Camross GAA 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 ...
Hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
and
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 in
County Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...
, Ireland, located near to
Coolrain
Coolrain (), is a village in County Laois, Ireland. It is situated near the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The nearest town is Mountrath
Mountrath () is a small town in County Laois, Ireland. The town lies on the R445 midway between Dublin and Lim ...
.
History
Founded in 1903, the club is the most successful
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
club in
County Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...
and the club colours are famously black and amber.
In 1957 Camross amalgamated with Killanure their parish counterparts and with amalgamation came great success. In 1957 they won Junior Championship beating St Fintans, Colt, followed with Intermediate title in 1958.
The Camross club did not win the
Laois Senior Hurling Championship
The Laois Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois GAA, Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888.
Clough–Ballacolla GAA, Clough–Bal ...
until 1959 but since then they have added a record 25 more senior hurling titles to their roll of honour (26 titles in total). They last won the
Laois Senior Hurling Championship
The Laois Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois GAA, Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888.
Clough–Ballacolla GAA, Clough–Bal ...
in 2018 defeating Rathdowney Errill. The last time they appeared in a county final was 2022, when defeated by Clough Ballacolla.
A previous chairman Michael Lalor also held the chair of office of Laois County Council in 2006. Michael and his brother was captain of the 1959 winning team. Other former chairmen of the club have been Tommy Delaney, Sean Mortimer, Mattie Collier, Kieran Delaney and Michael Scully. Current chairman is Jack Cuddy and is secretary Ursula Dunphy.
Camross has also won the
Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship
The Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and conte ...
twice. First they beat James Stephens of Kilkenny in 1976/77 and won against O'Tooles of Dublin in 1996/97. They were beaten in the 1977 club final by
Glen Rovers
Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They were Cork senior hurling champions in 2015 and 2016, havin ...
at a game played in
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...
. They defeated
Down side Ballycran in the semi-final, Camross lost the 1997 All Ireland semi-final to St. Mary's, Athenry again at
Semple Stadium in Thurles.
Camross club man Michael Delaney held the full-time position as secretary of the
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
Council of the GAA for well over a quarter of a century and was one of the top administrators in the sport.
Many famous Camross players have represented Laois at senior hurling over the years including Tim and Frank Keenan, P.J Cuddy, Joe Dollard, Martin Cuddy, Zane Keenan, Tim Cuddy, Sean Cuddy, John Carroll, and Joe Doran. Current Laois players are Mossie Keyes and Dan Delaney.
Football is very much a secondary sport in the club but Camross have won the
Laois Junior Football Championship
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
in 1980, the Laois Junior "B" Football Championship in 2005, 2016 and 2022 and the Laois Junior "C" Football Championship in 2014.
Camross winning Senior Hurling Captains.
1959 Fint Lalor
1963 Fint Lalor
1965 Tim Cuddy
1966 Tim Cuddy
1967 Tim Cuddy
1968 Ger Cuddy
1969 Ger Cuddy
1971 Jimmy Lyons
1973 John Carroll
1974 Christy Donovan
1976 Martin Cuddy
1977 Paddy Dowling
1978 Sean Cuddy
1979 Michael Cuddy
1980 Richard Maloney
1985 P.J Cuddy
1986 Joe Doran
1988 Alo Delaney
1990 Patsy Carroll
1993 Fint Lalor
1994 Tommy Delaney
1996 Mattie Collier
2007 Fran Hogan
2013 Tomas Burke
2017 Zane Keenan and Joe Phelan
2018 Niall Holmes
Achievements
*
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...
s: 0
** 1976–77 (runner up)
*
Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship
The Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and conte ...
s: O Neill Cup; 2
** 1976, 1996
*
Laois Senior Hurling Championship
The Laois Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois GAA, Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888.
Clough–Ballacolla GAA, Clough–Bal ...
: Bob O' Keefe Cup; 26
** 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2007, 2013, 2017, 2018
*
Laois Senior Hurling Championship
The Laois Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois GAA, Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888.
Clough–Ballacolla GAA, Clough–Bal ...
Runners-up;11
** 1945,1964, 1981, 1983, 1989, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2022
* Laois Intermediate Hurling Championships Hetherington Cup; 5
** 1939, 1958, 1983, 2000, 2010 Runners Up 2018
*
Laois Junior Hurling Championship
The Laois Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by lower-tier Laois GAA clubs.
Ballypickas are the title holders (2021) defeating near neighbours Abbeyleix in the Final.
Ballypickas are both the current hold ...
s Fr. Phelan Cup; 11
** 1914, 1921, 1928, 1957, 1964, 1972, 1981, 1988, 2003, 2008, 2014
*
Laois Junior A Hurling Championship
The Laois Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by lower-tier Laois GAA clubs.
Ballypickas are the title holders (2021) defeating near neighbours Abbeyleix in the Final.
Ballypickas are both the current holde ...
s Runners-up 5
** 1945, 1964, 1965, 1995, 2006
*
Laois Junior B Hurling Championship
The Laois Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by lower-tier Laois GAA clubs.
Ballypickas are the title holders (2021) defeating near neighbours Abbeyleix in the Final.
Ballypickas are both the current hold ...
s: Eamon MacCluskey Cup; 5
** 1988, 1989,1994, 2001, 2011;
*
Laois Junior B Hurling Championship
The Laois Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by lower-tier Laois GAA clubs.
Ballypickas are the title holders (2021) defeating near neighbours Abbeyleix in the Final.
Ballypickas are both the current hold ...
s Runners-up; 5
** 2001, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2018
*
Laois Junior C Hurling Championship
The Laois Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by lower-tier Laois GAA clubs.
Ballypickas are the title holders (2021) defeating near neighbours Abbeyleix in the Final.
Ballypickas are both the current holde ...
s; 2
** 2006, 2016,
*
Laois Junior A Football Championship
The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Football Championships.
The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates similarly to the Senior Cha ...
s Shaw Cup; 1
** 1980
*
Laois Junior B Football Championship
The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Football Championships.
The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates similarly to the Senior Cha ...
s Chris Lalor Cup ; 3
** 2005, 2016, 2022
*
Laois Junior C Football Championship
The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Football Championships.
The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates similarly to the Senior Cha ...
; 1
** 2014
* Laois Division 5 Football League; 4
** 1999, 2001, 2002, 2017 Runners-up 2018
* Laois Under 21 Hurling Championships Thomas Culliton Cup;18
** 1965,1966,1967,1969,1970,1977,1987,1993,1994,1996,1997,1999,2005,2007,2008,2009,2010, 2018
* Laois Minor Hurling Championships Harry Grey Cup; 3
** 2005,2017, 2021
* Laois Minor Hurling Runners-up;10
** 1955,1962,1973,1985,1993 1996,2006,2007,2008,2010
* Laois Minor Hurling B Championships Michael Lalor Cup;3
** 1992,2014,2015
* Laois Division 1 Hurling League O' Bradaigh Cup; 13
** 1975,1982,1983,1984,1987,1993,1994,1995,1998,1999,2000,2001, 2006, 2017, 2018
* Laois Division 1 Hurling League Runners-up;12
** 1974,1988,1989,1991,1992,1996,1997,2002,2005,2007, 2015, 2022
* Laois Division 2 Hurling League Freedom Fighters Cup; 4
** 1995,1997,2002,2008
* Laois Division 3 Hurling League Phil Shanahan Cup; 7
** 1980,1981,1988,1995,1997,2003, 2018
* Palmer Cup; 4
** 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camross Gaa
Gaelic games clubs in County Laois
Hurling clubs in County Laois
Gaelic football clubs in County Laois