Crossmaglen Rangers
Encyclopedia
Crossmaglen Rangers G.A.C is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA)
club from Armagh
, County Armagh
, Northern Ireland
. They cater for Gaelic football
and camogie
. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett
Park which was opened in 1959. In 1971 the British Army
took possession of a portion of the ground despite opposition from the club and the Irish Government
, and this led to a controversy regarding the British Army's conduct.
The club have won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
on five occasions and are current champions. They have won the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
nine times and won the Armagh Senior Football Championship 39 times.
The Armagh championship was not played from 1919 to 1922, at the time of the Irish War of Independence
. When it resumed, however, Rangers won five successive Armagh senior championships, completing the first five-in-a-row in the competition. This feat went unequalled until Crossmaglen achieved it again in 2000. They had further titles in 1933, 1936 and 1937. The 1940s were to prove a more frustrating decade for Crossmaglen, their only county senior title being in 1947. The 1950s were still more difficult for Crossmaglen, being the only decade of the twentieth century in which they did not win an Armagh Championship.
After this, however, the club's fortunes revived considerably. Rangers captured five Championships in the 1960s (1960, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967), in addition to several league titles. Further Armagh Championships were won in 1970, 1975, 1977, 1983 and 1986.
1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011.
1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011.
1906, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1947, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011.
s (1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 ,2010 and 2011). They have gone on to win the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
five times, in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007 and 2011
The club fields underage teams from U-10 to U-21 as well as Senior, Junior and 'B' teams. Ladies football and camogie are played in the club, with the camogie teams in particular achieving much success in recent years. The seniors play in the Armagh Senior Leagues
and Armagh Senior Football Championship. Crossmaglen have a number of players on the current Armagh county team
, including Paul Hearty
, Aaron Kernan
, Stephen Kernan, Paul Kernan, Tony Kernan and Francie Bellew. Oisin McConville
who is the all time top scorer in Ulster Senior Championship history also plays for them and holds a national record for playing 103 Armagh Senior Football Championship games in succession.
On 19 October 2008 the club won their 13th Armagh Senior Club Football Championship
in a row by defeating Pearse Óg. This is a national record.
This unbeaten run came to an end in 2009 when they were defeated by eventual champions Pearse Óg at the quarter final stage.
In 2010 a new look Crossmaglen team emerged and regained the Armagh Senior title, they then went on and regained the Ulster Championship before completing the season with yet another All Ireland Title in 2011 defeating St. Bridgids from Roscommon in the final to claim their fifth All Ireland club title.
During 'The Troubles
', part of Crossmaglen's property at Páirc Oilobheir Pluinceid Crois Mhic Lionnáin was requisitioned by the British Army for a military base despite attempts by the club and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to prevent it.
The club claim to have suffered "blatant persecution" and that "not alone was the pitch partially occupied but the entrance to the playing area was turned into a quagmire by heavy army vehicles. Harassment of club officials was constant and helicopters regularly landed on the pitch even during games."
In 1977, then GAA
President Conor Ó Murchú wrote to Taoiseach
Jack Lynch
after meeting with him to discuss the issue;
“The occupation of the property by the British Army, with the constant damage and deliberate destruction of the property plus the harassment and interference with the members of the GAA and the community, constitute an appalling deprivation of the rights of the community.
“I am appealing to you to bring your own good offices to bear on the powers that be, i.e. I take it the British Government at present, to (1) withdraw the troops from using the property, (2) give back full possession to the club, the rightful owners of the property, (3) pay adequate compensation for damage to pitch, property and the community.”
The conduct of the British Army was also heavily criticised in Irish parliamentary debate. For example, Senator Kiely said that "The intimidation and the harassment of the members of the Crossmaglen GAA Rangers Club by members of the British Army also promotes anger and resentment. The members of the GAA club and the community [1010] in general are most tolerant and patient to be putting up with such harassment and intimidation. There are occasions when the British Army close both entrances to the pitch and deny members entry to their own property.
During a football match the British Army took their tanks to a gate which the club had been given an assurance would be used only when the base was under attack. Recently, it was brought to our notice that a wall was knocked down. They drove their tank through the wall when they could have gone through the gate. There is an alternative entrance to the base through some educational property owned by the British Government. It would be more convenient and more accessible to enter the Army base through that ground rather than through the entrance to the Crossmaglen GAA Rangers field — St. Oliver Plunkett Park. They have surrounded supporters on the pitch, abused and threatened them and asked them for identification. On one occasion a ladies' keep-fit class was being conducted in the club hall in St. Oliver Plunkett Park; five members of the RUC forced their way into the hall and asked the ladies for the club register. On another occasion when a function was being held in the hall and at about 9 p.m. boys under 14 and 16 years of age were physically beaten outside the gate on the roadway. When people objected to this physical beating they were arrested and the reverend canon in Crossmaglen had to intercede on their behalf with the RUC/Army commanders in Crossmaglen.".
In February 2007, the British Army announced its intention to decommission its army watchtower and withdraw soldiers from the local Police Service of Northern Ireland
station as part of Operation Banner
.
In recent times, the club has purchased more land to develop additional senior standard playing facilities. Extensive renovations on the Rangers Hall were completed, and the then GAA President Jack Boothman
opened the new Social Club Complex.
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...
club from Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. They cater for Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
and camogie
Camogie
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett
Saint Oliver Plunkett was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland....
Park which was opened in 1959. In 1971 the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
took possession of a portion of the ground despite opposition from the club and the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
, and this led to a controversy regarding the British Army's conduct.
The club have won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
on five occasions and are current champions. They have won the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football club competition played between the top clubs in Ulster. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup...
nine times and won the Armagh Senior Football Championship 39 times.
History
Founded in 1887 as Crossmaglen Red Hands, the club did not acquire its present name until 1909. The Red Hands won their first Armagh Senior Football Championship in 1906. After political controversy, the Red Hands split, and a new club called Creggan Rovers emerged, and won the 1908 championship. The modern Crossmaglen Rangers club started only in 1909. Rangers soon made their presence felt, however, winning the championship in 1911, 1912 and 1913.The Armagh championship was not played from 1919 to 1922, at the time of the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
. When it resumed, however, Rangers won five successive Armagh senior championships, completing the first five-in-a-row in the competition. This feat went unequalled until Crossmaglen achieved it again in 2000. They had further titles in 1933, 1936 and 1937. The 1940s were to prove a more frustrating decade for Crossmaglen, their only county senior title being in 1947. The 1950s were still more difficult for Crossmaglen, being the only decade of the twentieth century in which they did not win an Armagh Championship.
After this, however, the club's fortunes revived considerably. Rangers captured five Championships in the 1960s (1960, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967), in addition to several league titles. Further Armagh Championships were won in 1970, 1975, 1977, 1983 and 1986.
Roll of Honour
Senior- All-Ireland Senior Club Football ChampionshipAll-Ireland Senior Club Football ChampionshipThe All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
(5 times):
1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011.
- Ulster Senior Club Football ChampionshipUlster Senior Club Football ChampionshipThe Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football club competition played between the top clubs in Ulster. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup...
(9 times):
1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011.
- Armagh Senior Football Championship (39 times):
1906, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1947, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011.
Recent successes
Crossmaglen Rangers regained the County title in 1996 after a lapse of ten years, beating Clan Na Gael 3-12 to 1-4. Since then, they have been completely dominant in the tournament, retaining the title every year since. In this period, they have won nine Ulster Senior Club Football ChampionshipUlster Senior Club Football Championship
The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football club competition played between the top clubs in Ulster. The trophy awarded to the winners is the Seamus McFerran Cup...
s (1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 ,2010 and 2011). They have gone on to win the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
five times, in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007 and 2011
The club fields underage teams from U-10 to U-21 as well as Senior, Junior and 'B' teams. Ladies football and camogie are played in the club, with the camogie teams in particular achieving much success in recent years. The seniors play in the Armagh Senior Leagues
Armagh Senior Leagues
The 2007 Armagh Senior League started on 15 April 2007. It is a Gaelic Athletic Association league. It is split into 4 Divisions .-Results:Weekending 20 May, 2007ACL Division One:Mullabawn 1-8 Pearse Og 2-8IFC:Lissummon 1-8 Madden 0-16,...
and Armagh Senior Football Championship. Crossmaglen have a number of players on the current Armagh county team
Armagh GAA
The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Armagh...
, including Paul Hearty
Paul Hearty
Paul Hearty is a Gaelic football player from Armagh, Northern Ireland. He is the current goalkeeper on the Armagh senior football team. He was named in goal for the 2006 Irish News Ulster Allstars team for his performances in Armagh's 2006 Uster championship win.-Club:Hearty is part of the...
, Aaron Kernan
Aaron Kernan
Aaron Kernan is a Gaelic football player from Crossmaglen, County Armagh, in Ireland. He plays for the local Crossmaglen Rangers club and for the Armagh senior football team.-Early and personal life:...
, Stephen Kernan, Paul Kernan, Tony Kernan and Francie Bellew. Oisin McConville
Oisín McConville
Oisín McConville is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for Armagh in the 1990s and 2000s. He has won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal, seven Ulster Championships and a National League title with the county...
who is the all time top scorer in Ulster Senior Championship history also plays for them and holds a national record for playing 103 Armagh Senior Football Championship games in succession.
On 19 October 2008 the club won their 13th Armagh Senior Club Football Championship
Armagh Senior Club Football Championship
The Armagh Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Armagh Clubs. The winners of the Armagh Championship qualify to represent their county in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship and in turn, go on to the All-Ireland Senior Club...
in a row by defeating Pearse Óg. This is a national record.
This unbeaten run came to an end in 2009 when they were defeated by eventual champions Pearse Óg at the quarter final stage.
In 2010 a new look Crossmaglen team emerged and regained the Armagh Senior title, they then went on and regained the Ulster Championship before completing the season with yet another All Ireland Title in 2011 defeating St. Bridgids from Roscommon in the final to claim their fifth All Ireland club title.
St. Oliver Plunkett Park
Páirc Oilobheir Pluinceid Crois Mhic Lionnáin (St. Oliver Plunkett Park) was officially opened on 19 April 1959. It is the home football ground of Crossmaglen Rangers, and Armagh have played inter-county games there.During 'The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
', part of Crossmaglen's property at Páirc Oilobheir Pluinceid Crois Mhic Lionnáin was requisitioned by the British Army for a military base despite attempts by the club and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to prevent it.
The club claim to have suffered "blatant persecution" and that "not alone was the pitch partially occupied but the entrance to the playing area was turned into a quagmire by heavy army vehicles. Harassment of club officials was constant and helicopters regularly landed on the pitch even during games."
In 1977, then GAA
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...
President Conor Ó Murchú wrote to Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Jack Lynch
Jack Lynch
John Mary "Jack" Lynch was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979....
after meeting with him to discuss the issue;
“The occupation of the property by the British Army, with the constant damage and deliberate destruction of the property plus the harassment and interference with the members of the GAA and the community, constitute an appalling deprivation of the rights of the community.
“I am appealing to you to bring your own good offices to bear on the powers that be, i.e. I take it the British Government at present, to (1) withdraw the troops from using the property, (2) give back full possession to the club, the rightful owners of the property, (3) pay adequate compensation for damage to pitch, property and the community.”
The conduct of the British Army was also heavily criticised in Irish parliamentary debate. For example, Senator Kiely said that "The intimidation and the harassment of the members of the Crossmaglen GAA Rangers Club by members of the British Army also promotes anger and resentment. The members of the GAA club and the community [1010] in general are most tolerant and patient to be putting up with such harassment and intimidation. There are occasions when the British Army close both entrances to the pitch and deny members entry to their own property.
During a football match the British Army took their tanks to a gate which the club had been given an assurance would be used only when the base was under attack. Recently, it was brought to our notice that a wall was knocked down. They drove their tank through the wall when they could have gone through the gate. There is an alternative entrance to the base through some educational property owned by the British Government. It would be more convenient and more accessible to enter the Army base through that ground rather than through the entrance to the Crossmaglen GAA Rangers field — St. Oliver Plunkett Park. They have surrounded supporters on the pitch, abused and threatened them and asked them for identification. On one occasion a ladies' keep-fit class was being conducted in the club hall in St. Oliver Plunkett Park; five members of the RUC forced their way into the hall and asked the ladies for the club register. On another occasion when a function was being held in the hall and at about 9 p.m. boys under 14 and 16 years of age were physically beaten outside the gate on the roadway. When people objected to this physical beating they were arrested and the reverend canon in Crossmaglen had to intercede on their behalf with the RUC/Army commanders in Crossmaglen.".
In February 2007, the British Army announced its intention to decommission its army watchtower and withdraw soldiers from the local Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
station as part of Operation Banner
Operation Banner
Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from August 1969 to July 2007. It was initially deployed at the request of the Unionist government of Northern Ireland to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary . After the 1998 Belfast Agreement,...
.
In recent times, the club has purchased more land to develop additional senior standard playing facilities. Extensive renovations on the Rangers Hall were completed, and the then GAA President Jack Boothman
Jack Boothman
Jack Boothman was President of the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1994 and 1997. He was an active member of his local Blessington GAA club in County Wicklow.He was elected as president of the Association and took up the position in 1994...
opened the new Social Club Complex.
External links
- Crossmaglen Rangers Homepage
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/5312310.stm