John Mitchel's GAC Claudy ( ga, CLG Seán Uí Mhisteil Clóidigh) 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

Claudy Claudy () is a village and townland (of 1,154 acres) in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the Faughan Valley, southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. It is situated in the civil parish of Cumber Upp ...

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

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 ...

and currently caters 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 ...

. The club is named after

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

patriot and revolutionary

John Mitchel John Mitchel ( ga, Seán Mistéal; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. In the Great Famine (Ireland), Famine years of the 1840s he was a leading writer for The Nation (Irish n ...

, as is that in

Glenullin Glenullin was previously a rural area but has now expanded to become a small village in a valley between the villages of Garvagh, Swatragh and Dungiven, and lies in the borough of Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The nearest c ...

in the same county. John Mitchel's Claudy GAC is the oldest club in County Londonderry and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2013. Claudy fields boys' and girls' football teams at Under-6, U-8 and U-10; boys'/men's teams at U-12, U-14, U-16,

Minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

, Reserve and

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 ...

levels; and

ladies The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

teams at Under-12, U-14, U-16 and Senior levels. Underage teams up to U-12s play in North Derry league and championships, from U-14 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions. The club currently competes in the

Derry Senior Football Championship The Derry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top sixteen Derry GAA clubs. The winners receive the John McLaughlin Cup and qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Senior Club Football Champi ...

and Division 1 of the Derry All-County Football League.

2018 Championship Football

2017 Championship Football

History

The North Derry County Board held a meeting in St Patrick's Hall, Claudy in 1921, but was forced to disperse after coming under gun attack from the A Specials. Many GAA members were

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

without trial. This had the effect of bringing

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

in the area to a standstill. In the early 1930s Alfie Devine from the village tried to encourage the establishment of the GAA in Claudy and also tried to organise a North Derry County Board. John Mitchel's GAC was founded and the opening game was played in July 1934 against Craigbane Lamh Dhearg. The North Derry Board was formed in 1936. After being a member of the North Derry Board for a short while, the club affiliated to the Derry City Board in 1935. In 1946 the club moved back to the North Derry Board. Mitchel's first major success came in 1957 when they won the Dr Kerlin Cup, defeating Ballerin, who won the

that year. The club won the North Derry Minor Football Championship two years later, before being beaten by

Magherafelt Magherafelt (, �mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...

in the All-Derry Minor Championship final. The 1960s proved to be one of Claudy's most successful decades ever. In that time they won the North Derry Senior Football League a few times, Neal Carlin Cup, Mahon Cup and reached a Derry Senior Championship semi-final, where they were beaten by Newbridge. The club's biggest success came in 2005 when they defeated Eoghan Rua in the final of the

Derry Intermediate Football Championship The Derry Intermediate Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the ''M&L Contracts Derry Intermediate Football Championship'') is an annual competition between the mid-tier Gaelic football clubs affiliated to Der ...

Football titles

Adult

: 1 **2005 *

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 **1983 *Dr Kerlin Cup 7 **1957, 1970, 1975, 1985, 1990, 2013, 2015

Under 21s

*Harry O'Kane Cup (North derry) 2 ** 2013, 2014

Reserve

*Derry Intermediate Reserve Football Championship: 3 **2000, 2007, 2019

Minor

*North Derry Minor 'A' Football Championship: 2 **1992, 1999 *North Derry Minor 'A' Football League: 4 **1990, 1991, 1999, 2000 *North Derry Minor 'B' Football Championship: 2 **2007 *North Derry Minor 'B' Football League: 1 **2001 *Carlin Duffy Cup: 1 **2012 *Derry Minor 'B' Football league:2 **2013,2014 *Derry Minor 'B' Football Championship:2 **2014, 2018

Under-16

*North Derry Under-16 'B' Football Championship: 1 ** 1997 * North Derry Under-16 'B' Football League: 2 ** 2001, 2008

Under-14

* North Derry Under-14 'B' Football Championship ** 1992 * North Derry Under-14 'B' Football League ** 1999 *Derry Under-14 'C' Football League **2019 >Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

Notable footballers

Patsy Gormley Patrick James Gormley (8th December 1932 – 25 August 2022) was a Gaelic footballer from Northern Ireland. At club level he played with Claudy and was also a member of the Derry senior football team. Gormley usually lined out as a goalkeeper ...

Goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

on Derry's

1958 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 1958 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was won by Dublin, who beat Derry in the final. The championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during ...

runners-up side.

External links

John Mitchel's GAC website

References

{{Derry clubs Gaelic games clubs in County Londonderry Gaelic football clubs in County Londonderry