Dundalk Young Irelands GFC is a GAA club from

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, County Louth, which fields

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 ...

teams in competitions organised by the Louth county board. The club was formed in the same year as the

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 ...

, making it the oldest club in Louth and one of the oldest in Ireland.

History

The club was founded in 1884 by members of the Dundalk Young Ireland Society. A team was entered in the inaugural

Louth Senior Football Championship The Louth Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Louth GAA among the top Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. The winning club qualifies to represent the county in the Leinster S ...

of 1887 which went on to win the competition, defeating Dowdallshill in the final on a scoreline of 0–03 to 0–02. The

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

was also held for the first time that year. As county champions, Young Irelands represented Louth and reached the final after wins over the champions of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. They lost the final to Limerick Commercials on a scoreline of 1–04 to 0–03, at Beech Hill in

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 Irelanders were senior champions twice more in the early years of the next century, with victories against Tredaghs of Drogheda in 1905 and

Geraldines The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

in 1911. Club member Joe Ward represented Young Irelands at administrative level in

Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae an Lú) or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The co ...

. He was Chairman of the county board in 1910 and again from 1917 to 1920. His service to the county as an official was recognized with the posthumous dedication of the Joe Ward Cup in his honour, for the winners of the Louth Senior Football Championship. A period in the junior ranks of Louth football was to follow for the club, ending with a defeat of Darver Young Irelands in the

Louth Junior Football Championship The Louth Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition, organised by Louth GAA and contested by the junior One/A grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. The winner qualifies to represent the cou ...

final of 1937. In 1938, the Irelanders won both the

and the

Cardinal O'Donnell Cup The Cardinal O'Donnell Cup is an annual senior league competition organised by Louth GAA for the Division 1 teams in Gaelic football in County Louth. Format All 12 teams play each other once, with the top four traditionally qualifying for the se ...

, thus completing a rare 'Double' of Senior League and Championship. Back-to-back senior championship titles followed in 1940 and 1941, with defeats of

Cooley Kickhams Cooley Kickhams Gaelic Football Club is a Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club based on the Cooley Peninsula, County Louth, Ireland. History The club was founded in 1887 and is named after the Cooley Peninsula on which it stands. ...

and Dundalk Gaels respectively. The Double was won again in both years. Future

county team A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has ...

manager Jim Quigley captained the Irelanders to another championship win over

in 1944 and again in 1947 when they clinched a ninth senior title, with a replay win against Owen Roe's of Drogheda. 1950 was an outstanding year for Young Irelands as both the senior and junior teams would win their respective championships. The seniors triumphed over St Magdalene's of Drogheda after a replay on a scoreline of 0–08 to 0–05, while the junior side defeated Dowdallshill by a point, 2–01 to 0–06. There would be no more championship success for the Irelanders in the 1950s, although they did manage to win the Old Gaels cup in 1957. 1957 was another memorable year for the club, as three of their players started on the Louth side that won the 1957 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final against Cork and the victorious team were trained by former Irelanders' captain Jim Quigley. Challenging times would lie ahead as the Dundalk municipal Athletic Grounds – where the club played their home matches– was sold in 1960 to Clarks, who built a shoe factory on the site. Young Irelands’ fortunes declined considerably in the 1960s to the point where they were unable to enter teams in competitions. The Irelanders were now effectively homeless, until the local

Marist Fathers The Society of Mary ( la, Societas Mariae) abbreviated SM, commonly known as the Marist Fathers, is a men's Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right. It was founded by Jean-Claude Colin and a group of seminarians in ...

allowed the club to use the grounds of their

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

for training and playing purposes. The club decided to rebuild at junior level and focus on youth development. Many lean years would follow until finally in 1977 the Irelanders won their third Junior Championship title, beating Oliver Plunketts 1–12 to 0–06 in the final at Knockbridge. Now back in senior football, their success continued in 1978 as the club won the

with a 1–11 to 0–04 victory over Ardee St Mary's in the league final at Louth Village. 1978 was also the year that Louth would win their second Leinster Under-21 title, with victory against

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 final. The club had three representatives on the panel – Séamus Haughey, Larry Goodman and Michael McCabe. Louth were narrowly beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final by

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

at the

Gaelic Grounds The Gaelic Grounds, know for sponsorshop reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the Irish city of Limerick, home to the Limerick hurling and football teams. It has a capacity of 44,023. History 9 October 1926 saw f ...

, 2–10 to 0–14. In 1979 the Irelanders reached the final of the senior championship for the first time since 1950, where they met

at St Brigid's Park. Then the dominant side in Louth football, Cooley were expected to win a 4th consecutive title. Young Irelands, however, outscored them by three points (0–11 to 1–05) to take home the Joe Ward Cup. The team returned to the county final again in 1980 at Ardee but were upset by Roche Emmets on a scoreline of 2–03 to 0–06. 1981 would see Louth clinch a third provincial title at the Under-21 grade. Once again there was Young Irelands' involvement, as the side was captained by midfielder Pat McConnon. Goalkeeper Eugene McArdle and right half-back Kieran Maguire joined him on the team. Longford were defeated in the decider by 2–08 to 0–06. Galway would prove too strong for the Wee County in the All-Ireland semi-final. The Irelanders remained competitive throughout the Eighties without winning further league or championship honours. Their long-standing aim of having a permanent ground of their own was achieved in 1983, when a plot of land was purchased in Upper Marshes, Dundalk from the local council. Páirc Éire Óg staged its first competitive match in 1989. Competing at intermediate level in the early 1990s, the club reached championship finals in 1991 and 1993 but lost both times, to Dundalk Gaels and Hunterstown Rovers respectively. In 1996, they made it third time lucky with a 0–14 to 1–08 win over Naomh Fionnbarra at Castlebellingham. The new

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

would find the Irelanders in Division 3, having first being relegated to the Intermediate grade, followed by a further relegation to junior football at the end of 2000. Some lean years would be in store for the club, as prospects were hindered by the retirements of senior players. Nevertheless, Young Irelands continued to plan for the future, with underage development receiving priority. These efforts were rewarded in 2006 when a side containing several minors clinched the MacArdle Cup as Division 3 League winners. The club then went one better in 2007 by winning the Junior Championship for a fourth time in their history by beating St Mochta's 1–07 to 0–07. A championship double was almost achieved when the minors won through to the final of the

Louth Minor Football Championship The Louth Minor Football Championship is an annual competition organised by Louth GAA between the premier teams in minor (under-17) Gaelic football in County Louth. Trophy The winning team is presented with the Father Larry Murray Cup, named aft ...

, only to lose to

by 1–12 to 1–07. The Junior success of 2007 was built upon with another Division 3 League title in 2009. A 2–11 to 1–11 defeat of O'Raghallaighs in the 2010 Intermediate Championship final at

Ardee Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued devel ...

brought the Green-and-Blacks back to Senior football for the first time since the late 1990s. They would return to intermediate football after being relegated two years later. A further relegation in 2017 saw the club fall to the junior grade after winning just one out of seventeen matches. On a brighter note, 2018 would prove to be another momentous year in Young Irelands' history as they won three major trophies. The Christy Bellew Cup for the Junior Championship was won with victory over Glyde Rangers, followed by the Division 3 Junior League and finally the

Leinster Junior Club Football Championship The Leinster Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition between the winners of the Junior football competitions in 10 counties of Leinster, the Intermediate football champions of Kilkenny, the Intermediate football runners- ...

. This was the first time a Louth club had won this provincial competition. The Irelanders beat the junior champions of

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

and

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

on their way to winning the Leinster title with a 2–10 to 2–07 win over St Brigid's of Offaly at the

in December. They then met Kerry's Beaufort in the semi-finals of the

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition which began in 2002 and is played by the junior club champions of each county. Prior to that a number of unofficial competitions were held. The winners of each cou ...

on 20 January 2019 at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise. Despite leading by three points at half-time, the Irelanders went down 0–12 to 0–10 to the competition's eventual winners. The club currently competes in the Louth Intermediate championship and in Division 2 of the county's football leagues, which they won in 2021. Bernie Ruane and Declan Mussen will jointly manage the team in the 2023 season.

Catchment area

Players have traditionally come from the Seatown area of central

close to where the St. Mary's College grounds – the club's home pitch for several decades – are located.

Rivalries

Dundalk Gaels (formed in 1928) were the Irelanders' main rivals for many years. Between 1940 and 1952, the two clubs won eight out of thirteen Louth senior championship titles. Town neighbours Seán O'Mahony's and

Clan Na Gael Clan na Gael ( ga, label=modern Irish orthography, Clann na nGael, ; "family of the Gaels") was an Irish republican organization in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, successor to the Fenian Brotherhood and a sister org ...

have provided local opposition at the intermediate grade in recent years.

Inter-county players

Current and former players, who have represented

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

at senior inter-county level, include: *Jim Quigley – 'Sogger', manager of Louth team that won

1957 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 1957 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 71st staging of Ireland's premier Gaelic football knock-out competition. Cork ended Galway's spell a All Ireland champions by just a point in the All Ireland semi-final. Louth won their t ...

. As a player, captained Young Irelands to two SFC victories in 1944 and 1947. Won two

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

titles with Louth in 1943 and 1948. Selected at centre-half forward on Louth Millennium team. *Jim Cunningham - Elder brother of Seán. Played with Louth for several years and was selected for

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

Railway cup side. *Frank Fagan – captain of club's SFC winning team in 1950. selected at left corner-forward on Louth Millennium team. Briefly managed Louth in 1984–85. *Jim Tuft – selected at left corner-back on Louth Millennium team. Played in Louth's 1950 All-Ireland final defeat to

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

. * Stephen White – played left half-back in 1957 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final win over

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. Selected on Louth Millennium team and GAA Team of the Century in 1984. Played at left-half forward in 1950 All-Ireland final. *Seán Óg Flood – Louth goalkeeper in 1957 All-Ireland final victory. *Seán Cunningham – played in 1957 All-Ireland final victory at right-corner forward. Scored 1–01. Emigrated to US afterwards. *Séamus Haughey – Full back. Captain of 1979 team who that won

for first time in 29 years. Winner of

Leinster Under-21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highes ...

medal with Louth in 1978. *Michael McCabe – Winner of

medal with Louth in 1978. Centre-half back on club's 1979 SFC team. Captained Louth in 1980

O'Byrne Cup The Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. The competition is named after Matt Byrne, a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, ...

final victory over

. *Pat McConnon – Captain of Louth side that won

in 1981. Regular in Louth's midfield throughout 1980s. *Derek Maguire – winner of one Intermediate and two

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

championships with the club. Regular with

Louth county football team The Louth county football team represents Louth in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Louth GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Se ...

from 2009 to 2018. Won 2009 O'Byrne Cup, 2011 NFL Division 3 and 2016 NFL Division 4 with Louth.

Honours

(11): 1887, 1888, 1905, 1911, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1950, 1979 * Senior Football League (6): 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1978 *

Louth Intermediate Football Championship The Louth Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition, organised by Louth GAA, among the intermediate grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. History The competition, introduced as a bridg ...

(2): 1996, 2010 *

(1): 2018 *

(5): 1937, 1950, 1977, 2007, 2018 * Old Gaels Cup/ACC Cup (2): 1957, 1985 *

Louth Intermediate Football League The Louth Intermediate Football League is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA for Division 2 teams in County Louth. Format At the end of the league programme, the team with the most points is automatically promoted t ...

(1): 2021 *

Louth Junior A Football League The Louth Junior A Football League, or Division 3A of the county football Leagues, is an annual Gaelic football competition. Introduced in 1921, it is contested by Junior clubs in County Louth. The captain of the winning team is presented with ...

(4): 1949, 2006, 2009, 2018 * Dealgan Milk Products Shield (1): 1995 *

Louth Junior 2A Football Championship The Louth Junior 2A Football Championship is an annual knockout gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae an Lú) or Lo ...

(1): 1982 *

Louth Under-21 Football Championship The Louth Under-21 Football Championship is an annual competition organised by Louth GAA for Gaelic football teams in County Louth. History First contested in 1972, the inaugural winners were Cooley Kickhams. As is the case nationally, amalgama ...

(2): 1975, 1980 * Louth Minor 'B' Football Championship (1): 2005 * Louth Junior 2 Football League (Division 4B) (1): 1993 * Louth Junior 2 Football League (Division 4D) (2): 2011, 2014 Shared with Seán O'Mahony's and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundalk Young Irelands GFC) Gaelic games clubs in County Louth Gaelic football clubs in County Louth