Saint Thomas's Gaelic Athletic Club is 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 the Kilchreest and Peterswell areas of
County Galway, Ireland. They won the
All-Ireland Senior Club championship in 2013 and are the current
Galway senior hurling champions. The club is exclusively concerned with the game of
hurling.
They won their first ever Galway senior hurling championship in 2012.
In February 2013 they advanced to the final of the
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...
after a 0–15 to 0–7 win against
Loughgiel Shamrocks
Loughgiel Shamrocks GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the village of Loughgiel/ Loughguile in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. They are currently the only club in Ulster to have won an All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Champion ...
. They beat
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...
side
Kilcormac/Killoughey to win the All Ireland on
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
2013 in
Croke Park. The club won the Galway senior hurling championship again in 2016 beating Gort in the final. And again in 2018 against Liam mellows
History
The club was formed in 1968 when Peterswell and Kilchreest amalgamated. Peterswell had enjoyed early success in the late 1800s and early 1900 with them winning the
Galway Senior Hurling Championship
The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the ...
title in 1889, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1905 and 1907. They were a major force in
Galway GAA throughout this period.
The both adjoining parishes were associated with hurling since its foundation but due to emigration and lack of numbers the parishes decided to amalgamate.
The first year in competitive hurling was a successful one. The under-14 team brought the club its first success by winning the county title. The team would follow this up by winning the county under-16 title in 1970.
Construction began on their current clubhouse which is located on the main Gort to Loughrea Road in 1976. That along with a brand new pitch were finally officially opened in 1983 by
Paddy Buggy
Paddy Buggy (15 March 1929 – 15 May 2013) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Slieverue and was a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1949 until 1960. Buggy later served as the 27th president of th ...
, President of the GAA.
In 1978 another milestone was reached when the club was promoted to senior ranks after reaching the county intermediate final, however they were defeated by close neighbours Kilbeacanty.
Following the promotion to senior ranks the club endured a chequered existence in senior hurling. Having been relegated on a number of occasions they secured promotion with Intermediate Championship victories in 1996 and 2004.
They were crowned Galway Senior Champions for the first time in 2012 by defeating
Loughrea
Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...
in the final on a scoreline of 3–11 to 2–11 in Pearse Stadium.
They followed this up by taking the
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...
by defeating
Kilcormac-Killoughy on St Patrick's Day.
In 2016, the secured a second
Galway Senior Hurling Championship
The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the ...
by beating Gort in the final on a scoreline of 1–11 0–10.
All Ireland victory 2013
Path to county final
In the quarter finals St Thomas's were 2–20 to 0–10 winners over Galway club
Castlegar. Centre-forward
Conor Cooney
Conor Cooney (born 22 October 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Galway Senior Championship club St Thomas's and at inter-county level with the Galway senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a full-forward.
Playing career Gort Com ...
lead the way scoring 1–6 (6fs).
In the Semi-final St Thomas's met county champions
Gort
Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...
. St Thomas's led at half time however Gort rallied, scoring two late points to secure a replay. Gort's Aidan Harte scored the equalising point from a 65 in the third minute of additional time.
They overcame Gort in the replay in Kenny Park Athenry. St Thomas's won their first
senior county title in November 2012 defeating
Loughrea
Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...
in the final.
Semi-final
They faced
Antrim side and Ulster Champions
Loughgiel Shamrocks
Loughgiel Shamrocks GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the village of Loughgiel/ Loughguile in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. They are currently the only club in Ulster to have won an All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Champion ...
in the All Ireland semi-final in
Parnell Park
Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 8,500. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition.
The ground is used by Dublin's i ...
. St. Thomas's were leading by four points in injury time. However,
Liam Watson tipped over a twenty-metre free and scored a goal from a free in the last puck of the dramatic game to secure a draw for Loughgiel.
St Thomas's were victorious in the replay played in
Clones
Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to:
Places
* Clones, County Fermanagh
* Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland
Biology
* Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...
, winning on a scoreline of 0–15 to 0–7.
All-Ireland final
St Thomas's won their first All-Ireland Club Championship title on 17 March 2013 after defeating
Kilcormac-Killoughey of
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...
on a scoreline of 1–11 to 1–09.
Hurling titles
*
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...
(1)
**
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
*
Galway Senior Hurling Championship
The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the ...
(7)
** 2012,
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
,
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
* Galway Intermediate Hurling Championship (1)
** 2004
* Galway Junior Hurling Championship (1)
** 1972
* Galway Under-21 Hurling Championship (3)
** 1980, 1995, 2013
* Galway Minor Hurling Championship (1)
** 2008
* Galway Under-16 Hurling Championship (1)
** 1970, 2013
* Galway Under-14 Hurling Championship (2)
** 1968, 2014
* Galway Under-13 Hurling Championship (1)
** 2013
Notable hurlers
*
Anthony Cunningham
Anthony Cunningham (born 16 June 1965) is a former hurler who has since managed various Gaelic football and hurling teams. He was manager of the Galway county hurling team between 2011 and 2015 and of the Roscommon county football team between ...
*
David Burke
*
Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Duva Burke (May 5, 1897 – November 19, 1993) was an American literary theorist, as well as poet, essayist, and novelist, who wrote on 20th-century philosophy, aesthetics, criticism, and rhetorical theory. As a literary theorist, Burk ...
*
Conor Cooney
Conor Cooney (born 22 October 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Galway Senior Championship club St Thomas's and at inter-county level with the Galway senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a full-forward.
Playing career Gort Com ...
*
James Regan
*
Richie Murray
Richie Murray (born 1982 in Ballinasloe) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club St Thomas's and with the Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which ...
References
External links
St Thomas's GAA site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas's Gaa
Gaelic games clubs in County Galway
Hurling clubs in County Galway