CLG Chloich Cheann Fhaola 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 ...

and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

club for the parish of

Cloughaneely Cloughaneely (official name: ) is a district in the west of County Donegal, Ireland. This is a mainly coastal area with a population of over 4,000 centred on the towns of Falcarragh () and Gortahork (). It is a Gaeltacht area, meaning the Irish ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, Ireland. The club is based in

Falcarragh An Fál Carrach (anglicized as Falcarragh), sometimes called Na Crois Bhealaí ("the crossroads") is a small Gaeltacht town and townland in north-west County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The settlement is in the old parish of Cloughanee ...

. It also covers the area to the village of

Gortahork Gort an Choirce or Gort a' Choirce (; meaning "oat field"), anglicised as Gortahork, is a village and townland in the northwest of County Donegal, Ireland. It is a Gaeltacht community, where the Irish language is the main language spoken in the a ...

, as well as Meenlaragh and Magheroarty. The club fields both men's and ladies' teams from underage as far as

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

level. The club has a rivalry with St Michael's. Its honorary president, Fr Seán Ó Gallchóir, is a statistician who compiled ''The Book of Donegal GAA Facts''. John Horan gave him a GAA President's Award in 2021.

History

As of 2018, the club was competing in the Donegal League Division 1, and in the Senior Football Championship (SFC). Manager Joe McGarvey led the club to the 2014 Donegal IFC but resigned shortly afterwards, to be replaced by backroom team member John Paul Gallagher. Former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, John Harley, was killed in a traffic collision in 2019. Another player, Daniel Scott, was killed in the same collision. Captained by Harley's brother Mark, the club reached the final of the IFC in 2019. The club won the IFC in 2021. Cloich Cheann Fhaola's home defeat of Milford in the 2023 Donegal Senior Football Championship marked the first time in twelve years that the club had won a senior championship game. Two weeks after that the club defeated Four Masters as well.

Notable players

Jason McGee Jason McGee (born 1997/8) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cloich Cheann Fhaola and the Donegal county team. He is a former Australian rules football trialist. Playing career Minor McGee has an Ulster Minor Football Championship ...

— 2019 Ulster SFC winner and past

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

trialist *

Charlie McGeever Charles McGeever (born between 27 April and 22 December 1961)The 1981 FAI Cup Final was played on 26 April, when McGeever was 19. McGeever took over as caretaker manager of Finn Harps at the age of 24 "three days before Christmas" in 1984Sour ...

Kevin Mulhern Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

— 2010 Ulster Under-21 FC winner and 2010 All-Ireland Under-21 FC finalist * John 'Wildman' McFadden

Managers

Honours

Donegal Intermediate Football Championship The Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal IFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA. An Clochán Liath are the title holders (2022) defeating Naomh Columba in the Final. History The competitio ...

(3): 2006, 2014, 2021 *

Donegal Junior Football Championship The Donegal Junior Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal JFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA. Na Dúnaibh are the title holders (2022) defeating Letterkenny Gaels in the Final. History The competition has bee ...

(3): 1938, 1939, 1959 *

Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is an annual All Ireland Gaelic football competition contested by clubs from the Irish language-speaking Gaeltacht areas of Ireland. Clubs compete on a county-basis at first, in order to qualify for the tournament th ...

Dhún na nGall - Sinsír (?): …1998, 2017

References

Gaelic games clubs in County Donegal Gaelic football clubs in County Donegal The Rosses {{Ulster-GAA-club-stub