Clan na Gael Gaelic Athletic Club ( ga, CLG Clan na Gael) 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 situated in the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of
Lurgan
Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...
,
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...
,
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's pitch, Davitt Park, is named in honour of
Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt (25 March 184630 May 1906) was an Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his caree ...
, also the original club name. Throughout its 99-year history it has provided some of the most successful
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 ...
ers in
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 will be celebrating its Centenary in 2022.
The club pursues the founding ideals of the GAA, namely the promotion of all things
Gael
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
ic - the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
, the
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, the games, the pastimes and the country. The club also takes great pride in its tradition in
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 onl ...
. The club now has a strong nursery programme, which in turn has meant the club now fields football teams at under 7.5, under 9.5, under 11.5, under 13, under 15, Minor (under 17), under 19, Senior B and Senior. This nursery programme has now also allowed the club to develop its girls and ladies teams, who are now performing extremely well within the LGFA structure, teams are fielded at under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16, under 18 and Senior.
A relatively young under 16 team won the Armagh League and Championship in 2019, progressing through the Ulster Championship, where they were beaten by a very strong Burren team in the Final. The senior team is currently in Division 2 of the
Armagh Senior Leagues
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
.
History
The club, as Clan na Gael, was formed in 1922 in the Francis Street area following the demise of its long standing predecessor, The Michael Davitts. The club has been quite successful over the decades, bettered only in Armagh by
Crossmaglen Rangers
Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic Athletic Club ( ga, Raonaithe na Croise) is a GAA club in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They cater for Gaelic football and camogie. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett Park, which was ...
. Clan na Gael's height of dominance came in the 1970s, when the club won the
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
Club Championship three times, and reached the final of the All-Ireland Club Championship, only to be beaten in a replay by
University College, Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
, who had a high number of inter-county players in their squad. However, recently championship success has been minimal at senior level, the last Armagh Senior Championship was won by the club was in 1994, but winning the Armagh Intermediate Championship in 2021, has allowed the club to return to Senior level.
The club came to its lowest point for a long time when it was relegated in 2004 from the Armagh All County League Division I to the All County League Division II, for only the second time in the history of the club (and the League). Things however improved with the club retaining ACL Division I status in 2005 and also having a run in the Armagh Championship, reaching the semi-final only to be beaten after a replay with
Dromintee
Dromintee or Drumintee (, or ''Droim an Tí'' in modern Irish) is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 364 people. It lies within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. ...
. In 2006 Clan na Gael was beaten by
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Irel ...
in the final. They reached the 2008 quarter-finals but were beaten by Crossmaglen and again in 2009 by
Armagh Harps after a replay.
Since 2013 the club was competing in the county's Intermediate Championship, returning to Senior Championship in 2021.
Achievements
*
Armagh Senior Football Championship
The Armagh Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Armagh GAA clubs. The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1889.
Clann Éireann are the title hold ...
: (14)
** 1949, 1950, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1994
*
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 ...
: (3)
** 1972, 1973, 1974
*
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 ...
: Runner-Up 1974
*
Armagh Intermediate Football Championship
The Armagh Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Armagh GAA clubs.Armagh GAA
The Armagh County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Ard Mhacha) or Armagh GAA is one ...
: (1)
** 1965, 2020
Notable players
*
Jimmy Smyth, 1977 All Star, captained Armagh in the
1977 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
The 1977 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the ninetieth All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1977 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. Th ...
, later a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
commentator
*
Diarmaid Marsden, Ulster Championship Winner, All-Ireland winner with Armagh in 2002, and an ex All-star
* Eamon Mc Mahon, Ulster Championship Winner, All-Ireland runner up with Armagh in 1953, ex Glentoran and Glasgow Celtic goalkeeper
*
Hugh Kelly, Northern Ireland soccer international goalkeeper
References
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/8264061.stm
External links
Facebook
{{Armagh GAA clubs
Gaelic games clubs in County Armagh
Gaelic football clubs in County Armagh
Lurgan