Clonad
Encyclopedia
Clonad GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association
hurling
club in County Laois
, Ireland
which fields teams from Under-10 right up to Senior level. While Clonad GAA club has successfully fielded underage and adult gaelic football teams in the past, football is not played in the club at present. These days, club members interested in football usually play with the neighbouring football clubs at The Heath
and Ballyroan
.
The club colours are green with a gold sash.
in the country area to the south of Portlaoise. Clonad was promoted to the senior grade in 1927 and won its first Laois senior hurling
title in 1930.
The club has added 13 Laois Senior Hurling Championships since then, the most recent being in 1992. Other years are as follows; 1930, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1962, and 1970. Clonad has also won the O'Bradaigh Cup twice, the Centenary Cup in 1984 and U-21 and minor hurling titles in recent years.
The captain of the last Laois team to win the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
in 1949 was a Clonad player, Paddy Ruschitzko
. Other renowned Clonad players were Andy Bergin, Jack Dick Conroy, Joe McCabe, Joe Styles, Billy Bohane, Andy Dunne, Paddy Norton and Ollie Fennell.
In the 1950s Clonad won the Laois Junior Football Championship and Laois Intermediate Football Championship
. Despite this success the emphasis was always on hurling and football has only featured infrequently since then.
Recent developments at the club include the construction of a wall designed and used for hurling skills, known as the Ball Wall, and is used by the Laois Senior Hurling team and other teams in training drills and was the first of its kind in Laois.Two more additional changing rooms have been built and the club has now formed a camogie club.
The senior team had not performed well in the Laois Senior Hurling Championship in recent years and was relegated to intermediate status for the first time ever in 2008.
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
club in County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
which fields teams from Under-10 right up to Senior level. While Clonad GAA club has successfully fielded underage and adult gaelic football teams in the past, football is not played in the club at present. These days, club members interested in football usually play with the neighbouring football clubs at The Heath
The Heath
The Heath GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association gaelic football club in County Laois, Ireland.The club was founded in 1888. Originally the club was known as St. Patrick's...
and Ballyroan
Ballyroan GAA
Ballyroan GAA was a Gaelic Athletic Association gaelic football club in Ballyroan, County Laois, Republic of Ireland.Founded in 1887, the club colours were sky blue and navy having originally been royal blue with a dominant white V on the front...
.
The club colours are green with a gold sash.
History
Although it is known that a GAA club existed in the area in the late 19th century and that the nearby Barrington estate was a patron of a hurling team in the 18th century, the present club was founded in 1915 by Lar Brady and Jim Bergin to promote hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
in the country area to the south of Portlaoise. Clonad was promoted to the senior grade in 1927 and won its first Laois senior hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
title in 1930.
The club has added 13 Laois Senior Hurling Championships since then, the most recent being in 1992. Other years are as follows; 1930, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1962, and 1970. Clonad has also won the O'Bradaigh Cup twice, the Centenary Cup in 1984 and U-21 and minor hurling titles in recent years.
The captain of the last Laois team to win the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
The Leinster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Leinster in Ireland....
in 1949 was a Clonad player, Paddy Ruschitzko
Paddy Ruschitzko
Paddy 'Rusty' Ruschitzko was an American-born Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Clonad and was a member of the Laois senior inter-county team from the 1930s until the 1950s. Ruschitzko captained Laois in their last All-Ireland final appearance in 1949.-Biography:Patrick...
. Other renowned Clonad players were Andy Bergin, Jack Dick Conroy, Joe McCabe, Joe Styles, Billy Bohane, Andy Dunne, Paddy Norton and Ollie Fennell.
In the 1950s Clonad won the Laois Junior Football Championship and Laois Intermediate Football Championship
Laois Intermediate Football Championship
The Laois Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the second grade Laois Clubs. The winners of the Laois Championship winners qualify to represent their county in the Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship and in turn, go on to...
. Despite this success the emphasis was always on hurling and football has only featured infrequently since then.
Recent developments at the club include the construction of a wall designed and used for hurling skills, known as the Ball Wall, and is used by the Laois Senior Hurling team and other teams in training drills and was the first of its kind in Laois.Two more additional changing rooms have been built and the club has now formed a camogie club.
The senior team had not performed well in the Laois Senior Hurling Championship in recent years and was relegated to intermediate status for the first time ever in 2008.