feature story / 21 love with the game and eventually became team captain. McGuire later saw the benefits on the basketball court and football field, particularly when his son competed for a ball in the air. Those “50-50 balls” happen con stantly in Gaelic football, McGuire says, teaching players to track the ball, time a leap and secure it while other players are doing exactly the same thing. It is useful training for soccer, basketball and football – and a respectable answer to the child who claims one more sport could not possibly help with the others. The Essex program began with children and attracted close to 90 registrations in its first year. Orga nizers then added a women’s team and recently a men’s program. The current youth program serves ages 5 through 16 and includes coed rec reational play, Gaelic for Girls and travel opportunities through the New York GAA region. The women’s “Shi-Ladies” welcome players 17 and older for recreational and competi tive play, while the men’s program includes training and a recreational Pub League. The age range is part of the ap peal. McGuire says the men have in cluded players from their early 20s through about age 65. The women’s average age at one point was 44, in cluding some women in their 20s. As McGuire cheerfully acknowl edged, the older players may “pay the price the next day,” but they are still on the field. Members of the Essex Shillelaghs’ Shi-Ladies celebrate at the team’s launch party. Among those pictured are West Orange resident Kendall Blue (left), as well as the Foley sisters (right), South Orange residents. Caroline Corrigan O’Hare and her daughter Siobhan are among the many families discovering that Gaelic football offers opportunities for both children and adults. The Jennifer McManus Team (917) 837-2192 jennifer.mcmanus@cbmoves.com SOLD! 4 Kermit Rd, Maplewood $300K+ Over List Price! SOLD! 32 Rutgers St, Maplewood Listed: $825,000 Sold: $1,125,000 SOLD! 5 Highland Blvd, West Orange Listed: $950,000 Sold: $1,303,000 SOLD! 63 Blanchard Rd, South Orange Listed: $965,000 Sold: $1,235,000 UNDER CONTRACT! 15 Westminster Ter, West Orange Multiple bids over ask The Jennifer McManus Team Has Been HARD AT WORK. Our mid-summer listings and reviews were HOT HOT! Let the Jennifer McManus Team get you MOVING. Read what these clients say about Jen: We worked with Jen to buy our first house 10 years ago, then worked with her again to sell the house in 2026. We had a great experience with her as buyers. As sellers we told her our dream number and she told us what we'd need to do. We followed her advice and ended up with 15+ offers and accepted an offer right at our dream number! (West Orange Seller) Jennifer recently sold our beloved home, and I can’t recommend her highly enough. Her calm and collaborative nature, and extraordinary responsiveness, made her a true delight to work with during a short and stressful period. Jennifer’s local market relationships and knowledge supported us from prepping the house perfectly to securing multiple com- petitive offers after 4 days! The one we accepted provided us with both strong financial and strategic returns. We were thrilled with the outcome! (South Orange Seller) THANK YOU, Jennifer McManus! We chose you as our Real Estate Agent in Maplewood because of your extensive knowledge of the local market, proven track record, professionalism, and dedication to ev- ery detail throughout the sales process. We were truly beyond pleased and thor- oughly impressed with every aspect of our experience working with you. (Maplewood Seller)
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