Lough Lene Gaels (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Gaeil Loch Léinn'') 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 in

Collinstown Collinstown () is a village in north County Westmeath, situated on the R395 regional road overlooking Lough Lene. It lies northeast of the county town of Mullingar and (as of the 2016 census) had a population of 356. Toponymy The Irish name ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

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 ...

Club history

Lough Lene Gaels was founded as a hurling club late in 1969 as a result of an amalgamation between the

, Fore, Glenidan and Rickardstown hurling clubs. Their played first match in the

Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship The Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Slevin Coaches Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Westmeath SHC) is an annual hurling competition organized by the Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic ...

resulted in a 5-17 to 5-1 win over

Delvin Delvin () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland; it is located on the N52 road at a junction with the N51 to Navan. The town is from Mullingar (along the N52). The word Delvin comes from Delbhna. That tribe settled in what is present-d ...

, July 1970. First victorious honour occurred in early 1972 resulting from a postponed 1971 Junior hurling league final.

Raharney Raharney () is a village in east County Westmeath, Ireland. It has a population of 221 according to the 2016 census. Raharney is on the R156 road about from Mullingar and about 67 km from Dublin. It is in the parish of Killucan; the villag ...

were defeated 4-10 to 2-3 on that final. First championship honour came in 1973 when the Junior title was won by defeating

Castletown-Geoghegan Castletown Geoghegan () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland, and lies south west of Lough Ennell near the county town of Mullingar. Castletown was the seat of the Geoghegan family of the medieval Barony of Moycashel in County Westmeath. ...

7-3 to 2-3. The awaited breakthrough at senior level arrived 1975 with vanquishing

in the final. The senior title was retained in 1976 before another first was achieved in 1977 when the club won its first ever championship at underage level, namely in the U-14 grade. Throughout the 1980s Lough Lene Gaels picked up championships titles on a regular basis in the U-21, minor, U-16 & U-14 grades but a third senior title eluded the club during the 1980s. The 1990s started well for the club with U-21 and U-16 titles being won followed by 3-in a row sequence of championship successes in the minor grade. 1996 was a glorious year for Lough Lene Gaels as the club won their first ever U-12 championship namely in the "A" grade. On Sunday October 13, 1996 the wait of a generation finally came to an end for Lough Lene Gaels as they won their third SHC title, defeating Castletown-Geoghegan 2-7 to 0-9 in the final at Cusack Park

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeat ...

. Incidentally the club won the MHC final the same day making it a very special day for the club. In the time that has since passed, Lough Lene Gaels has won further titles in the senior, U-21, minor, U-16 and U-12 grades. Lough Lene Gaels won the last SH championship of the 20th century, defeating

Castlepollard Castlepollard ( or ''Cionn Toirc'') is a village in north County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar. Name The name ''Castlepollard'' comes from the name of a castle or fo ...

1-13 to 1-11 in an exciting final at Cusack Park on Sunday October 24, 1999. The last U-21 championship of the 20th century was also won by the Gaels on December 5, 1999 at Cusack Park. Oliver Plunketts was defeated by 3-5 to 0-8 in that particular final. Overall the close to mid-term future looks encouraging for the Gaels as the first steps are taken in the 21st century. Another chapter in the history of the club was completed on Sunday September 17, 2000 with the winning of the

for the third year in succession. In the final, Lough Lene Gaels defeated their neighbours and great arch rivals Castlepollard on a 3-8 to 0-14 scoreline at Cusack Park. The Club won the senior championship again in 2002 defeating Castletown Geoghegan in a finish which saw them score two goals in injury time. Castletown had scored a goal in the last minute of normal time to take a one-point lead and looked set for victory. Lough Lene reached the Westmeath final in 2007.

Honours

s: (7) ** 1975, 1976, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002

References

External links

Geocities.com/loughlenegaels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lough Lene Gaels Gaa Gaelic games clubs in County Westmeath Hurling clubs in County Westmeath