Naomh Abán GAA is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club based in the Gaeltacht village of Baile Bhuirne,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It participates in games of the

Muskerry Muskerry () 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) () or Cork GAA is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the Cork county teams. It ...

. The club has experienced senior grade football within

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

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.

History

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

River Sullane The River Sullane () 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 drinking water (and ...

. The parish is spread along the N22

national primary road A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...

(

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

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

), 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 ( , 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, Ireland. The village, which in turn has postal addre ...

. The first pitch was situated on wetlands () 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 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 A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

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) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

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 () 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 Ulster GAA teams are co ...

and Munster Championship 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 * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

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 McCarthy Insurance Group Cork County Intermediate A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork IAFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the ...

: (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 Bon Secours Cork Junior A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork GAA, Cork County Board ...

: (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 the ...

: 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 club Gaelic football competition organised by the Mid Cork Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association and con ...

: (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 t ...

: (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 * Anthony Lynch * Jerry Lucey * Diarmuid McCarthy * 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