Louth GAA
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| Irish: | Lughbhadh An Lú |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): | The Wee County |
| Province: | Leinster |
| Dominant sport: | Gaelic football |
| Ground(s): | DEFY Pairc Mhuire |
| County colours: | RedWhite |
| Executive | |
| Chairman: | Seán McClean |
| County teams | |
| NFL: | Division 2 |
| NHL: | Division 3A |
| Football Championship: | Sam Maguire Cup |
| Hurling Championship: | Lory Meagher Cup |
The Louth County Board of theGaelic Athletic Association(GAA) (Irish:Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae an Lú) orLouth GAAis one of the 32county boardsof the GAA inIreland,and is responsible forGaelic gamesinCounty Louth.The county board is also responsible for the Louth county teams.
County Board Chairpersons[edit]
The officials who have chaired theLouth GAAboard since the establishment of theGaelic Athletic Associationare named below.
Elections for Chairperson as well as other positions take place at the board'sannual conventionand are held at headquarters in Darver. The maximum term under current county board rules is five years for any position.
The current incumbent, Clan na Gael'sPeter FitzpatrickT.D.,is a former player and captain of thecounty football team.He also managed the team from 2010-12, the highlight of his tenure being Louth's first appearance in aLeinster Senior Football ChampionshipFinal for 50 years in2010.
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Crest[edit]
In 2010, theDroghedaGaelic football club,O'Raghallaighs,tabled a motion for convention calling for theBoyne Valley Cable Bridgesymbol to be removed from the Louth GAA crest because of the bridge's main location being in the neighbouringcountyofMeath;this led to the county crest being changed to a simpler version.[1]
Football[edit]
Clubs[edit]
Clubs contest theLouth Senior Football Championship.That competition's most successful club isNewtown Blues,with 23 titles.
Dundalk Young Irelandsis the county's oldestGAAclub.[2]The club represented Louth in the first All-Ireland Football final which was played at Beech Hill on 29 April 1888 againstLimerick Commercials.[3]
County team[edit]
The earliest recorded inter-county football match took place in 1712 when Louth faced Meath atSlane.[4]A fragment of a poem from 1806 records a football match between Louth and Fermanagh at Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.
When Louth GAA sent the team into training inDundalkfor the 1913 Croke Memorial replay under a soccer trainer fromBelfast,the move caused more than a ripple through the Association. For thirty years full-time training in bursts of a week or so before a big match were common. After that the two or three times a week gatherings became more popular.
Between 1945 and 1953 Louth andMeathmet 13 times. The crowds got bigger and bigger each time as they played draw after draw in the Championship. The attendance of 42,858 at a thrilling 1951 replay remained a record for a provincial match other than a final for forty years the four match series betweenMeathandDublinin 1991. The rivalry withMeathhas never fizzled out, as witnessed by a stirring Leinster semi-final in 1998. Nor has controversy, as witnessed byGraham Geraghty's "wide" 45th minute point. In 1957 showband starDermot O'Brienwas late for the All-Ireland final and joined the team when the parade was completed. Prior to the game O'Brien had captained the side in the semi-final success, when the regular captain Patsy Coleman had been injured. Both Ardee men tossed a coin to see who would captain the team. O'Brien won the toss. Coleman today still has the match ball. O'Brien played a key role as Louth beatCorkwith the help of a goal from Sean Cunningham with five minutes to go. Dermot O'Brien died on 21 May 2007. As both Cork and Louth wear Red and White, on that day Louth wore the green of Leinster, while Cork wore the blue of Munster.
Eamonn McEneaneywas manager from 2006 to 2009 and guided them to their most recent success, theO'Byrne Cupwhen they defeatedDCUin the 2009 final played in the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda.
On 27 June 2010, Louth reached their first Leinster Senior Championship Final in 50 years. During theLeinster Finalon 11 July that year, anger and controversy erupted when, during the 74th minute of the match againstMeath,a goal was awarded by therefereeafter brief consultation with only one of the match umpires (although close circuit camera evidence shown on theRTÉ Twocoverage of the game proved that the ball was carried over the line by a Meath player). However, Meath received the2010 Leinster Titleand the cup. Louth have been represented by two players in theInternational Rules Seriesversus Australia in recent years,Paddy KeenanandCiarán Byrne.[5]
Hurling[edit]
Clubs contest theLouth Senior Hurling Championship.That competition's most successful club isNaomh Moninne,with 22 titles.
The Louth hurling team competes in theNicky Rackard Cup,an extension of theAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.The Louth hurlers finished as runner-up toLondonin the 2005 final atCroke Park,and toSligoin 2008. In 2016, they competed in theLory Meagher Cup,defeating Sligo in the final 4-15 to 4-11, andFermanaghin the 2020 final by 2-19 to 2-08.[6]
Louth won the2022 Lory Meagher Cupto become the first team to win that competition on three occasions.[7]
Louth has the following achievements in hurling.
- All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship:1976, 1977
- Lory Meagher Cup:2016,2020,2022
- Leinster Junior Hurling Championship:1968, 1969, 1973
- National Hurling League Div. 3:2000,2008.1967 first national hurling league title beating mayo in final, Div 3...
Aidan Kerrigan fromBallyoughter, County Wexfordhas worked with the Louth senior hurling team.[8]
Camogie[edit]
Louth contested two All Ireland senior finals in 1934 and 1936, captained byRose Quigleyfrom Darver, where Fr Tom Soraghan was zealously promoting the game. Kathleen and Nan Hegarty two of her Darver team-mates were leading players of the decade.
Notable players includejunior player of the yearwinner in 1982Vivienne Kelly.
Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion",[9]Carlow,Cavan,Laois,Louth andRoscommonwere to get a total of 17 new clubs by 2015.[10]
Louth have the following achievements in camogie.
- All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championshiprunners-up: 1934, 1936
Ladies' football[edit]
Louth has a ladies' football team.[11]
Further reading[edit]
- Mulligan, Fr.John (1984).The GAA in Louth - An Historical Record.
- Mulligan, Fr.John (2000).The GAA in Louth - An Historical Record (updated).
References[edit]
- ^"Review of the Year (November): Cable bridge gets the boot from Louth county crest - Independent.ie".independent.ie.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2016.Retrieved4 May2018.
- ^"What a year for Louths most famous club".Hogan Stand.30 December 2010.Retrieved29 September2022.
- ^"Final Recalled".The Argus.15 June 2001.
- ^http:// the-kingdom.ie/news/story/?trs=cwsnkfauoj[permanent dead link]
- ^Sportsfile."Sportsfile - Ireland v Australia - Irish Daily Mail International Rules Series 1st Test - 467438".sportsfile.Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2016.Retrieved4 May2018.
- ^Mooney, Francis (4 June 2016)."Late goal blitz secures Lory Meagher Cup for Louth".rte.ie.Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2017.Retrieved4 May2018.
- ^"Wicklow win Tailteann Cup opener, Croke Park hurling glory for Tyrone and Louth".The42.ie.21 May 2022.
- ^"Frank's with Mayo".Gorey Guardian.22 December 2005.
- ^"Final goal for camogie".Irish Independent.Independent News & Media. 29 March 2010.Retrieved29 March2010.
- ^National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page oncamogie.ieArchived2010-09-01 at theWayback Machine,pdf download (778k) fromCamogie.ie download siteArchived2011-09-16 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Refreshing Louth begin the Kit Henry era with a clinical LGFA NFL victory at home to Longford".Drogheda Independent.22 January 2023.Retrieved21 February2023.
External links[edit]
