Saint Colm's GAC Drum ( ga, CLG Naomh Colm An Droim) is a
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
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 ...
.
Drum fields Gaelic football teams at U8, U10, U12, U14 and Senior levels. They currently compete in the Derry Junior Football Championship and Division 2 of the Derry ACFL. The U16 and Minor teams are amalgamated with Drumsurn and play as St Patrick's.
Drum has won the Derry Junior Football Championship seven times. Underage teams up to U-12s play in North Derry league and championships, from U-13 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions.
The club also has a number of camogie sides at various age groups. Drum won the 2003 Derry Intermediate Hurling Championship but no longer competes in hurling.
History
A club was set up in the area around 1918 and was known as O'Carolan's Gortnaghey. St Colms's GAC Drum was officially founded in 1937. The club's first major honour came in 1940 when it won the Dr Kerlin Cup and in 1941 it won the club's biggest honour to date; the Derry Senior Football League. Five years later, after winning the North Derry Senior Football Championship, the club reached 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 ...
final, only to be denied 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 a close encounter. Drum reached another Derry Senior Championship final in 1956, but was defeated by
Bellaghy
Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, Po ...
. In that year Eugene McCaul and Séamus McCloskey from Drum were part of Derry's first ever
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 ...
winning side.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s Drum and rivals Foreglen combined to play as Muldonagh, but soon went their separate ways again. Peter Stevenson from the club won an All Star in 1975 for his performance for Derry in that year's
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
. Having slipped down to the Junior ranks, in 1977 Drum won the Derry Junior Football Championship, Division 3 of the League and the Neil Carlin Cup. In 1974 Drum reached the first of their four
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 ...
Greenlough denied them in the 1976 decider, Glen in 1983 and
Moneymore
Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Dra ...
in 1984.
In 1989 St Colm's opened their new pitch at a cost of £75,000. It was opened by Bishop
Francis Lagan
Francis Lagan (31 October 1934 – 9 June 2020) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholi ...
at an Antrim versus Kilkenny hurling match followed by a Derry versus Meath football match. In the same year the club received the Gerry Crossan Memorial Cup for North Derry Club of the Year.
In 1992 Drum's Níall Farren, Seán More, Shauna McCaul and Julie Colgan all won Derry handball titles. St Colm's became Derry Junior Football Champions again in 1994, with a victory over Eoghan Rua in the final. A new pavilion was completed in May 1995 and Drum won the following year's Neil Carlin Cup with victory over
Doire Colmcille CLG
Doire Colmcille CLG is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football and Ladies' Gaelic football with a strong focus on youth development.
Doire ...
, and won the club's fifth Derry Junior Championship. Cousins Níall and Eoighin Farren were rewarded with Bank of Ireland Colleges All Stars following their performances for St. Patrick's College, Maghera. Drum retained the Neil Carlin Cup in 1997 with victory over Ardmore.
In 2000 St Colm's won the Fair Play League, rewarding their sporting conduct both on and off the field. Drum hurler Shane McCartney claimed consecutive
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
The Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Ulster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling co ...
s with Derry in 2000 and 2001. The club won the Derry Intermediate Hurling Championship in 2003 and the club's sixth Junior Football Championship came in 2006 after a comeback against
Lissan
Lissan () is a civil and Anglican and Roman Catholic ecclesiastical parish that spans parts of County Londonderry and County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The local Roman Catholic church was built in 1908.
Sport
*Lissan GAC is the local Gaelic At ...
. Drum also made it to the final in 2007 but lost to Lissan. In 2008, under the management of former Derry captain Joe Irwin, they lost a promotion playoff to Limavady.
In August 2012 Drum won its seventh JFC title, defeating Ardmore by 2–16 to 1–8.hoganstand.com Derry football results
Camogie
Shauna McCaul added her name to the growing list of Drum players to claim All-Ireland honours as she helped the Derry Camogs clinch a memorable victory over Cork in the Junior All-Ireland Championship. Ann O’Reilly joined the Derry team in 2003 to clinch a Senior Ulster championship title as did her younger sibling Shona, who won an Ulster Minor Championship title with Derry Camogie team in 2002.
Honours
Gaelic football
Senior
*Derry Senior Football League: 1
**1941
*Derry Junior Football League:
** 2016
* Neal Carlin Cup Winners
** 2016
*
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 ...
* Derry Under-16 Hurling Championship: 2
** 1992, 1993
* Derry All County Under-16 Championship: 1
** 2008
Camogie
* Junior League & Championship Winners 2011
Well known players
* Peter Stevenson – All Star winning Derry footballer. Also played hurling for Drum and Dungiven.
– Neil Farren – former MacRory and Hogan Cup winning full-back for St. Patrick's Maghera, went on to play Derry minor.
– Seamus McCaul – goalkeeper on the Derry minor team that won the Ulster title in 1965
– Seamus McCloskey – midfield on the Derry minor team that won the Ulster title in 1965