Naomh Mearnóg CLG
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Naomh Mearnóg is a
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
club in the parish of
Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...
, County Dublin, Ireland. The club was founded in 1975 and now fields a total of 35 teams in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
,
camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...
and ladies' football. These include three adult football teams, two adult hurling teams, two adult camogie teams and an adult ladies' football team. They also cater for many juvenile teams.


History


Early years

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, there were two grades of adult inter-club football: senior and junior. It was the same at inter-county level. However, the interest in inter-county football was nothing like it is nowadays, most of the focus was on the inter-club scene. In the late 1920s, there was a temporary break-up of
Innisfails Innisfails was a U.S. soccer team which competed in the St. Louis Soccer League from 1907 to 1921. History Innisfails was a charter member of the newly founded St. Louis Soccer League in 1907. The SLSL was created as a rival to the city’s Assoc ...
' junior football team in
Balgriffin Balgriffin (, meaning "Griffin's town") is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies on the administrative boundary between Dublin City and Fingal in County Dublin. Balgriffin is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Coolock. Location Balg ...
, and as a result it was decided to form a team in
Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...
. At that time, Portmarnock would have been what is now called 'Old Portmarnock'. The population was sparse and if a team lost a few players it found it very difficult to survive. The team was named St Marnock's after a contemporary of
St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...
, who first introduced Christianity to
Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...
. The team wore a black jersey with an amber sash, the colours of which were inspired by the crest of the Jameson family, of
whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
fame, who lived locally. Success came to the newly formed team quite quickly. In their first year of competition, they were runners-up in Division 3 of the Fingal League. In the following years, they won the Fingal League Division 1 on two occasions and the Fingal Championship once. During those years, 7-a-side tournaments were very popular and drew huge crowds to the venues. St Marnock's were beaten in extra time by St Margaret's in the final of the
Swords A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
tournament played on a Monday in August 1930. They won the Fintan Lalor tournament, beating Erin's Isle in the final. This final was played at ‘The Thatch’, where the present Catholic Church stands in
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
. Quite often, St Marnock's travelled to their ‘away’ games by train. The Club Secretary would fill in a form by the Thursday before the game and the team consequently travelled at a reduced rate. As early as 1935, St Marnock's were unable to field a team against
Innisfails Innisfails was a U.S. soccer team which competed in the St. Louis Soccer League from 1907 to 1921. History Innisfails was a charter member of the newly founded St. Louis Soccer League in 1907. The SLSL was created as a rival to the city’s Assoc ...
, who were back playing again, at Brian Boru Park. St Marnock's had won the game by 1–1 to 0–1 but
Innisfails Innisfails was a U.S. soccer team which competed in the St. Louis Soccer League from 1907 to 1921. History Innisfails was a charter member of the newly founded St. Louis Soccer League in 1907. The SLSL was created as a rival to the city’s Assoc ...
were objecting to them being awarded the points because the list of players supplied by St Marnock's contained only 14 names. The game was refixed for the following Sunday in
Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 7,300. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used mainly by the co ...
. St Marnock's were already in danger of breaking up. As things worked out they did not break up and
Innisfails Innisfails was a U.S. soccer team which competed in the St. Louis Soccer League from 1907 to 1921. History Innisfails was a charter member of the newly founded St. Louis Soccer League in 1907. The SLSL was created as a rival to the city’s Assoc ...
went on to reach the final of the
Dublin Junior Football Championship The Dublin Junior Football 1 Championship is the Junior Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football competition of Dublin. The winners of the Junior championship go on to qualify for the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship. The winners will ...
only to be beaten by St Paul's by 1–3 to 0–3. The following September, St Marnock's beat the reigning Dublin Junior Football Champions, St Paul's, in the semi-final of the Loving Cup by 1–4 to 0–2. The greatest achievement of this team was beating Fingallians in the final of 1936
Dublin Junior Football Championship The Dublin Junior Football 1 Championship is the Junior Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football competition of Dublin. The winners of the Junior championship go on to qualify for the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship. The winners will ...
in
Parnell Park Parnell Park is a GAA stadium in Donnycarney, Dublin, Ireland with a capacity of 7,300. It is the home of the Dublin GAA hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football teams at all levels of competition. The ground is used mainly by the co ...
. This promoted the club to senior ranks but they played very few games at this level. The reason for this was they lost three of their key players: Gilsenan, Michael Reilly and Tom Tighe, all from
Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of 18,608 as per the 2022 ...
. The team did not remain senior for very long after that. The team that lined out in the Junior Final was: J. McManus, F. Morris, J. Brady, N. Morton, J. Rafferty, J. Connor, F. Donnelly, T. McLernon, M. Reilly, D. Fitzgerald, P. French, T. Tighe, E. Kealy, M. Gilsenan and J. Fogarty. St Marnock's' home games were played at different venues during those years: * A field behind Freaney’s house in Old Portmarnock. * The site of the old St Anne’s Church. * The site of the present St Anne’s Church. (By sheer coincidence the newly formed Naomh Mearnóg played many of their early games on the same site.) Other clubs that St Marnock's would have played against during those years were: Pioneers (
Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , ) is a suburban coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland. It is approximately 34 km north of the city of Dublin, for which it is a commuter town. The 2022 census population was 24,322 for Bal ...
), Ballyboughal, St Maur's, Parnells, Wild Geese, Peadar Mackens (
Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...
), St Laurence's (
Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...
) and many others.


Naomh Mearnóg Re-launch

At the relaunch of the club, chaired by Mr. Leo Nealon, some members of the
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
panel including
Jimmy Keaveney James Keaveney (born 12 February 1945) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. His league and championship career at senior level with the Dublin county team spanned sixteen seasons from 1964 to 1980. Keaveney is widely regarded as one of Dublin ...
, David Hickey and
Robbie Kelleher Robbie Kelleher is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Dublin county team. He is All-Ireland winning. Biography He grew up in Glasnevin, County Dublin. He was educated at Coláiste Mhuire, where he excelled in his studies which incl ...
were present. The club was not officially registered with the Dublin County Board during that first year. The first year, under the chairmanship of Paddy Doherty, was spent putting the club on a proper footing in terms of organising football and hurling at adult level and putting a juvenile structure in place with the co-operation of St Marnock's National School. In 1975, St Helen's National School did not exist, nor was there a community school in existence. Having made the initial breakthrough, it was deemed appropriate to have the club affiliated to the
County Board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...
. The first proper meeting of the club was held on 29 January 1976 at the North Coast Hotel. Paddy Doherty chaired that meeting with Jackie Hughes acting as Secretary and his brother-in-law Éanna Mac Cába acting as Treasurer. Records show that that meeting was attended by Frank McNulty, Patsy Haran (later to become
Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...
of
Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...
), Danny McCormick, Vincent Hughes, Mícheál Ó Braonáin, Jim Carroll, Eugene Keaveney, the Hanley brothers, Tom, Pat and Jack, Pat Keaveney (Principal of St Marnock's School), Christy Dwyer, Tony Jordan, Pat Dillon and Robert Kenny as well as the five original founding members. The meeting was also attended by Liam Price of Naomh Maur, who was later to become chairman of the Fingal Football Board. Éanna Mac Cába, as acting Treasurer, reported to the meeting that the club's finances were in a healthy state, showing a credit balance of £27 made up of subscriptions from Jackie Hughes, Brother O’Fearghail (
Coláiste Mhuire Marino Institute of Education ( Irish: ), abbreviated as Marino Institute or MIE, is an Irish College of Education, an associated College of Trinity College Dublin. It is located on Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9. Its degrees and diplomas are award ...
), Ray Burke T.D. and Shay Corrigan. In the course of his report, the Secretary in waiting reported that the visit of the Dublin team to the parish, in 1974, proved very valuable. The meeting decided that a football and hurling team be registered with the
County Board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...
under the name St Marnock's. At this meeting, Patsy Haran commenced his long and distinguished career in football management when he was chosen to manage the club's adult football team. Eugene Keaveney was selected team Captain and Pat Dillon was chosen as Vice-Captain. Robert Kenny was selected as trainer of this team. Selectors on the junior football side were to be Danny McCormick, Jackie Hughes and Vincent Hughes. This first meeting set up a Finance Committee with the following members: Tom Farrelly, Pat Keaveney, Brendan Shannon, Martin McDonagh and Frank McNulty. A juvenile committee was also set up to organise underage games in the club under the auspices of the following: Frank McNulty, Patsy Haran, Mícheál Ó Braonáin, Pat Keaveney and Christy Dwyer. On the playing side, two teams were registered at under 11 and under 13 in the Dublin Football League. This historic event took place on 25 February 1976. Just over a month later, on 29 March, an adult hurling team was formed with John Joe Lane selected as team Manager with Danny McCormick and Vincent Hughes as Selectors. Dermot Kennedy was selected as Captain with Jim Carroll (he of Camogie fame) as Vice-Captain. Also, notable players are Oliver Freaney. Oliver came into prominence as a very versatile and solid corner back. At the age of 25 he cooped an award for player of the year for 2018. In May 1976, Fr. Philips was appointed Club President, a position he held until his departure some years later to
Ballymun Ballymun () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the city's Northside. Ballymun has several sub-districts, such as Sillogue, Coultry, Shangan and Poppintree, and is close to Dublin Airport. A metro stop on a city-to-airpo ...
. Two years later,
Dublin County Council Dublin County Council () was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established on 1 April 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 for the administrative count ...
made 2 pitches available to the club at Carrickhill,
Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...
.


Modern Naomh Mearnóg

Naomh Mearnóg has some of the best facilities available in any
GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...
club in Ireland, covering almost . There is a modern clubhouse containing dressing rooms, club bar, function hall, handball alley, gym, catering facilities, meeting rooms and club shop. There are three adult pitches, a flood lit
AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...
pitch, a juvenile pitch, training areas and a hurling wall. The two county council pitches in Carrickhill are also still in use. The club made history on 19 September 2009, when the Senior A camogie team won the club's first ever Dublin Senior Championship title, beating Good Counsel 1–10 to 1–8 in the final. The club grounds were officially named "Páirc Mhearnóg" in 2010 to mark the tenth anniversary since the clubhouse was built. In 2019 the Adult Men's Football team won promotion to Division 1 of the League. In 2019 the U21 Hurlers won the U21C Championship. In 2020 the Adult Men's Hurling Team won the Dublin Intermediate Hurling Championship.


Notable players


Senior inter-county footballers

;
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
* Kevin O'Brien * Shane Ryan * Shane Carthy, until 2025


Senior inter-county hurlers

;
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
* Shane Ryan * Cian Hendricken, who made his first league start in the opening round of the 2018 National Hurling League


Senior inter-county ladies' footballers

;
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
*
Clíodhna O'Connor Clíodhna O'Connor is a former senior Dublin ladies' footballer. She was a member of the Dublin team that won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship in 2010. She also played for Dublin in the 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2014 finals. Sh ...


others

* Ian Garry


Honours


Football

*
Dublin Intermediate Football Championship The Dublin Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Dublin GAA between second-tier Gaelic football clubs in County Dublin, Ireland. Qualification for subsequent competitions Leinster ...
: ** 1996, 2024 *
Dublin Junior Football Championship The Dublin Junior Football 1 Championship is the Junior Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football competition of Dublin. The winners of the Junior championship go on to qualify for the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship. The winners will ...
: ** 1936, 2004 * Dublin Under 21 C Football Championship: ** 2009, 2016 * Dublin AFL Div. 10 ** 2011


Hurling

* Dublin Senior 3 Hurling Championship: ** 2023 * Dublin Intermediate Hurling Championship: ** 2020, 2022 *
Dublin Junior Hurling Championship The Dublin Junior Hurling championship is the Junior Gaelic Athletic Association hurling competition of Dublin GAA, Dublin. The winners of the Junior championship go on to qualify for the Dublin Intermediate Hurling Championship in the following ...
: ** 1995 * U21 ‘C’ Hurling Championship 2019


Camogie

* Dublin Senior A Camogie Championship: 1 ** 2009 * Dublin Senior B Camogie Championship: 1 ** 1999 * Dublin Junior B Camogie Championship: 1 ** 2005 * Dublin Junior C Camogie Championship: 1 ** 1990 * Dublin Senior B Camogie League: 1 ** 1999 * Dublin Intermediate Camogie League: 2 ** 2002, 2007 * Dublin Junior A Camogie League: 1 ** 1991 * Dublin Junior C Camogie League: 1 ** 1990 * Orla Ryan Shield: 2 ** 2005, 2006 * Dublin Intermediate Open Cup: 2 ** 2002, 2007


References


External links


CLG Naomh MearnógDublin GAAGAA Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naomh Mearnog Gaelic games clubs in Fingal Hurling clubs in Fingal Gaelic football clubs in Fingal Camogie clubs in County Dublin