Ballylanders GAA (Irish: ''CLG Baile an Londraigh'') 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 ...

(GAA) located in the parish of

Ballylanders Ballylanders () is a village in south County Limerick, Ireland. It is situated on the R513 Mitchelstown-Limerick regional road, being approximately from the former and from the latter. The 2016 census recorded a population of 308 people. N ...

/Knockadea in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

. The club was founded in 1888 and is solely 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 as hurlers from the parish play with neighbouring

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' was a television drama series broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland between September 1983, when the first episode was aired, and May 2001. A spin-off from ''Bracken'' — a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from ''The Riordans'' � ...

. They won the County Senior Football Championship on four occasions in 1917, 1999, 2007 and 2014.

Location

Ballylanders is situated 45 km from

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...

in the southeast of the county at the foot of the

Galtee Mountains Galtymore or Galteemore () is a mountain in the province of Munster, Ireland. At , it is one of Ireland's highest mountains, being the 12th-highest on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin list, and 14th-highest on the Lists of mo ...

. Footballers from the neighbouring parish of Glenroe/Ballyorgan also play with the club. Neighbouring clubs include sister club

, Garryspillane, Galbally, Galtee Gaels and

Mitchelstown Mitchelstown () is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of approximately 3,740. Mitchelstown is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains, 12 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Caves, 28 km from Cahir, 50& ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

History

Before the foundation of the GAA in 1884,

was widely played in southeast

. There is an account and photograph of a Ballylanders Shamrocks team that played Aherlow. Bally won the County Junior Football Championship in 1911 beating Castlemahon in the final. The cup stayed in the parish for six years as the County Board did not run the championship during the First World War. Meanwhile, football grew rapidly in the parish and Ballylanders won their first County Senior Football Championship in 1917 beating Commercials. Several Ballylanders players were on the Limerick team that lost to

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 ...

in the same year. During those early days of the GAA, Frank Dineen, a native of Ballylanders, gave a great contribution to the GAA. He was President from 1885-1898 and was General Secretary from 1898-1901. Dineen famously bought a site in 1913 on Jones's Road that was later to become

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. Ballylanders won a Junior Championship in 1920 and were beaten in the 1925 Senior final by

Oola Oola ( or ) is a village in County Limerick in Ireland. It is near the border with County Tipperary in the midwest of the country. The village is home to a church (Church of The Sacred Heart), a petrol station, a convenience store, two publi ...

. The club were again Junior champions in 1933 beating Ahane but football was in decline at this time. in 1952 they won another Junior title beating

but again failed to build on it lasting just two years at senior. In the 1970s Bally were senior and succeeded in winning a South Championship. After a disappointing 1980s the 1990s were extremely successful for the club. In 1991 they joined with Galtee Gaels and Garryspillane under the Glenacurrane name and they won the County Senior Championship. In 1995 the club won Under-14, Minor and a Junior county title beating Gerald Griffins to win their fifth junior crown. In 1996 an Under-21 success was added. In 1998

Pallasgreen Pallasgreen or Pallasgrean () is a village in East County Limerick, situated on the Limerick–Tipperary N24 road. The name means "the Stockade of Grian," referring to an ancient Irish Goddess of Love, who is associated with the nearby hil ...

were defeated in the County Intermediate final and the following year Bally won their first Senior Championship for eighty-one years when they beat Hospital-Herbertstown. The club carried through its success into the 2000s with the minors and under-21s winning County Championships in 2004 and 2006 respectively. A third Senior Championship was added in 2007 when Dromcollogher-Broadford were beaten. They reached the final again the following year but Drom-Broadford gained revenge. The club won an unprecedented fourteen South Senior Championships between 1998 and 2011 and continues to ply its trade at senior level.

Grounds

Through the years Ballylanders GAA club rented various fields around the parish for training and matches. In the early days Osborne's field was used where the daycare now stands. Lynch's field where Galtee Wood now stands was also used as well as Walshe's field. McGrath's field on the Galbally road was a mainstay. The club finally purchased a site on the

Kilfinane Kilfinnane or Kilfinane () ( or , ) is a small market town in County Limerick, Ireland. The town's name comes from the Irish (church) and (Finnian), making its meaning "Church of Saint Finnian". Kilfinnane is located approximately 40 ...

road in 1981 and throughout the 1980s and 90s the field and dressing rooms were developed. However, the club has since outgrown these facilities and have built a brand new clubhouse containing four dressing rooms and a multi purpose hall. The grounds is now known as Frank B. Dineen Park.

Honours

Limerick Senior Football Championship The Limerick Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top Limerick GAA clubs. The champions qualify to represent Limerick in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship, the winners of which progr ...

(4): 1917, 1999, 2007, 2014 * Limerick Junior Football Championship (5): 1911, 1920, 1933, 1952, 1995

References

External links