Park–Ratheniska GAA 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

club in

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, Ireland. The club was founded in 1981 after the amalgamation of Park Football Club and Ratheniska Hurling Club. The club's colours are green and gold. The club has competed at senior level in both

and

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 ...

and has a juvenile section, catering for both boys and girls in hurling and football from U6 up to U21.

History

Origins

has always played a role in Park–Ratheniska, dating back to a Ratheniska team in 1913, where the first signs of

in the area can be traced. This team faded away after contesting a few finals in that era, and it wasn't until the Loughteague team in 1927 and 1928 that football began to flourish in the area when the newly formed club won two

Laois Junior Football Championships The Laois Junior Football Championships are the lower-tier Laois Club Football Championships. The Junior A and Junior B Championships use group phases then down to eight-four-two and the Junior C Championship operates similarly to the Senior Cha ...

Foundation of Park Football Club

The first appearance of what was to become the Park–Ratheniska GAA club came in 1933 when the Park Football Club was founded when a Minor and Junior team were affiliated with the

Laois GAA The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois. The county board is also responsible for the Laois county ...

County Board. A Minor title was won in the club's first year. A breakthrough for the club came in 1942 though, when they broke out of Junior ranks for the first time. Four years of Intermediate football was rewarded in 1947 when the Laois Intermediate Football Championship title came their way, and at last Senior Football was achieved.

Mid 20th-century

The club became a force to be reckoned within senior ranks in the 1950s. In 1952, a Park team trained by Will "Bruno" McEvoy and under the captaincy of Paddy Dunne, stormed all in front of them, culminating in a final victory against a fancied Ballyroan side. The club retained the title in 1953. The club's next title of note was in 1972 when they captured the Laois Junior B Football Championship. Local rivalry was to the fore for the club's next success when in 1977 they captured the league Division 2 final defeating neighbours

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland. Overview It is located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, about from Portlaoise and from Dublin. It is a townland, a civil parish, and historic barony. It is known for its annu ...

Ratheniska Hurling Club

It was during this period of success for Park Football Club that another club was coming to prominence in the area. The Ratheniska Hurling Club had been founded in 1953, running alongside the Park Football Club, while primarily using many of the same players as the footballers. The club took its first ever-hurling title in 1958 when it clinched the

Laois Junior Hurling Championship The Laois Junior Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition contested by lower-tier Laois GAA clubs. Ballypickas are the 2024 champions, defeating Borris-Kilcotton GAA in the final. As of then, they have won the most (9). Junior A T ...

title. Success agreed with the club early on, and a defeat in the Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship final of 1960 was followed up quickly with a win in the very same in 1961. However, following ten years at senior level the move was taken to return to junior ranks where success came quickly again in the form of the 1971

title. A Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship title followed in 1977 as the club again ascended through the ranks.

Merger to form Park–Ratheniska GAA club

In 1981, both clubs decided to amalgamate. Park G.F.C and Ratheniska Hurling Club were combined under one name, the Park–Ratheniska GAA Club. The new club had to wait six years for its name to be carved on a trophy, but this came along in 1987 when the Junior hurlers completed a League and Championship double. The footballers were promoted back to Senior ranks in 1988 after winning the Laois Intermediate Football Championship final in

O'Moore Park O'Moore Park () is a GAA stadium in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. It is the home of the Laois Gaelic football and hurling teams. Under a new sponsorship deal it is known as "Laois Hire O'Moore Park". Although it may have been in use as a G ...

1990s

1994 was to prove one of the most trophy laden years in the club's history. The Laois All-County Football League Division 2 trophy was collected first, and was then followed up by the hurlers doing the league and championship double as they marched back to senior ranks again. Another chapter in the club's history was written in 2003 when the junior hurlers picked up the Championship trophy in

2006 provincial championship

In 2006, the club's Junior A footballers won the Laois Junior Football Championship in O Moore Park after Barrowhouse had been defeated on a scoreline of 1–13 to 0–08. They then defeated St Ultans of

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

by 2–8 to 1–8 in the

Leinster Junior Club Football Championship The Leinster Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition between the winners of the Junior football competitions in 10 counties of Leinster GAA, Leinster, the Intermediate football champions of Kilkenny GAA, Kilkenny, the In ...

Final, with a last minute goal from Johnny Nevin. Captain Cathal Óg Greene accepted the trophy from Leinster Council chairman Liam O'Neill.

2007 and 2008, beaten finalists

2007 was the football club's first year back in the IFC ranks and saw the intermediate footballers just lose out on a semi-final place on score difference. The Junior hurlers had more success though and they reached the JHC final against Clough/Ballacolla. However success was not to be, as the club lost their third JHC final in four years. In 2008, the footballers reached Laois IFC final after an unbeaten run. However, a Michael Tierney inspired Ballyroan Abbey proved too strong in the decider and Park–Ratheniska were left playing Intermediate Football for another year. The Junior footballers gained promotion from Division 5 of the league also in 2008, with silverware eluding them as they were defeated in the ACFL 5 final.

2011, provincial champions again

In 2011, the club's Junior hurlers reached the summit in

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

with a county final win over Borris-in-Ossory/Kilcotton in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise. In a one sided game, the Park–Ratheniska men beat their opponents on a 2–14 to 0–3 scoreline, with Brendan Fingleton putting in a man of the match winning performance from midfield, while at the same time assuring himself of 2011

Junior Hurler of the Year. They then went on a run through

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

with wins over the

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 ...

and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

representatives, before culminating in a provincial final on a winter afternoon in Ratheniska GAA Grounds. This time it was Parnells of

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 ...

who stood in the way of the

Leinster Junior Club Hurling Championship ''For the senior hurling equivalent see: Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship'' The Leinster Junior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Junior Club Championship) is an annual hurling comp ...

title, and goals from Darragh Nolan and Barry Fingleton secured a 2–10 to 1–08 win, giving Park/Ratheniska the honour of becoming the first Laois Club to hold provincial titles in both hurling and football.

Achievements

: (1) 2006 * Leinster Special Junior Club Hurling Championship: (1) 2011 *

: 2006 & 2020 *

: 2011 * Laois Junior B Hurling Championship: (1) 1987 * Laois Intermediate Football Championship (2) 1988 & 2021 * Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship (1) 1994 * Laois All-County Football League Div. 2: (1) 1994

Notable players

* Paddy Dunne * Sean Delaney *

Martin Wall Martin Wall Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, FRCP (1747– 21 Jun 1824), was an English physician and educator. Wall was the son of John Wall (physician), John Wall and was baptised at Worcester, England ...

* Cathal Óg Greene

References

External links

Park–Ratheniska GAA Club Website

Laoistalk – Laois GAA News Website

Article pre Leinster Final

Leinster Express Article about 2006 Leinster Football Final win

Laois Nationalist Article about 2006 Leinster Football Final win

Laois Nationalist Article about 2011 Leinster Hurling Final win
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park-Ratheniska GAA Gaelic games clubs in County Laois Hurling clubs in County Laois Gaelic football clubs in County Laois