Ballinderry Shamrocks GAC ( ga, Baile an Doire na Seamróga CLG) 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 ...

club based in

Ballinderry Ballinderry () is a small civil and ecclesiastical parish on both sides of the County Londonderry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. It is a rural parish of about 350 houses and lies on the western shores of Lough Neagh. The parish ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The club is a member of the

Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Dhoire) or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Londonderry in ...

and cater for

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

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men only ...

. The club's biggest success was winning the 2002

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Kilcoo of ...

. They have won the

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition played between the top clubs in Ulster GAA. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup ( ga, Corn Shéamuis Mhic Fearáin). The winners and th ...

three times and won the Derry Senior Football Championship on 11 occasions. Journalist and former Derry player

Joe Brolly Joe Brolly (born 25 June 1969 Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Gaelic football analyst, former player and barrister who played at senior level for the Derry county team. Brolly played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s ...

described Ballinderry as "one of the great communities of Ireland".

2019 Championship Football

2018 Championship Football

2017 Championship Football

2016 Championship Football

* Match Info Source''
derrygaa.ie

History

Gaelic football

Records show that by 1896 Gaelic football and the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

were organised in Ballinderry. In 1915 Ballinderry competed in what was generally known as the Killybearn League. Other teams competing were

Moneymore Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Dra ...

, Mullinahoe (part of

Ardboe Ardboe () is a large parish civil parish in east County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It borders the western shore of Lough Neagh and lies within the Mid Ulster District Council area. It is also the name of the local civil parish, which incorporate ...

), Drumaney (part of Ardboe), Drummullan, Killybearn and Stewartstown. Up to 1919 Bellagherty ( ga, Baile Uí Facharthaigh), a townland of Ballinderry had their own team. 1924 witnessed a revival of Gaelic football in South Londonderry through the efforts of Father Downey C.C., who was assisted by Master Wallace (Ballinderry), Master O’Brien (Magherafelt), Hugh A. Mullan and J.J. McNally. Other teams in South Londonderry at the time included Lissan, Magherafelt, Newbridge, Gulladuff and Glenullin (now a North Derry club). By 1926 Ballinderry officially formed as one team representing all the townlands of Ballinderry. The club was named Ballinderry Shamrocks GAC ( ga, Baile an Doire na Seamróga CLG). A year later the side claimed their first Derry Championship, after a final victory over Drumsurn. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Ballinderry competed in the Tyrone league and

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. Gaelic football was once again revived in South Londonderry in 1933 and Ballinderry returned to compete in Derry competitions. From 1933 to 1936 Ballylifford ( ga, Baile Leithearr), another townland of Ballinderry competed as a separate team. When Ballylifford and Ballinderry met this meant brother against brother in some cases. In 1938 a parish league was formed (between five Ballinderry teams): Bellagherty, St. John's, Ballinderry, Derrychrin and Mullan Fianna. Mullan were the eventual winners, the prize being a trip to the All-Ireland Final. Mullan Fianna competed as Ballinderry's sole team for a few years, but the Ballinderry Shamrocks side soon restarted in the early 1940s. The club moved to their current ground (Shamrock Park) in 1971. It was officially opened in 1979 with an Ulster U-21 Football Championship semi-final between Derry and Down. After a gap of 47 years, 1974 saw Ballinderry win their second Derry Senior Championship, defeating

Banagher Banagher ( or ''Beannchar na Sionna'') is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. It had a population of 3,000 at the height of its econ ...

in the final. The early 1980s were a glory period for the club and became only the second side after

Bellaghy Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, Port ...

to win the Derry Championship three years in a row (1980, 1981 and 1982). The club beat Burren of Down to claim the 1981

, before losing by a point to Garrymore (

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aus ...

) in the All-Ireland Club Championship semi-final. The club won another county championship in 1995, defeating rivals

at Watty Graham Park,

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distri ...

. The Shamrocks were beaten narrowly by Bellaghy in the Derry final in both 1999 and 2000. The two clubs clashed again in the 2001 final. This time Ballinderry were victorious. They went on to victory over Mayobridge in the

decider. Ballinderry went on to reach the 2001/02

, which they won defeating Tír Chonaill Gaels (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

) in the quarter-final, Rathnew (

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

) in the semi-final and

Nemo Rangers Nemo Rangers Hurling & Football Club is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club on the southside of Cork city, Ireland. The club was founded in 1922 and is involved in Gaelic football, hurling, Ladies football and Camogie. History Nemo R ...

(

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

) in the final on a scoreline of 2–10 (16 points) to 0–9 (9 points). The club were awarded Derry Club of the Year in 2001 under the AIB GAA Club of the Year Awards scheme Club Chairman Michael Donnelly was presented the award by GAA President Seán McCague. Ballinderry also won Club of the Year at the 2002 Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards. The club defended their Derry Championship crown in 2002, with victory over An Lúb in the final, but lost disappointingly to Errigal Ciarán in the Ulster semi-final. Ballinderry won their ninth Derry Championship in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 FIFA ...

after a gap of four years and reached the Ulster Club final. State of the art floodlights were installed at Shamrock Park in September 2007, replacing the older floodlights. Derry played St. Mary's University College at Shamrock Park in the 2008 Dr. McKenna Cup, believed to be the first inter-county competition game played at the venue. The Shamrocks regained the Derry Championship in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

– the club's tenth title.

Camogie

In 2003 the club's dedication and commitment was recognised when they obtained the Junior Clubmark demonstrating the strong policies and practices which are in place to ensure safe quality sporting opportunities for young people. Following this award, the under-age teams proved that the club were worthy winners by winning the Under 14, 16 and 18 county championships. The club won the Golden Clubmark in 2006. In 2004 the Shamrocks club was awarded the prestige Irish News Ulster Club award for commitment to under-age teams and coaching.

Football titles

Senior

: 1 **2002 *All-Ireland

Kilmacud Crokes Kilmacud Crokes ( ir, Cill Mochuda Na Crócaigh) is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Background Kilmacud GAA club was formed in 1959 following a historic public meeting in Saint L ...

Sevens Championship: 1 **1998. *

: 3 **1981, 2001, 2013 * Ulster Senior Club Football League: 3 **2008, 2010, 2011 * Derry Senior Football Championship: 12 **1927, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 *Derry Senior Football League: 11 **1974, 1975, 1980, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007 *

Derry Junior Football Championship The Derry Junior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Premier Electrics Derry Junior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Derry clubs. The competition receives coverage in ...

: 1 **1993 (won by Ballinderry Thirds team) *Larkin Cup ?* **2006, 2007, 2008, 2017 *McGlinchey Cup ?* **2004. *Bishops Cup ?* **1989.

Reserves

*Derry Reserve Football Championship: 9 **1976, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 *Derry Reserve Football League: 9 **1976, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006 *Graham Cup 3* **1976, 1977, 2006. 2009

Under-21

*Derry Under-21 Football Championship: 1 **1999.

Minor

* Ulster Minor Club Football Championship: 4 **1996, 1997, 2001, 2008. *Derry Minor Football Championship: 7 **1989, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008. *Derry Minor Football League: 7* **1952, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008

Under-16

* Ulster Under-16 Club Football Championship: 4 ** 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999. * Derry Under-16 Football Championship: 9 ** 1961, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2012 * South Derry Under-16 Football Championship: 9* ** 1961, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002. * South Derry Under-16 Football League: 8* ** 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006.

Under-15

*Derry Under-15 Football Championship: 3* **1961, 2004, 2005. *Ulster Óg Sport: 1* **2004? *Derry Óg Sport: 4 **1993, 1998, 2004, 2007

Under-14

* All-Ireland Féile na nÓg: 3 * *1996, 1997, 2018 * Ulster Féile na nÓg: 1 ** 2004. * Derry Féile na nÓg: 11 ** 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2018. * Derry Under-14 Football Championship: 10* ** 1981, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006. * South Derry Under-14 Football Championship: 12* ** 1977, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006. * South Derry Under-14 Football League: 11* ** 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2006.

Under-12

*Derry Under-12 Football League & Championship: 10* **1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2004. * Note: Some honours, particularly those marked with * may be incomplete lists. Please add in any other honours you know of.

Notable players

* Coilin Devlin *

Enda Muldoon Enda Muldoon (born 11 September 1977) is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team and has won an Ulster Senior Football Championship and two National League titles with the county, as well as Ulster Minor, Ulster Under ...

– All Star winning

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

footballer. *

Conleith Gilligan Conleith "Deets" Gilligan (born 17 December 1979) is a Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team, with whom he won two National League titles. Gilligan plays his club football for Ballinderry Shamrocks. He was instrumental in hel ...

References

Official Ballinderry website article on History

External links

Ballinderry Shamrocks WebsiteArticle on Ballinderry by Joe Brolly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballinderry Shamrocks Gac Gaelic football clubs in County Londonderry Gaelic games clubs in County Londonderry