O'Connells GFC 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 ...

(GAA) club that fields

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 ...

teams in competitions organised by

Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae an Lú) or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The co ...

. The club pitch is located in the mid-

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

village of

Castlebellingham Castlebellingham () is a village and townland in County Louth, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village has become quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway, which bypasses it. The population of Castlebellingham-Kilsaran (named for ...

. Players are drawn from Castlebellingham, Kilsaran and surrounding areas. As of 2023, the club competes in the Louth Intermediate Championship and Division 2 of the county football Leagues. John Garvey is the manager of the senior team.

History

The club was founded in 1929. As that year was the centenary of

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

it was decided to name the club after

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

. That same year they reached the final of the

Louth Senior Football Championship The Louth Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Louth GAA among the top Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. The winning club qualifies to represent the county in the Leinster ...

, only to lose to

Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...

. In 2012, O'Connells won the county Intermediate Championship for the first time and progressed to represent

in the

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- ...

Final. A low-scoring game in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

saw them edged out 0–04 to 0–03 by

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

champions

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Situ ...

. In 2013, the club won a Senior-grade competition for the first time, by beating St Patrick's in the final of the Paddy Sheelan Cup.

Honours

Louth Intermediate Football Championship The Louth Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition, organised by Louth GAA, among the intermediate grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. History The competition, introduced as a bri ...

(2): 2012, 2017 *

Louth Junior Football Championship The Louth Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition, organised by Louth GAA and contested by the junior One/A grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. The winner qualifies to represent the c ...

(2): 1983, 1988 *

Louth Intermediate Football League The Louth Intermediate Football League is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA for Division 2 teams in County Louth. Format At the end of the league programme, the team with the most points is automatically promoted t ...

(1): 2009 * Intermediate Football League Division 2B (1): 2001 * Paddy Sheelan Cup (1): 2013 * Paddy Sheelan Shield (1): 2015 *

Louth Junior A Football League The Louth Junior A Football League, or Division 3A of the county football Leagues, is an annual Gaelic football competition. Introduced in 1921, it is contested by Junior clubs in County Louth. The captain of the winning team is presented with ...

(3): 1992, 1994, 1999 * Avonmore Shield (2): 1993, 1994 *

Louth Junior 2A Football Championship The Louth Junior 2A Football Championship is an annual knockout gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae an Lú) or Lo ...

(3): 1932, 1949, 1976 *

Louth Junior 2B Football Championship The Louth Junior 2B Football Championship is an annual knockout gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA, contested by the second teams of Intermediate and Junior clubs in County Louth. Prior to 1994, the Louth Junior 2A Champion ...

(1): 2010 * Louth Junior 2 Football League Division 4B (3): 2005, 2009, 2012 * Louth Junior 2 Football League Division 4C (4): 1999, 2000, 2003, 2015 * Louth Under-21 Football Championship (4): 1986, 1997, 1998, 2014 (''shared with Stabannon Parnells'')

Inter-county players

O'Connells players who have represented

at senior

inter-county Inter-county, or inter county is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players o ...

level include: * Gerry Fox * Stefan White * Mark Stanfield * Colm Doyle * Colm Kearney * Stuart Reynolds * Cian Doyle * Niall Conlon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connells GFC (Louth) Gaelic games clubs in County Louth Gaelic football clubs in County Louth