Maynooth GAA (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Máigh Núad) is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, Ireland. It caters for the sporting and social needs of residential areas adjacent to its location for all ages through the promotion of Gaelic games —

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 ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

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 ...

and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

. Maynooth are the winners of two county senior football championships in 1896 and 1913 and two senior hurling championships in 1937 and 1939.

History

Maynooth is one of the oldest clubs in the country and hurling was first played as far back as 1875, nine years before the founding of the GAA in 1884. Maynooth traditionally wearing green, orange and black, were recorded as playing Straffan on 13 March 1887, a game that may not have been the first between the teams. Maynooth were semi-finalists in the very first championship, and won their first Kildare Championship in 1896. The team captain that year was

Domhnall ua Buachalla Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; en, Daniel Richard "Donal" Buckley; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the First Dáil who served as third and final governor-general of the Irish Free State and later served as ...

, who subsequently took part in the 1916 rising and afterwards was sent to Knitsford Jail and Frangoch Camp. He was elected to the first Dail in 1918 and he was the last Governor-General of Ireland. The Maynooth club jersey (black with a white sash) originated from a tragic accident in 1889. A young Maynooth player, Thomas Cullen died after an accidental blow to the head playing against Monastrevin. At the time Maynooth had played 70 matches against teams from Dublin, Louth, Meath, and Kildare, and lost only ten of them. The motto Crom Abú originated from the war cry of the Fitzgerald family.

Croom Croom () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located just off the N20 (which has bypassed the town since 2001) on the River Maigue. It is 8 km southeast of Adare on the N20. History Cromadh (now Croom) was a village in th ...

is a castle in Co. Limerick which formerly belonged to the FitzGeralds. "Abfi" means 'to victory', 'for ever' or literally 'defying' . This is one of the many Irish gathering cries, the use of which was forbidden by repeated Acts of Parliament. The Geraldines of Maynooth retained the motto but were forced by an Act of Parliament to change the motto to "Si Dieu plet Crom Abu". Maynooth GAA have retained the original version which means:- Maynooth to Victory.

Gaelic Football

The men's football Team currently compete in the

Kildare Senior Football Championship The Kildare Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Kildare GAA between the top clubs in County Kildare, Ireland. The winners of the Championship qualify to represent their county in the Leinster Club ...

and in Division Two of the Senior League. Maynooth won the Intermediate Championship in 1999 with a replayed victory over St Kevins. Following one season in Senior Football Maynooth defeated St Kevins again in 2005 (1–11 to 0–04) to win the Intermediate Championship in Newbridge. The Club's Senior 'B' Team won the Division 4 League Title in 2008, adding to the Senior 'B' Championship win in 2007. 2009 was a successful year as Maynooth reclaimed their Senior status with victory in the Intermediate championship final over Kilcullen. The team continued their winning ways and claimed a first ever provincial title by defeating Tubberclair (Westmeath) in the same year.

Hurling

Maynooth won the Intermediate Hurling Championship in 1999, a double championship winning year, as the club's footballer's also won the Intermediate Championship. 2009 was another successful year for the club's hurlers as they regained senior status by winning the Intermediate Championship in October, setting up the chance of a double championship year for the club. The Junior Hurlers won the double in 2012 beating Sallins in the League Final in Maynooth and Clane in the Championship Final held in Sallins. Further Intermediate Championships were won in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2020 & 2021. The Junior Hurlers won the League in 2018 beating Broadford in the Final played in Newbridge. Maynooth won their first Minor A Hurling Championship in 2020 defeating Naas 1-19 to 1-9.

Honours

(2) 1896, 1913 *

Kildare Senior Hurling Championship The Kildare Senior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised since 1888 by Kildare GAA among the top hurling clubs in County Kildare, Ireland. Up until 2012, the winner received the Seán Carey Cup but a new trophy in honou ...

: (6) 1891, 1896, 1913, 1924, 1937, 1939 * Kildare Senior Football League (1) 1934 *

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

Finalists 1896 * Kildare Minor A Hurling Championship(1) 2020 * Kildare Minor A Football League (2) 2009, 2021 *

Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship The Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between the Intermediate football champions of the 12 counties of Leinster. The winners will represent the province in the semi-final of the All- ...

: (1) 2009 *

Kildare Intermediate Football Championship The Kildare Intermediate Football Championship, or Kildare I.F.C., is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Kildare GAA clubs since 1928. The winners currently receive the Hugh Campion Cup in honour of the Suncroft official ...

: (4) 1948, 1999, 2005, 2009 * Kildare Intermediate B Football Championship (1) 1999 * Kildare Intermediate Hurling Championship (6) 1999, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2021 * Kildare Junior Hurling Championship (1) 2012 * Kildare Junior Hurling League (2) 2012, 2018 * Kildare Intermediate Football League (2) 1954, 1955 * Kildare Senior B Football Championship (1) 2007 *

Kildare Junior Football Championship The Kildare Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Kildare GAA clubs. The winning club plays in the Kildare Intermediate Football Championship in the following year. As of the 2022 season the ...

: (3) 1912, 1947, 1995 * Leinster Senior Hurling League Division 3 2015 * Leinster Senior Hurling League Division 4 2016 * All Ireland finalists Scor na nÓg 2006 (Rince Foirne) * Leinster Champions Scor na nÓg 2006 (Rince Foirne) * All Ireland finalists Scor na nÓg 2009 (Rince Foirne) * Leinster Champions Scor na nÓg 2009 (Rince Foirne) * All-Ireland winners Scor Sinsear 2009 (Rince Foirne) * Leinster Champions Scor Sinsear 2009 (Rince Foirne) * Leinster Champions Scor na nÓg 2013 (Tráth na gceist) * Leinster Champions Scor na nÓg 2013 (Rince Foirne)

Bibliography

* Maynooth GAA Club History, 1966. * Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by

Eoghan Corry Eoghan Corry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Cómhraí; born 19 January 1961) is an Irish journalist and author. He is the lead commentator on travel for media in Ireland, having edited travel sections in national newspapers and travel publications since the 19 ...

, CLG Chill Dara, 1984, hb pb * Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000– in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000 * Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904–2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board.

References

External links

Maynooth GAA siteKildare GAA siteKildare GAA club sitesKildare on Hoganstand.comMaynooth GAA
{{Kildare GAA clubs Maynooth Gaelic games clubs in County Kildare Hurling clubs in County Kildare Gaelic football clubs in County Kildare