Knocktopher GAA was 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 located in

Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford to the north, and Ballyhale to the south. It was formerly situated on ...

, County Kilkenny,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The club fielded teams in both Gaelic football and hurling.

History

The

area was a Gaelic football stronghold at the turn of the 20th century. The club won all four of its Kilkenny SFC titles in a ten-year period between 1901 and 1911, with clubman Dick Holohan also captaining Kilkenny to the Leinster SFC title in 1911. Knocktopher went into a period of decline following this, as three clubs - Knocktopher, Knockmoylan and Ballyhale - all operated within the one parish. By the 1920s, Knocktopher was operating at junior level in both codes, winning the Kilkenny JFC title in 1924 and the Kilkenny JHC title in 1931. Several Southern JHC titles were won over the following decades, however, it was 1965 before the club won its second Kilkenny JHC title. A shortage of players saw Knocktopher and parish rivals Ballyhale amalgamating at underage levels, a move which resulted in the amalgamation reaching three successive Kilkenny MAHC finals in-a-a-row in the mid-1960s. The meeting of both clubs in a divisional U21HC game in 1969, lead to calls for the clubs to amalgamate fully and have one club representing the parish. In spite of some opposition, Knocktopher and Ballyhale eventually joined to form

Ballyhale Shamrocks Ballyhale Shamrocks is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the parish of Ballyhale in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. The club was founded in 1972 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. Ballyhale Shamrocks are the ...

in January 1972.

Honours

Kilkenny Senior Football Championship The Kilkenny Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the J. J. Kavanagh & Sons Senior Football Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny SFC) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by the Kilkenny Cou ...

(4): 1901, 1908, 1910, 1911 *

Kilkenny Junior Football Championship The Kilkenny Junior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the J. J. Kavanagh & Sons Junior Football Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny JFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kilkenny County Bo ...

(1): 1924 *

Kilkenny Junior Hurling Championship The J. J. Kavanagh & Sons Premier Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1905 for the third-tier hurling teams in the county of Kilkenny in ...

(2): 1931, 1965 *Southern Kilkenny Junior Football Championship (2): 1924 *Southern Kilkenny Junior Hurling Championship (7): 1931, 1949, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1967

Notable players

* Frank Cummins: All-Ireland SHC-winner (

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, 1974,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, 1982,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

) * Denis Heaslip: All-Ireland SHC-winner (

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

) * Dick Holohan: Leinster SFC-winner (

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knocktopher Gaa Gaelic games clubs in County Kilkenny Hurling clubs in County Kilkenny Gaelic football clubs in County Kilkenny Defunct Gaelic games clubs