Naomh Abán GAA is a

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 ...

club based in the Gaeltacht village of

Baile Bhuirne Ballyvourney ( ga, Baile Bhuirne , meaning 'Town of the Beloved', also spelled ) is a Gaeltacht village in southwest County Cork, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the barony of Muskerry West, and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Cat ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

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 ...

. It participates in games of the

Muskerry Muskerry ( ga, Múscraí) is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West Cork GAA The Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Chorcaí) or Cork GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the C ...

. The club has experienced senior grade football within

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

county for many years. It now participates in the Premier Intermediate grade. The club has contributed a number of players to the

Gaelic football team. These have included Anthony Lynch, Mícheál Cronin, Gerry Lucey, Gerry Lynch, Mick Scannell, Peadar Healy, and Coleman Twomey. Naomh Abán GAA fields underage boys and girls teams and also has an adult ladies team. The club does not field any hurling teams. The ladies team won the All-Ireland Intermediate title in 2003 making it the most successful team in the history of Naomh Abán. In 2021, Tomás ‘Tiktok’ Keane made his debut for the senior team. Despite his doubters, Tomás won the ‘cutest corner back’ award on his debut season. This was heavily disputed by the nation as a whole, as the nation argued the fact that if Kevin O’Donoghue was placed into his favourite roll of corner back, he would’ve swept the award. Riots followed as uproar tore the west-Cork parish of Ballyvourney to shreds. Many debaters still hold this topic to heart, as this theory still splits the nation.

History

The club is centred in the parish of Baile Bhúirne which is located in the valley of the

River Sullane The River Sullane ( ga, An Sulán) runs from the mountains between County Cork and County Kerry in southern Ireland, near the village of Cúil Aodha. After passing Ballyvourney, it runs through the centre of Macroom, to which it provides drink ...

. The parish is spread along the N22

national primary road A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...

(

Macroom Macroom (; ga, Maigh Chromtha) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of ...

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

), on the eastern side of the Cork/Kerry county bounds. There are two football pitches- Páirc Abán and a new one, Páirc Íosagáin between the two parts of the village

Ballymakeera Ballymakeera or Ballymakeery ( ga, Baile Mhic Íre , meaning "Townland of the Sons of Íre") is a small townland and Gaeltacht village in the civil parish of Ballyvourney, barony of Muskerry West, County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The ...

. The first pitch was situated on wetlands ( ga, An Portach Rua) which were dried and laid out in lawn. Changing rooms and perimeter walls were also constructed. At the official opening on 25 February 1979, the President of the GAA, Con Murphy, dedicated Páirc Abán (St Aban's Park) in memory of Conchúbhar Ó Luasa.

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

and

played in a challenge game to mark the opening. The new park is located near Coláiste Íosagáin where it has undergone major development in 2016 with the development of Áras Abán, which includes a seated stand, changing rooms, medical room, referee room, gymnasium, meeting room & club shop. The club is situated in a

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

area. Many of Naomh Abán's players have achieved highly on the county and national stage. Micheál O Scanaill won an

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

medal in 1973, and he and Dónal Óg Ó Liatháin have won Sigerson medals. O Scannail has also won

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

and

Munster Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurlin ...

medals on more than one occasion. Jerry Lynch has a

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

medal to his name. Many players have won All-Ireland Minor, U21 and Vocational schools medals. Father and son Diarmuid and Jonathan McCarthy both won All Ireland minor and junior medals. Anthony Lynch was a member of the

panel when they won the

in 2010.

Honours

Cork Intermediate Football Championship The Cork Intermediate A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Bon Secours Cork County Intermediate A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork IAFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork Count ...

: (2) 1977, 1999; Runners Up: 1975, 1976 * Cork Division 4 Football League: (1) 2021 *

Cork Junior Football Championship The Cork Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork County Board of ...

: (2) 1973, 1988 * Cork Minor B Football Championship: (1) 1992, 2018, 2019 *

Cork Under-21 Football Championship The Cork Under-21 Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition in County Cork, Ireland for players under the age of 21. Clubs affiliated to Cork board compete to win this championship. All eight of the divisions in Cork organize their ...

: Runners Up 1995 * Cork Intermediate Football League: (3) 1974, 1976, 1978 *

Mid Cork Junior A Football Championship The Mid Cork Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Ross Oil Junior A Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Muskerry Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1926 fo ...

: (6) 1928, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1988 * Mid Cork Junior B Football Championship: (3) 1971, 1995 , 2014, 2018 * Muskerry Junior C Football Championship: (3) 1996, 2007, 2009 *

Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is an annual All Ireland Gaelic football competition contested by clubs from the Irish language-speaking Gaeltacht areas of Ireland. Clubs compete on a county-basis at first, in order to qualify for the tournament th ...

: (8) 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 2000, 2003, 2005 * Muskerry Under 21 football Championships: (11) 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1976, 1980, 1987, 1995, 2012, 2020 * Muskerry Minor Football Championships: (9) 1965, 1966, 1967, 1981, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2010 * Rebel Óg West Minor B Football Championship: (3) 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019 * Rebel Óg West Minor B Football League: 2018 * Rebel Óg County Minor B Football Championship: (3) 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019

Notable players

* Michael Creedon *

Peadar Healy Peadar Healy (born 1963) is a former Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He was the manager of the Cork senior team from 2015 to 2017 Born in Ballyvourney, County Cork, Healy was introduced to Gaelic football at a young age. He en ...

* Anthony Lynch * Jerry Lucey *

Diarmuid McCarthy Diarmuid McCarthy (1956 – 9 July 2022) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played at club level with Naomh Abán and Muskerry and at inter-county level with the Cork senior football team. He usually lined out as a forward. Career McCarthy f ...

* Michael O'Cronin * Mick Scannell * Jerry McSweeny * Mario O'Riordain

References

External sources

Naomh Abán GAA
at sportsmanager.ie {{DEFAULTSORT:Naomh Aban Gaa Gaelic football clubs in County Cork Gaelic games clubs in County Cork