Wolfe Tones GFC 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 from

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 ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

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 serves the residents of St Mary's Parish in south Drogheda and 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 ...

. One of the oldest GAA clubs in Louth, Wolfe Tones play gaelic football at all age levels from nursery to adult. The Tones' home ground is situated on Platin Road, beside the Boyne Valley Foods factory. The club's colours are royal blue and yellow.

History

The club was founded in 1922 by former members of the Owen Roes, a club formed in 1895 who played their football originally in the Meath Championship due to the lack of football in Louth. Although a portion of

has always been in Meath, the only ceding of GAA county boundaries was signed off by

in a 1979 agreement sanctioned in 1986 by

Leinster GAA The Leinster Council is a provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County ...

. No reasons have been publicly disclosed as to why the smallest GAA county in Ireland would give away any territory. The newly formed Wolfe Tones waited two years until they got their first competitive match in 1924, against fellow Drogheda side Boyne Rangers. This was also their first competitive win, outscoring the Rangers by 1–07 to 1–03. Before the rapid expansion of Drogheda in the 20th century, the club had the whole southern side of

within its catchment area. By 1940 they had won the Louth Senior Championship six times. By 1980, a further four Gaelic football clubs had been formed in Drogheda - Oliver Plunketts, Naomh Mhuire (now defunct), O'Raghallaighs and

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

. This dilution of the GAA member base in Drogheda was a factor in the decline of the club's fortunes. Consequently, The Tones have competed in the

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 ...

since the

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...

. The club won the Louth Division 3B League title in 2021. Their progress continued in 2022, qualifying for the semi-final stage of the Junior Championship for the first time since 1993, coinciding with centenary celebrations. In recent years, the club has also entered Ladies' teams in Louth LGFA competitions.

Inter-County level

Wolfe Tones players have contributed to several

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 ...

successes in All-Ireland championships. Michael McKeown, Frank Pentony and John Murray won

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a GAA competition involving four Junior Gaelic football inter-county teams. Prior to a change in competition structure in 2021, the competition was previously for all Junior Gaelic football inte ...

medals as part of the county's first title-winning team at the grade in 1925. Michael McKeown won a

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 ...

medal with

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

in 1928. His brothers Nicky, Paddy and Tom all played for Louth. Frank Byrne made 25

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

appearances for Louth and captained Wolfe Tones to the League and Championship double in 1927. Vincent Kerr was right half-back on the Louth side that won the All-Ireland Junior Championship in 1932. Two years later, he won a second All-Ireland medal at the grade and was joined on the

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

team by fellow Tones' man Joe Collins. Michael Cunningham and James Reilly were members of the minor team that won Louth's first

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

title in 1936. Oliver Coombes was right corner-back and Michael Kelly centre half-back on the

team that won the 1961 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. Martin Cassidy won an All-Ireland 'B' Championship medal with Louth in 1997.

Honours

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 ...

(6): 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1937 * Louth Senior Football League (5): 1927, 1928, 1931, 1934, 1935 *

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 ...

(1): 1962 *O'Hanlon Cup (1): 1927 *Feis Cup (1): 1947 *

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): 2008 *Louth Junior 1 Football League Division 3B (1): 2021 *Louth Division 3 Shield (1): 2019 *Louth Minor 'B' Football Championship (1): 2000 *Louth Under-14 Football Championship (1): 1997 *Louth Under-16 Football Championship (1): 1999 *Louth Under-15 Football League (1): 2005 *Louth Minor Football League Division 4 (1): 2008

External links

Official club website

References

Gaelic games clubs in County Louth Gaelic football clubs in County Louth {{Leinster-GAA-club-stub