Saint Joseph's GAC Craigbane ( ga, CLG Naomh Seosamh An Charraigbhan) 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 Craigbane County Londonderry,

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 the

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 cater for both

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

Ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

. Underage teams up to U-12's play in North Derry league and championships, from U-14 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions.

Gaelic football

Craigbane fields Gaelic football teams at U8, U10, U12, U14, U16,

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. The club's biggest success came in 2001 and 2011 when they won the

Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship The Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between the hundreds of intermediate football clubs in Ulster. There are nine county championships between the nine counties of Ulster. The nine winn ...

. They have also won 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 ...

on seven occasions. They also won the u15 Feile Na Nog in 2023 after a fantastic performance throughout the tournament

History

The first officially formed Gaelic football club in Craigbane was Lamh Dearg, which was established in 1934. They played in the North Derry League and lost to

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 U ...

in their first game. Lamh Dearg soon folded, but a Craigbane team was reformed in 1959 under the guidance of Philip Crossan. Their first game was a 4–18 to 0–02 victory over

. Like much of rural Ireland, Craigbane suffered greatly in the 1960s from emigration and the club folded in 1962. The present club, St Joseph's GAC Craigbane came into existence in 1972 under the leadership of Gerry Crossan. The side played in Division 4 and their first game was a victory away to

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

. St. Joseph's were runners up to

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

in the 1973

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 ...

and won Division 4 the following year. At the end of the 1975 season, Craigbane were promoted to Senior football for the first time. Their first game in Division 1 was a defeat against

Glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

on a 2–09 to 1–09 scoreline. Craigbane were relegated to Division 2 for the 1977 season and were back playing Intermediate football for the next five years. In 1983 Eddie McElhinney became the first Craigbane player to win an All-Ireland medal went he was Gaelic football and Hurling positions#Center Half Forward on the Derry minor side that won the

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

against

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. Craigbane first Championship trophy came in 1985 when they beat Claudy in the Derry Intermediate Reserve Championship final. They won the cup again two years later. 1986 was a successful year where they won the

and the Dr Kerlin Cup, beating An Lúb and Faughanvale in the respective finals. They also won the League Division 2. The following year Craigbane became the first ever Derry club to retain the Intermediate Championship when they beat Claudy after a replay. The club finished joint top of Division 2. St Joseph's current pitch, Páirc Gheárod Uí Chrosaín, was officially opened by GAA President

Peter Quinn (GAA President) Peter Quinn (born 1944) served as the 30th President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, president of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1991 until 1994. A native of Gortmullan, Teemore, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, Quinn is a financial ...

and blessed by Bishop Daly on 13 May 1990. The club won the Intermediate Championship for a third team in 1992 and the team also won the 1994 Dr Kerlin Cup. Craigbane beat

Banagher Banagher ( or ''Beannchar na Sionna'') is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. It had a population of 3,000 at the height of its econ ...

in the 1995 Intermediate Championship final and in the Bishop's Cup final. 1997 saw Craigbane win five trophies. They defeated Claudy in the Intermediate Championship final at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

. The club also won the Dr. Kerlin Cup, the Bishops Cup and Division 2. The Reserves also won the Grade B Championship defeating

Drumsurn Drumsurn () is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is southeast of Limavady and northeast of Dungiven. It lies in the Roe Valley, at the foot of Donald's Hill and at the edge of the Sperrins. Drumsurn ha ...

. 2000 saw the club win their sixth Derry Intermediate Championship. They went on to win the 2001

, their greatest success to date, defeating Inniskeen of

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

in the final.

Honours

Senior

: 2 **2001, 2011 *

: 7 **1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2011 *Derry Intermediate Football League: 3 **1986, 1997, 2011 *Derry Football League Division Four: 1 **1974 *Bishops Cup 2 **1995, 1997 *Dr Kerlin Cup 6 **1986, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2009 *James O'Hagan Cup 1 **2003 *Derry Football League Division Three: 1 **2022 *

: 1 **2022

Reserves

*Derry Intermediate Reserve Football Championship: 3 **1985, 1987, 1997 *Derry Junior Reserve Football Championship: 1 **2021

Minor

*North Derry Minor Football Championship: 1 **1994

U17

*B2 Championship: 1 **2021

Under-16

* North Derry Under-16 'B' Football Championship: 3 ** 2004 2016 2018 * North Derry Under-16 'B' Football League: 1 ** 2004

Under-14

* North Derry Under-14 'B' Football League: 1 ** 2007 and 2008 Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

References

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