesting.

Most of the players on the Allentown Hibernians had never played the game before. Heck, most of them had never even heard of this ancient Gaelic sport. This weekend, they're facing last year's GAA champs. Gulp.

Well, that's really not how they put it. But before you attend a match, you ought to know how the game of hurling is played. Here, we hope, are the rules.

The steady rain proved no impediment to the 'Rocks in Sunday's Joe Lyons Cup final against Brian Boru.