Salthill–Knocknacarra () is a

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

club based in the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in the west of

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 is a member of the

Galway GAA The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and for the Galway county teams. Galway is one of the few ...

branch of the

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 ...

. Centred on the

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Salthill Salthill () is a Coast, seaside area to the southwest of Galway city centre in the west of Ireland. The area is home to a number of tourist amenities and there is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as "the Prom", which overlooks Galway ...

and Knocknacarra in Galway city, the club fields teams in four codes:

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 ...

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 ...

, Ladies' football and

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 ...

History

The club was founded in 1966 under the banner of Cumann Naomh Ciarán. In the 1980s, the club was in Galway football. It won over ten championships at both the minor and U-21 levels. Some underage club members have gone onto represent Galway at adult level. In 1990, the club won its first senior football county title, followed by a Connacht Club title. The club lost the All-Ireland Final in 1991 to Lavey of Derry. Players included

Alan Mulholland Alan Mulholland (born 1968) is an Irish Gaelic football former manager and player. He was manager of the senior Galway county team from 2011 until 2014, having previously been manager of the minor and under-21 teams. In 2007, Mulholland guid ...

(former Galway manager), Norman Costello, Cathal McGinley, John Kilraine, Pat Comer (producer of the video "A Year Til Sunday"), Mark Gibbs, and Donners, who subsequently managed the club to an All-Ireland title in 2006. The club had their first winning Galway minor in 2002. In 2005, the club won its next county title, which was followed by an All-Ireland Club title on

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

in 2006 against St Gall's of Antrim. Players included Finian Hanley,

Seán Armstrong Seán Armstrong (born 20 March 1986) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer from Galway. Armstrong played his club football with Salthill–Knocknacarra GAA, Salthill–Knocknacarra and inter-county football for Galway county football team, Galw ...

, Michael Donnellan,

Alan Kerins Alan Kerins (born 1977) is an Irish sportsman, humanitarian, social entrepreneur and philanthropist. Kerins was a dual player for Galway, a hurler between 1997 and 2011 and a footballer between 2001 and 2004. He played with the senior inter-co ...

, among others. Salthill–Knocknacarra hosted the then

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

and his Duchess, wife Catherine, in March 2020, the first visit by any members of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

to a GAA club in Ireland (though previous visitors had toured

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

). Hurling has been played in the club since the early 1980s. The hurlers play at Junior A level and include Gakway hurler Donal O'Shea, while the Junior F side contest the county final this year. The senior team is managed by former Galway All-Star Finian Hanley. Current Galway players at the senior level include Tomo Culhane, Robert Finnerty, John Maher, Cathal Sweeney, Daniel O'Flaherty, who were all involved in getting Galway to the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, as well as U20 Galway Captain Matthew Thompson. In 2024, after that All-Ireland final appearance, Maher, the SKGAA’s senior Captain, was nominated for the PWC Player of the Year and won an All-Star, as did Finnerty. The club has facilities including floodlit playing pitches, Astro turf and an events centre, Arus Bóthar na Tra. This facility is used for events including yoga, pliâtes, dance, art classes, and conference facilities. In Ladies Gaelic football, the ladies won a Junior county title in 2003 and in 2022, with ladies then players playing for the Galway GAA Team on the inter-county lady stage. In 2023, the now-intermediate side, won the Galway Intermediate title and bowed up in the Connacht intermediate semi-final after additional time. In 2024, they won the Senior B and Junior C titles as well as Junior Coen Cup. The senior Camogie team won promotion as league champions to Division one and after a first … a replay and two periods of extra time lost out to Clarinbridge in the Senior B Championship final. The club is structured at an underage level in all four codes, with parents involved in managing teams.

Titles

In football

Galway Senior Football Championship The Galway Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It ...

(3): 1990, 2005, 2012 *

Connacht Senior Club Football Championship The Connacht Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between senior clubs in Connacht, with one qualifying from each of the five individual county championships. The winners of the Connacht football champ ...

(2): 1990, 2005 *

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

(1): 2005/06 * Galway Minor Football Championship (2): 2002, 2011 * All-Ireland Leadies Gealic Football Junior Champions (1): 2022

In hurling

* Galway Junior Hurling Championship (1): 2021 * Connacht Junior Club Hurling J1 Championship (1): 2021

Notable players

:''Listed according to the sport (or other career) they are most notable for:'' Football *

* Gary Cox * Michael Donnellan * Niall Finnegan * Robert Finnerty * Finian Hanley *

Paul McGettigan Paul McGettigan (born 1957/8) is a former Gaelic footballer, manager and barrister. He played inter-county football for Donegal and Galway. His club career included time with Donegal club St Eunan's and Galway clubs Salthill, St Grellan's and ...

* John Maher: 2024 All Star and nominee for Player of the Year *

Liam Sammon Liam Sammon (born 1946 in Galway) is an Irish former Gaelic football manager, coach, writer and former player. He played football with his local clubs Father Griffins and Salthill–Knocknacarra and was a member of the senior Galway county t ...

* Maurice Sheridan * Matthew Thompson Finian Hanley cropped

Hurling * Aonghus Callanan * Tadhg Haran * Donal O'Shea * David Tierney Other sports * Gavin Duffy (Rugby) * Dora Gorman (Ladies' Soccer)

References

External sources

Club website
*http://www.skgaa.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=161&Itemid=129 {{Galway clubs Gaelic games clubs in County Galway Gaelic football clubs in County Galway Hurling clubs in County Galway

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 ...