Ballybay Pearse Brothers Gaelic Football Club is 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 ...

club based in

Ballybay Ballybay () is a town and civil parish in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town is centred on the crossroads of the R183 and R162 regional roads. Geography The town is the meeting point for roads going to Monaghan, Castleblayney, Carrickma ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

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 ...

History

The club was founded as Ballybay GFC in 1906. The club is named after the brothers

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

and

Willie Pearse William James Pearse ( ga, Uilliam Seamus Mac Piarais; 15 November 1881 – 4 May 1916) was an Irish republican executed for his part in the Easter Rising. He was a younger brother of Patrick Pearse, a leader of the rising. Background Willie ...

, executed after the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. Their grounds, Pearse Park, opened in April 1951, the 35th anniversary of the Rising, and were commonly used for inter-county fixtures. Ballybay won their first senior trophy in 1952 by winning the league (Owen Ward Cup). In 1953 their first championship followed as the team captained by Paddy McKearney beat Donaghmoyne in the county final. A "golden age" followed, Ballybay winning six

Monaghan Senior Football Championship The Monaghan Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by Monaghan GAA clubs. The Monaghan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888. Ballybay Pearse Brothers are the tit ...

s in the years 1953-1969. In the fifties, together with neighbours and great rivals Clontibret, Ballybay were a dominant force in the hugely popular tournament football in Ulster and Leinster at the time. The top clubs of the era were invited into the tournaments but more often than not the Monaghan teams emerged victorious. Ballybay have historically had strong defences but are committed to positive, attacking football and are renowned for high levels of sportsmanship and fair play. Ballybay formerly had a hurling team, which won the

Monaghan Senior Hurling Championship The Monaghan Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Monaghan GAA clubs. The Monaghan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1909. Castleblayney Hurling Club are the ...

in 1976. Ballybay had only won two county titles in recent decades, in 1987 and 2012, but most recently recorded victory in 2022.

Notable players

* Paddy Linden 3 Ulster SFCs. 1988 All Star. First All Star goalkeeper from Ulster. Won "Save of the Year" 1979. 1 Co. SFC. * Kieran Finlay, noted freetaker. Held scoring record of 1-9 from 1979 Ulster Final for many years. 1 Co. SFC * Paul Finlay, two Ulster SFCs with Monaghan, Ballybay captain 2012, son of Kieran Finlay * Drew Wylie, All Star nominated full-back - two Ulster SFCs with Monaghan *

Ryan Wylie Ryan Wylie is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Ballybay Pearse Brothers GAA, Ballybay Pearse Brothers (where his brothers Brent and Drew Wylie, Drew play with him), UCD GAA, UCD and at senior level for the Monaghan county football team, Monaghan ...

,(brother of Drew, All Star nominated corner-back, two Ulster SFCs with Monaghan - Monaghan senior captain)

Honours

s (9) ** 1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1969, 1987, 2012, 2022 *

s (1) ** 1976

References

External links

* Gaelic games clubs in County Monaghan Gaelic football clubs in County Monaghan {{Ulster-GAA-club-stub