Antrim GAA

The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Aontroma) or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim. The county board is also responsible for the Antrim county teams.

Antrim GAA
Irish:Aontroim
Province:Ulster
Nickname(s):The Saffs,
The Glensmen
County colours:Saffron, White    
Ground(s):Casement Park
Loughgiel Shamrocks GAC, Loughgiel (Hurling)
St.Josephs GAC, Glenavy (Football)
Dominant sport:Hurling
Competitions
NFL:Division 4
NHL:Division 2A
Football Championship:Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:Joe McDonagh Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football:Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie:Jack McGrath Cup
Standard kit
Regular kit
Change kit

Hurling

Clubs

Antrim Senior Hurling Championship

Antrim's first All-Star, Ciaran Barr, helped Belfast club Rossa to reach the 1989 club hurling final and put in a great show against Buffer's Alley. Dunloy were back in the All-Ireland club final in 1995, when they lost in a replay, 1996 and 2003 when they were heavily beaten.

County team

Antrim is the only Ulster county to appear in an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) final, the first of which was in 1943 losing to Cork and the second was in 1989 losing to Tipperary. In 1943 Antrim defeated both Galway (by 7-0 to 6-2) and Kilkenny (by 3-3 to 1-6) in the old Corrigan Park, but disappointed in the All-Ireland against Cork. Two years previously, Antrim had been graded Junior a year before, and had been beaten by Down in the Ulster final. It was only competing in the Senior Championship because the Junior grade was abolished. Antrim hurlers featured strongly in Ulster Railway cup final appearances in 1945, 1993 and 1995. In hurling, the progression that began with Loughgiel's success at club hurling level in 1983 (with players like 15-stone goalkeeper Niall Patterson) culminated in an All-Ireland final appearance in 1989.[1]

Football

Clubs

Antrim Senior Football Championship

County team

Liam Bradley (left), former manager of the Antrim seniors, with Armagh manager Peter McDonnell (right) at the launch of the 2009 Dr McKenna Cup

Antrim were the first Ulster county to appear in an All Ireland final, in 1911 and repeated the feat again in 1912, losing on both occasions. Antrim's surprise football semi-final success came out of the blue in 1911. The Ulster secretary got sick that year and never organised a provincial Championship. So Antrim arrived with no practice to play Kilkenny and won by 3-1 to 1-1. The following year they beat Kerry. Heavy rain on the day, and over-indulgence at a wedding the day before were blamed for the shock 3-5 to 0-2 defeat. Antrim's County Board decision to introduce a City League in 1908, one of the first in Gaelic history, was a more legitimate explanation. The 1946 Antrim football team was regarded as one of the most exciting of the era, taking advantage of the newly reintroduced handpass. Joe McCallin's two goals helped beat Cavan in the Ulster final but Kerry roughed them out of the All Ireland semi-final. The opening of Casement Park boosted the games in Belfast, but from the late 1960s the troubles hampered sporting life in the football heartlands of Belfast, particularly Ardoyne. Political violence meant that the county could not build on the under-21 team of 1969, one of the finest in Ulster history (Din Joe McGrogan, scorer of the goals that put Antrim in the final, was killed by a Loyalist bomb). The county's Vocational Schools team has made it to 2 All Ireland Finals in 1968 where they beat Galway and in 1971 where they were beaten by Mayo. A drawn Ulster semi-final with Derry in 2000 was one of the highlights of Antrim's recent football career alongside winning the Tommy Murphy Cup in 2008, beating Wicklow in the final and gaining revenge for losing the 2007 final to the same opponents. Antrim reached the 2009 Ulster Championship final, the first Antrim team to do so for 31 years. They were runners-up to All-Ireland champions Tyrone.

Camogie

Antrim have won the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship six times and been runners-up ten times. Camogie arrived in 1908 with the foundation of Banba club, but the movement joined by clubs such as Crowley's, Mitchel's and Ardoyne was short-lived. A 1927 revival was more successful and in 1934 there were three adult leagues in Belfast, southwest and north Antrim.[2]

Antrim's successes include a three-in-a-row in 1945-7, with the benefit of dispute that removed their main rivals Dublin and the arrival of a Dublin coach, Charlie MacMahon, and the fact four of their semi-finals and two of the finals were played at Corrigan Park and Antrim was described as the "home of camogie."[3] Players from the Belfast league clubs such as Deirdre, St Malachy's and St Theresa’s and Glens villages such as Dunloy and Loughgiel Shamrocks to win all but a handful of the Ulster camogie championships played. They defeated Dublin in a 1956 semi-final that prevented Dublin winning 19 All Ireland titles in a row. O'Donovan Rossa won the All Ireland senior club championship in 2008.[4] Antrim are the 2010 All Ireland junior champions.[5]

Notable players include team of the century member Mairéad McAtamney, player of the year winners Sue Cashman and Maeve Gilroy, All Star award winner[6] Jane Adams and Gradam Tailte winner Josephine McClements, and All Ireland final stars Marjorie Griffin, Marian and Theresa Kearns. Marie O'Gorman. Celia Quinn and Madge Rainey. Rosina MacManus, Nancy Murray and Lily Spence served as presidents of the Camogie Association.

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion",[7] five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015.[8]

Antrim have the following achievements in camogie.

Ladies' football

Antrim compete in the All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship.

Antrim have the following achievements in ladies' football.

References

  1. "Flashback: 1989 All-Ireland SHC semi-final - Antrim v Offaly". GAA.ie. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. History of camogie in Antrim in Andersonstown News
  3. The Evolution of the GAA by Donal McAnallen (Ulster Historical Foundation 2009) ISBN 978-1-903688-83-0
  4. 2008 O'Donovan Rossa 2-15 Drom & Inch 1-10 Report in Irish Independent and on Camogie.ie Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Preview on Camogie.ie
  5. 2010 junior final replay Antrim 2-10 Waterford 0-12 report in Irish Independent, RTÉ Online Archived 2010-10-07 at the Wayback Machine and on camogie.ie
  6. "All-stars on camogie.ie". camogie.ie. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  7. "Final goal for camogie". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  8. National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page on camogie.ie Archived 1 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, pdf download (778k) from Camogie.ie download site Archived 16 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. 2010 drawn Junior final Antrim 1-9 Waterford 1-9 report in Irish Times, RTÉ online Archived 2010-09-14 at the Wayback Machine and RTÉ online match-tracker Archived October 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
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