Gerard "Ger" Houlahan is an Irish former

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 ...

er who played at senior level for the Armagh county team from 1984 to 2000. He won two Ulster Senior Football Championship medals with the county and also won an

All Star award All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

. Houlahan played club football for Pearse Óg and won the

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 holde ...

on ? occasions with the club. He was a very prolific forward, particularly renowned for his goal-scoring ability. Houlahan was also a crowd favourite with the Armagh fans. He is known as one of Armagh's best ever players. In 2009 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association he was named by The Irish News as one of the all-time best 125 footballers from Ulster.

Playing career

Inter-county

Houlahan made his Championship debut for Armagh in 1984. That year he helped Armagh reach the Ulster Senior Football Championship final, but they were beaten by Tyrone. He also suffered Ulster final defeats with the county in 1987 and 1990. Houlahan was awarded an All Star for his performances in the 1993 Championship and was also named best player of that year's Ulster Championship. Houlahan finally won an Ulster Championship medal in 1999 - making a substitute appearance in the decider against

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

. He won a second Ulster title the following year. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kerry proved to be Houlahan's last appearance in an Armagh jersey. He announced his retirement in January 2001, aged 34. Houlahan has since settled down with his wife, Deirdre and his three children, Caleigh (the oldest), Odhran and the Kyran.

Club

Houlahan had a successful underage career with Pearse Óg. In 1985 he helped the club win their first ever

, beating local rivals Armagh Harps in the final. He won further Armagh Championships with the club in 1988 and 1992. He also reached the 1988 Ulster Club Championship final with the club, where they were defeated by Burren.

Province

Houlahan won two

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medals with Ulster.

School / college

Houlahan playing centre half forward helped University of Ulster Jordanstown (UUJ) win the 1986 Sigerson Cup, and was named Player of the Tournament.

Post-playing career

In late 2001 Houlahan was called in to help the Ulster rugby team with their handling skills. He had also previously helped Ulster fly-half David Humphreys with his kicking. Houlahan managed Loughmacrory GFC for a season having much success. He was appointed Armagh minor manager in late 2002 alongside James Byrne and Alan O'Neill.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houlahan, Gerard Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football managers Pearse Og Gaelic footballers Sportspeople from Armagh (city)