Watty Graham's Gaelic Athletic Club, Glen ( ga, An Ghleann) 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 outside

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distric ...

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. Players are drawn from Maghera and some surrounding

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

s. The club competes in

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 ...

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 ...

and

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

Name

The club is named after Watty (Walter) Graham who was a resident of

in the 18th century. He was an educated

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

who became an Elder of his church. Frustrated at the many restrictions on his liberty he joined the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

. At the time of the

1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

he was captured and subsequently hanged in

Camogie

Glen fields Camogie teams at U12, U14, U16, Minor and Senior levels. The senior team competes in the Credit Union Derry Premier League.

Ladies' football

Glen Ladies' football club was formed in 1995. The club has won the Derry Senior Ladies' Football Championship 11 times and currently have won nine in a row.

Watty Graham Park

The club's home ground is Watty Graham Park. It was opened in 1982 by then GAA President

Paddy Buggy Paddy Buggy (15 March 1929 – 15 May 2013) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Slieverue and was a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1949 until 1960. Buggy later served as the 27th president of th ...

. The first game was an over-35s game, which was followed by an inter-county match between Derry and

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

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 ...

in Derry City is officially recognised as Derry's main county ground, but Watty Graham Park has hosted a number of

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

and

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football comp ...

games. Watty Graham Park currently has a capacity of six thousand.

History

The Watty Graham club evolved from the Pearse's club formed around 1933, when Fr Anthony Doherty among others arranged a South Derry league. The club reached the 1944 South Derry final and a few of their players represented Derry. After the folding of the Pearse's club, Watty Graham's GAC Glen was officially formed in 1948. In the early 1950s it competed in a number of South Derry Finals and in 1953 they defeated St John's Mullan (a townland of

Ballinderry Ballinderry () is a small civil and ecclesiastical parish on both sides of the County Londonderry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. It is a rural parish of about 350 houses and lies on the western shores of Lough Neagh. The parish c ...

) to win the South Derry Junior Championship. They won the same title six years later defeating

The Loup The Loup () is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies near the western shore of Lough Neagh between Moneymore, Magherafelt, Ballyronan and Coagh, within the district of Mid Ulster. Sport Gaelic games are very po ...

in the final. 1959 also saw their first all county success defeating Faughanvale in the final. In 1964 they won the South Derry Junior and

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 ...

by beating Littlebridge (part of the modern day Ógra Colmcille club) and Sarfield's respectively. The side repeated this feat in 1966 by beating The Loup in the South Derry Junior final before going on to win the Derry Junior final. The 1970s proved a barren decade for Watty Graham's and they have little apart from a McGlinchey Cup success in 1974 to show for it. Glen opened a new social club in Maghera in April 1976. The club won its first

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 ...

in 1980. They overcame

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 ...

in the final by 0–06 to 0–03. Glen won a second Intermediate Championship in 1983 defeating

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 final. In 1985 Watty Graham's won the All-Ireland Óg Sport title. They competed in county, provincial and All Ireland phases to come out winners. Two years later they won the

Derry Minor Football Championship The Derry Minor Football Championship is an annual gaelic football competition between the top Derry GAA clubs. The winners qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Minor Club Football Championship. Bellaghy have won the competition more than ...

with a success over

Ballinascreen Draperstown ()Toner, Gregory. ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', p. 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996; is a village in the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballinascreen an ...

. The same year Glen won the Larkin Cup and also the Senior Division 1 League. The side added another Larkin Cup in 1995. Glen won their fourth and fifth Junior Championship in 2004 and 2005, the competitions this time won by the Glen Thirds team. This same Thirds team went on to win three in a row by winning the Thirds Championship in 2006. After a prolonged period of dominance in underage football Glen won their fourth successive Ulster Minor Championship on 1 January 2015. Glen's current manager is

Malachy O'Rourke Malcahy O'Rourke is a Gaelic football manager and former player. Career He played for Fermanagh for more than ten years, but was only on the winning side twice in that period in the championship (both time against Antrim). When he was study ...

. In 2021 they won their first

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 ...

; in 2022 they won the county championship again, and then added the

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

after wins over

Errigal Ciarán Errigal () is a mountain near Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the tallest peak of the Derryveagh Mountains and the tallest peak in County Donegal. Errigal is also the most southern and the highest of the mountain chain called the ...

(Tyrone), Erin's Own, Cargin (Antrim) and Kilcoo (Down).

Football titles

Senior

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition played between the top clubs in Ulster GAA. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup ( ga, Corn Shéamuis Mhic Fearáin). The winners and th ...

: 1 **

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

: 2 **

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

*Derry Senior Football League: 2 **1987, 2021 *Derry Senior Reserve Football Trophy: 1 **2008 *

: 2 **1980, 1983 *Derry Intermediate Football League: 1 **2014 *

: 5 **1959, 1964, 1966, 2004 (won by Glen Thirds team), 2005 (won by Glen Thirds team) *South Derry Junior Football Championship: 4 **1953, 1959, 1964, 1966 *Derry Thirds Football Championship: ? **2006 *Larkin Cup 3 **1987, 1995, 2005 *McGlinchey Cup 1 **1974 *Derry Senior Football championship (division 1):21 **1924–31 **1945 **1951–55 **1979–84 **1988–92

Under 21

* South Derry Under-21 Football Championship: 1 ** 2014 * Derry Under-21 Football Championship: 3 ** 2014, 2015, 2016 * Ulster Under-21 Football Championship: 3 ** 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17

Minor

*Derry Minor Football Championship: 5 ** 1987, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 *

Ulster Minor Club Football Championship The Ulster Minor Club Football Championship ( ga, Comórtas Pheil Mhionúr Chumann Uladh), often referred to as the St. Paul's Tournament, an annual Gaelic football tournament organised and hosted by the St Paul's club in Belfast. It is played bet ...

: 4 ** 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 *Derry Minor Football League: 3 ** 2011, 2012, 2013

Under 16

*Derry Under-16 Football Championship:2 **2010, 2011 *Derry Under-16 Football League:1 ** 2011 *South Derry Under-16 Football Championship: 1 **1984 *South Derry Under-16 'B' Football Championship: 1 **2002, 2005 *South Derry Under-16 'B' Football League: 2 **2004, 2006

Under-15

*All-Ireland Óg Sport: 1 **1985 *Ulster Óg Sport: 3 **1985, 2009, 2010, 2012 *Derry Óg Sport: 4 **1985, 2009, 2010, 2012

Under-14

*Ulster Féile na nÓg: 1 **2009 *Derry Féile na nÓg: 3 **1994, 2008, 2011 *Derry Under-14 Football Championship: 4 **1984, 2008, 2009, 2010 *Derry Under-14 Football League: 4 **2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *South Derry Under-14 Football Championship: 1 **1982 *South Derry Under-14 'B' Football Championship: 2 **1998, 2004 *South Derry Under-14 'B' Football League: 1 **1998

Under-13

* Derry Under-13 Football Championship: 3 ** 2008, 2009, 2010

Ladies' football titles

*Derry Football Championship: 13 **1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2016 *Derry Football League: ? **1999, 2000, 2001 *Ulster Intermediate Football Championship: 2 **2003, 2007 *All Ireland Intermediate Sevens: 1 **2007 *Powerscreen Sevens: 1 **2000 *Antrim 7-a-side Shield: 1 **2002 *Under-14 Derry Féile na nÓg: 2 **2010, 2011 Note 1: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.
Note 2: Most of the Ladies' honours are only updated as far as 2002. Please add any other honours you know of.

Notable players

* Cathal Mullholland (c) * Ciaran McFaul – Current Derry player * Emmett Bradley * Danny Tallon – Derry u-21 player *

Enda Gormley Enda Gormley (born 8 March 1966) is a Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He played club football with Maghera club Glen, and currently plays with Belfast club Bredagh. Gormley was part ...

– Two-time All Star winning Derry footballer. Part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side. Gormley managed Glen to their first ever Ulster Minor Championship at St Paul's Belfast on 1 January 2012, defeating Armagh Harps. *

Damien McCusker Damien McCusker (born 21 October 1966) is a Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He still plays club football with Watty Graham's GAC Glen. With the exception of the 1989 season, he played ...

– Goalkeeper in Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side. *

Fergal McCusker Fergal P. McCusker is a Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He played club football with Watty Graham's GAC Glen until retiring in 2007. McCusker was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland C ...

– Part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side. * Séamus Lagan – Former Derry footballer. Won All-Ireland Minor and All-Ireland U-21 Championships. Also won

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

with St Columb's College, Derry.

External links

Watty Grahams GACs website Glen Ladies' Gaelic football website

References

{{Derry clubs , state=expanded Gaelic games clubs in County Londonderry Gaelic football clubs in County Londonderry Gaelic Athletic Association clubs established in 1948 1948 establishments in Northern Ireland Maghera, County Londonderry