John Mitchel's Hurling and Camogie Club 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 ...

club based in

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, and is the oldest club in the

Warwickshire GAA The Warwickshire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (or Warwickshire GAA) is one of the county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Warwickshire. The county board is also responsible for the Warwic ...

. It has been long one of the leading Warwickshire clubs in hurling, competing in the county Senior Championship, and in camogie, competing at Junior level. There is an associated Gaelic football club. The club is named after

John Mitchel John Mitchel ( ga, Seán Mistéal; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. In the Famine years of the 1840s he was a leading writer for ''The Nation'' newspaper produced by the ...

, the 19th-century Irish revolutionary.

History

Early 20th century

John Mitchel's Hurling Club was formed in 1933, around the same time as the Warwickshire County Board. In fact, the club supplied pitches and playing kit to the county, which is how the Warwickshire hurlers came to have a white strip. In the early years the club, Paddy Ryan from

Pallasgreen Pallasgreen or Pallasgrean () is a village in East County Limerick, situated on the Limerick–Tipperary N24 road. The name means "the Stockade of Grian," referring to an ancient Irish Goddess of Love, who is associated with the nearby hil ...

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

and Mick Ryan from County Laois were at the helm. In the 1940s, the club was dominant in all competitions. Then in the 1960s, John Mitchel's built what was arguably their best-ever team - they reached their peak in 1971 winning the Warwickshire championship and getting through to the Championship of Britain final. Here they faced the Brian Boru club in

New Eltham New Eltham is an area of south east London, in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It lies south east of Eltham and north west of Sidcup. History New Eltham is a largely residential suburb of Greater London developed on former farmla ...

, with Mitchel's winning what was a "highly competitive match".

Club reformed in 1990s

Some years later, the John Mitchel's hurling club folded due to lack of players. But in 1990, the club was reformed, and by 1991 they had regained the Warwickshire Senior Hurling crown. Soon afterwards an underage section was set up in the club. In 2004, the club beat London GAA champions Brothers Pearse to win the club championship of Britain in

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

. More than 30 years after that victory in New Eltham, the club had again claimed a British championship and this time went on to the All Ireland club quarter final losing out by a point. One hurler with the team in their glory days was Billy Collins from Limerick, who remained involved in the club and Warwickshire hurling until his death in 2008. He served as chairman of the County Board for over 25 years. He also helped develop and maintain Páirc na hÉireann, in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

, the county's ground. Collins' son, Michael, has also been involved with the club and county and was involved in the management of the county team in the

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishing ...

and Leinster league. John Mitchel's regained the club championship of Britain in 2007, once again against Brothers Pearse in Ruislip, after a drawn game in Páirc na hÉireann. They retained the crown in Páirc na hÉireann in November 2008 to become the first holders of the Billy Collins Cup, which was donated by the Provincial Council of Britain.

Notable players

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and ...

, later a professional association football player who captained Aston Villa and played for the England national team, played Gaelic football for the club

References

{{reflist

External links

* http://www.johnmitchelsbirmingham.gaa.ie Gaelic football clubs in Britain Hurling clubs in Britain Sport in Birmingham, West Midlands