Ballinasloe GAA (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''CLG Bhéal Átha na Sluaighe'') is a

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

club located in

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Club history

It was formed on 1 December 2005 as the result of a merger of

St Grellan's GFC St Grellan's Gaelic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ghrealláin Naofa) was a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. The team was named in honour of Saint Grellan, patron saint of Ballinasloe. St Grella ...

and Ballinasloe Hurling Club. Ballinasloe’s first ever hurling game took place on The Fair Green on

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

1884 between

Killimor Killimor () is a village in east County Galway, Ireland. It is situated on the N65 national secondary road A national secondary road ( ga, Bóthar Náisiúnta den Dara Grád) is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important ...

and

Eyrecourt Eyrecourt, historically known as Donanaghta (), is a village in County Galway, Ireland. Eyrecourt is on the R356 regional road 12 km west of the Banagher bridge over the River Shannon. History The Eyres after whom the village is named ...

. Since this date Gaelic Games have been a pillar in Ballinasloe’s society. Since the games’ inception its popularity in Ballinasloe has been integral to its success. The first football game in Ballinasloe GAA’s successful history took place on 31 March 1893 in a field in Pollboy. The game was between Creagh and Ballinasloe.

was captained by Thomas Cunningham and Creagh by T.F Burke. Creagh came out on top in a low scoring game of 2-01 to 1 point. Late that year in June 1893, Ballinasloe fulfilled another fixture where they were welcomed out to Kiltormer to take on Killoran in a

gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

game under GAA rules. Ballinasloe's association with Gaelic games can be traced back beyond an inaugural meeting of the GAA which was held in

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

on 1 November 1884; on an earlier date in 1884,

and the Dublin Metropolitan Hurling team played a hurling challenge in Ballinasloe and included in that

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

team was Michael Cusack who later in the same year, was to be a founder member of the association. In 1889, Ballinasloe had a football club with J.F. Gibney as captain. Despite the Parnell crisis, the Galway Football Championship for 1891 was played and Ballinasloe participated, playing

Mountbellew Mountbellew or Mountbellew Bridge (historically ''Creggaun'', from ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies mostly within the townland of Treanrevagh (''Trian Riabhach'') on the N63 national primary road. The town has a population of ap ...

Ahascragh Ahascragh () is a village in east Galway, Ireland. It is located (7 mi) north-west of Ballinasloe on the Ahascragh/Bunowen River, a tributary of the River Suck. The R358 regional road passes through the village. History The patron saint ...

on 24 May of that year. In 1892, P.D. Brennan of Ballinasloe became Assistant County Secretary. Up to 1913 the Ballinasloe club had not enjoyed success on the field of play. Between 1887 and 1912,

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

won twelve County Titles,

Dunmore Dunmore from the ga, Dún Mór, link=no or gd, Dùn Mòr, link=no, meaning "great fort", may refer to: People * Dunmore (surname) * Earl of Dunmore, a title in the Peerage of Scotland, includes a list of earls * Countess of Dunmore (disambiguat ...

won eight, other winners being

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...

and

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virtu ...

while Ballinasloe was without a title. In 1931, Joe Kelleher led Galway to All Ireland victory in the Junior Championship. Ballinasloe GAA has enjoyed continued success at all levels in both hurling and football. It has seen many of its members see the maroon and white of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. It continues to participate at a high level and with the amalgamation of hurling and football codes, development of their new facilities and recent announcement of further development in 2014, will surely continue to enjoy success far into the future.

Achievements

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition which began in 2002 and is played by the junior club champions of each county. Prior to that a number of unofficial competitions were held. The winners of each cou ...

Winners 2013 *

Connacht Junior Club Football Championship The Connacht Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition between the winners of the junior football championships in the province of Connacht, organised by Connacht. The winners of this competition will qualify for the All-I ...

Winners 2012 *Galway Junior Football Championship Winners 2012

References

External links

Official Ballinasloe GAA Club website
Ballinasloe Gaelic football clubs in County Galway Hurling clubs in County Galway Gaelic games clubs in County Galway {{Connacht-GAA-club-stub