Ballykelly 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 ...

based Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, north of

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Situ ...

. They field teams from U6 to senior in both ladies' and men's football.

History

Football Club

The present-day club was founded in 1953, and immediately began fundraising and training in Banderra.

Ladies' Football

The Ballykelly girls' Under 14 team was registered in the spring of 1994 and contained 21 players. In 1997, after a few years of success, Ballykelly and

Athgarvan GAA Athgarvan is a Gaelic Athletic Association, Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Athgarvan, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, which played a significant role in the development of the GAA in the 1890s. Gaelic football Athgarvan competed ...

arranged to have players represent both teams. In 1999 saw the formation of an Under 12 team and the reformation of the Under 14 team; in 2001 a Senior Ladies' team was formed.

Grounds

The club purchased its first pitch in 1982 next to the Highbridge. The pitch and club rooms were opened on 16 October 1983 by Hugh Campion, former Chairman of Kildare County Board. The facilities were updated after that with the addition of new dressing rooms and showers. In 2005 the club purchased in the townland of Ballykelly. This new development was completed and officially opened on 16 May 2010. The facility was named as Kildare Grounds of the Year for 2010.

Honours

Kildare Intermediate Football Championship The Kildare Intermediate Football Championship, or Kildare I.F.C., is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Kildare GAA clubs since 1928. The winners currently receive the Hugh Campion Cup in honour of the Suncroft official ...

Winners (3) 1955, 1960, 1975 *

Kildare Junior Football Championship The Kildare Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Kildare GAA clubs. The winning club plays in the Kildare Intermediate Football Championship in the following year. As of the 2022 season the ...

: Winners (2) 1974, 2007

Bibliography

* Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by

Eoghan Corry Eoghan Corry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Cómhraí; born 19 January 1961) is an Irish journalist and author. He is the lead commentator on travel for media in Ireland, having edited travel sections in national newspapers and travel publications since the 19 ...

, CLG Chill Dara,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, hb pb * Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000- in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000 * Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904-2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board.

External links

Official Ballykelly GFC siteKildare GAA site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballykelly Gaa Gaelic games clubs in County Kildare Gaelic football clubs in County Kildare