Jody Gormley is a 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 for the Tyrone and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

county teams. He also played a coaching role for Down following his retirement from inter-county play, and has held the role of Antrim football manager. Gormley can now be found managing the

Loughinisland Loughinisland ( , ) is a small village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is between Downpatrick and Ballynahinch, about 21 miles (34 kilometres) south of Belfast. History The village of Loughinisland grew up in the townland ...

club in Co. Down.

Playing career

Tyrone

His career peak was probably in 1995, when Tyrone won the Ulster Championship, and went on end up runner-up in the All-Ireland Final. For Gormley, who was an ever-present throughout the Championship, memorable moments include scoring the winning point in a scorching Ulster Semi-Final against neighbouring rivals,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. This win was notable because the Tyrone team had two players sent off, and were 0-8 to 0-5 down at half time.
In the

1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 108th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. It was ...

, Tyrone lost to

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 ...

by a point (Dublin 1-10, Tyrone 0-12). Gormley was only Tyrone player to score in that match, apart from an 11-point masterclass by

Peter Canavan Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Ch ...

. The following year, Tyrone again won the Ulster Championship, but were beaten in All-Ireland Semi Final by Meath. Gormley was one of several Tyrone players injured in that match, which many Tyrone fans attributed to Meath's heavy-handed tactics.

London

Tyrone's fortunes faded following this, and Gormley's job brought him to London. There he joined the London county team, but they rarely performed well in the Championship.

Clubs

In 2006, Jody played midfield on the

Bredagh Bredagh GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Down, Northern Ireland. It fields teams at all levels from U8 to Senior in Men's and Ladies Gaelic football, Hurling and Camogie. It had its previous pitch, Bredagh Park, taken off th ...

Senior team that won the

Down Junior Football Championship The Down Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Down GAA clubs. The Down GAA, Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1920. The national media covers the ...

Final, defeating Teconnaught 1-8 to 0-5 in

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the bu ...

. They proceeded to hammer Drum of

in the Quarter Final Of The Ulster Junior Championship in

Newcastle, County Down Newcastle () is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 7,672 at the 2011 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains. Newcastle is known fo ...

but lost to Noamh Brid of

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

in the Semi at

Breffni Park Breffni Park, known for sponsorship reasons as Kingspan Breffni, is a GAA stadium in Cavan, Ireland. It is the home of Cavan GAA. The ground has an overall capacity of about 25,030 with a 5,030 seated capacity. Breffni is the historic name f ...

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

Management

Gormley started his inter-county management career with Down. After a promising start to the 2006 National League, Down's challenge tailed off, and they were disappointing in the 2006

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 ...

, and were knocked out of the qualifiers by

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

, after which, Gormley stepped down. Now plying his trade as a teacher, Gormley coached

Abbey CBS The Abbey School (formerly Abbey CBS) is a Christian Brothers Secondary School in the town of Tipperary, County Tipperary, Ireland. The Abbey is an all-boys school and has about 412 students. In recent years the school has been extended twice ...

, Newry to their first

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The win ...

final in nineteen years, which they won. The team also went on to win the All-Ireland colleges championship, the

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 ...

. Gormley successfully applied to take over the Antrim management for the

2007 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2007 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was a Gaelic football competition in Ireland, and was the most significant and prestigious competition in the sport held that year. It began on 13 May 2007, with the final game to ...

,News , Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Official Website - GAA.ie
/ref> a role he held for two seasons. Gormley has since moved back into club management, with

Longstone Longstone or Long Stone may refer to Places *Longstone, Edinburgh, a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland * Longstone, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland *Longstone, Cornwall, a hamlet in Cornwall, England *Longstone, Isles of Sc ...

, where he took over at the beginning of the 2010 season. Gormley kept the club in the top flight after winning a relegation play-off at the end of the season.

References

External links

short biography from March 2006

Website with match reports of Bredagh's run
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gormley, Jody Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Gaelic football managers Tyrone inter-county Gaelic footballers London inter-county Gaelic footballers Tír Chonaill Gaels Gaelic footballers