Castleisland Desmonds are 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 in

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2016 Census, Castleisland had a population of 2,486. Castleisland was described by one of its ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The club won its first County Championship in 1950. They won others in 1981, 1982 and 1984. They won the Munster Club Championship and All-Ireland Club Championship in 1985.

Celebrity Bainisteoir

In 2010, the club was selected to enter

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

's ''

Celebrity Bainisteoir ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' was a prime-time reality programme created by Fiona Looney and first broadcast in 2008 by RTÉ. It involved a number of celebrities competing against each other as a Gaelic football team coach. The title derived from th ...

'' TV show. Their ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' was Derek Burke from

Crystal Swing Crystal Swing are a new wave Country and Western, and Country and Irish showband, from Lisgoold, County Cork, Ireland. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her children Dervla Burke and Derek Burke. The group rose to nati ...

. In the quarter finals,

played against Nuala Carey's

Shannonbridge Shannonbridge () is a village located on the River Shannon, at the junction of the R444 and R357 regional roads in County Offaly, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Raghra (), at the borders of counties Offaly, Galway and Roscommon, with ...

side from

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. In the 2010 season of ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'', home advantage for each game bar the final was determined by an

assault course An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

challenge, which took place at the Irish Army's training camp in

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the f ...

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, ...

. Having lost the home venue decider in the Curragh, Desmonds travelled to Shannonbridge. In a close game, Castleisland won on a 2–10 to 2-06 scoreline. In the semi-finals, having won the home venue decider in the Curragh, Desmonds hosted Breffny Morgan's

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

team,

Kilconly Kilconly is a small rural village near Tuam which is north of Galway City in County Galway, Ireland. It is situated about 12km north west of Tuam town on the Ballinrobe road ( R332). Facts * Feartagar Castle is located 2.3 km (1.4 mi) to the ea ...

. Desmonds ultimately won the match by 3 points (1 goal), on a 2–11 to 1-11 scoreline, thereby securing a place in the final. This match took place on 25 September 2010 and was featured in the episode of ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' which aired on 17 October 2010. In the final of ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'', Desmonds faced

Mairéad Farrell Mairéad Farrell ( ga, Máiréad Ní Fhearghail or ''Mairéad Ní Fhearail'') (3 March 1957 – 6 March 1988) was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). She was shot dead by the British Army in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988.Pg 30 ...

Ballymun Kickhams Ballymun Kickhams ( Irish: ''Ciceam Bhaile Munna'' ) is a GAA club in Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland. The club has a clubhouse and its home pitch, ''Pairc Ciceam'', just off the Ballymun (junction 4) exit of the M50. Ballymun also has a full size ...

from

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 ...

. The match took place at

Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 8,500. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used by Dublin's inter ...

, Dublin on 29 October 2010. Early in the game the Desmonds scored the first point, and added 3 more without reply, but by half time Kickhams had fought back to lead Desmonds by 1 point at 1–3 to 0–5. Ballymun scored early in the second half, but with ten minutes remaining both sides were level. Kickhams scored another point, to which Desmonds responded with a goal. Now under pressure, Kickhams missed one point-scoring opportunity, but succeeded with another to narrow the gap to a single point. As the game intensified, an incident occurred which resulted in a Desmond's player receiving a second yellow card, and being sent off with four minutes remaining. Despite this, Ballymun failed to capitalise, missing their best chance at scoring in injury time. Desmonds held their lead, to win the game by a single point with a final scoreline of 1–08 to 1-07. The match was featured in the episode of ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' which aired on 31 October 2010.

Notable players

Donie Buckley Donie Buckley (born early 1960s) is an Irish Gaelic football coach and former player. He played at full forward with his local club Castleisland Desmonds but never with the Kerry county team. His coaching has taken him all along the western co ...

Mary Geaney Mary Geaney is an Irish sportswoman. She played senior ladies' Gaelic football for Kerry, senior camogie for Cork and is also a former Ireland women's field hockey international. In 1976 she captained Kerry when they won the All-Ireland Senio ...

Dermot Hannafin Dermot Hanifin (born in Castleisland, County Kerry) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Castleisland Desmonds and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1985 until 1993. His father, ...

Mossie Lyons Mossie Lyons is an Irish Gaelic football half-back who plays with the Castleisland Desmonds club side, and formerly with the Kerry county team. Playing career Lyons was first selected for the Kerry senior team in 2000, after playing for the cou ...

Charlie Nelligan Charlie Nelligan (born 1957 in Castleisland, County Kerry) is an Irish former sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Castleisland Desmonds and at senior level for the Kerry county team between 1974 and 1991. He also playe ...

Ger Reidy Ger Reidy (Irish: Gearóid Ó Riada), is a GAA goalkeeper currently playing for Castleisland Desmonds and Kerry. He made his intercounty debut in the National League fixture vs. Donegal in Austin Stack Park, Tralee. He went on to play in 3 f ...

Roll of honour

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 ...

: (1) 1985 *

Munster Senior Club Football Championship The Munster Senior Club Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition for the champion clubs of each county. It has been organised by the Mu ...

: (2) 1984, 1985 *

Kerry Club Football Championship The Kerry Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football championship played between senior clubs in Kerry, south-west Ireland. In the event of the Kerry Senior Football Championship being won by a divisional team, the winner of this competit ...

: (8) 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995 *

Kerry Intermediate Football Championship The Kerry Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Kerry GAA clubs. Rathmore are the title holders (2022).. Teams 2022 Teams Honours The winners can be promoted to play in the Kerry ...

: (3) 1976, 1979, 1981 * County League Championship (Division 1): (1) 1981 * County League Championship (Division 4): (2) 1975, 1979 *

North Kerry Senior Football Championship The North Kerry Senior Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition for GAA clubs affiliated to the North Kerry Division of Kerry. The official name of the competition is The Bernard O'Callaghan Memorial North Kerry Senior Football Ch ...

: (6) 1980, 1988, 2002, 2007, 2020, 2021 * North Kerry Senior League: (5) 1971, 1975, 1979, 1981, 2021 * A.I.B. Club of the Year: (3) 1981, 1982, 1983 * Celebrity Bainisteoir : (1) 2010 *

All-Ireland Senior Club Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Ladies' Club Football Championship is the ladies' Gaelic football competition for club football teams. The winners are awarded the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup. Senior championships Senior finals listed by year * ''Ladies' n ...

: (2) 1980, 1983

External links

Official Castleisland Desmonds GAA Club websiteCastleisland Desmonds on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleisland Desmonds Gaa Gaelic football clubs in County Kerry Gaelic games clubs in County Kerry