Fullen Gaels are the only 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 Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The Gaels were formed
in February 2005 in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 by a small group passionate about the game and also with a desire to re-introduce the sport to Lancashire after an absence of two decades, when the Sarsfields club disbanded.

Due to lack of other hurling clubs in the north-west area, Fullen Gaels compete in the Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

 county championship, along with the winners of the title 6 years running in 2005, John Mitchell's, as well as Roger Casement's, Erin go Bragh and Sean McDermott's. The club also competed in the London

London GAA

The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or London GAA is one of the county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London...

 Hurling League division 2 in 2006, winning one game and losing three. There is a healthy mix of Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

-born players and second-generation Irish at the club. Many of the Gaels' players also compete in Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

, turning out for some of the Manchester-based teams such as St.Brendan's, St.Peter's and St.Lawrence's.

Fullen Gaels call Hough End their home pitch, although Páirc na hÉireann, at Solihull, is where most of the clashes with the other teams in Warwickshire

Warwickshire GAA

The Warwickshire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Warwickshire. The county board is also responsible for the Warwickshire inter-county teams-Hurling:In 2005 Warwickshire fielded a hurling team in...

 occur. Fullen Gaels have proven themselves to be worthy challengers in the championship, reaching two finals in their first season, though losing on both occasions to John Mitchell's and Roger Casement's respectively. However, 2006 would bring to Manchester the first silverware in the Gaels' history, when they won the Ronan Cup at British GAA

British GAA

The British Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association or British GAA is the only provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Great Britain...

 headquarters at Emerald GAA Grounds

Emerald GAA Grounds

The Emerald G.A.A Grounds , otherwise known as Ruislip GAA are the current headquarters, and principal gaelic games facility, of the Gaelic County Board of London. The grounds is the current venue for the finals of the Toureen Mangan Junior Football Championship, the Intermediate Football...

 , London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. They defeated Clann na Gael by 3-11 to 1-11. However, they were eliminated from the Warwickshire SHC by Casement's at the semi-final stage by conceding a goal in the last minute, and were again thwarted by Casement's in the Houlihan Cup semi-final, where they were beaten by four points in September 2006.
2010 was a historic year for the Fullen Gaels club as they won the Wawrickshire and All-Britain Hurling Championships. They hosted eventual All-Ireland winners Meelin

Meelin GAA

Meelin GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Meelin, Cork, Ireland which forms part of the parish of Rockchapel and Meelin. The club is affiliated to the Duhallow division of Cork GAA. The club has both a hurling and a Gaelic football teams...

 in the Al-Ireland Quarter Final, losing after a galant display.They have not played John Mitchels in the league in years

The Clubs name is derived from Rev. Fr. Emmet Fullen of Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, who was a founding member of the St Lawrences GFC, Previous Lancashire County Board Chairman and Lancashire Player.

The Crest was designed by Seán Hackett who also designed the Lancashire County Board Crest. The crest depicts the red rose of Lancashire.

Honours

2005: Runners-up, Warwickshire Senior Hurling Championship; Runners-up, Warwickshire Houlihan Cup

2006: Winners, London Ronan Cup

2008: Runners-up, Warwickshire Senior Hurling Championship;

2009: Runners-up, Warwickshire Senior Hurling Championship;

2010: Winners, Warwickshire Senior Hurling Championship; All Britain hurling club Champions

External links

• http://thefullengaels.com Fullen Gaels website
• http://www.gaa.ie GAA official website
• http://www.hoganstand.com