Magherafelt GAC
Encyclopedia
O'Donovan Rossa GAC Magherafelt is a Gaelic Athletic Association
club based in Magherafelt
, County Londonderry
, Northern Ireland
. The club is a member of the Derry GAA
and currently cater for Gaelic football
, Camogie
and Ladies' Gaelic football
. Underage teams play in the South Derry league and championships. The club is named after Irish patriot and revoltuionary Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
.
The club have won the Derry Senior Football Championship on six occasions. Underage teams up to U-12's play in South Derry league and championships, from U-14 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions.
Having recently read Pádraig Pearse's now famous graveside oration
at Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
's funeral, Pat McFlynn proposed the idea of calling the call after O’Donovan Rossa. His proposal was accepted and it was also decided that the club would play in red and white colours.
Magherafelt moved to their current ground Rossa Park (or The County Grounds) in 1941, having previously played at Bellvue Park and Millbrook Park. The club won their first Derry Senior Football Championship in 1939 and added four more in the 1940s. In 1978 after a gap of 29 years, the team won the Senior Championship for a sixth time.
. In the past it was the main ground for the Derry inter-county
matches, but this ended in the 1970s. Celtic Park
in Derry City
is now Derry's main county ground.
Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.
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 based in Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, 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...
. The club is a member of the Derry GAA
Derry GAA
The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in the GAA county of Derry, which covers virtually the same territory as the former administrative county of Londonderry...
and currently 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...
, 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....
and Ladies' Gaelic football
Ladies' Gaelic football
Ladies' Gaelic football is a team sport for women, very similar to Gaelic football, and co-ordinated by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association...
. Underage teams play in the South Derry league and championships. The club is named after Irish patriot and revoltuionary Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa , was an Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. His life as an Irish Fenian is well documented but he is perhaps known best in death for the graveside oration given at his funeral by Pádraig Pearse.-Life in Ireland:He was born at...
.
The club have won the Derry Senior Football Championship on six occasions. Underage teams up to U-12's play in South Derry league and championships, from U-14 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions.
Gaelic football
Magherafelt fields Gaelic football teams at U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, Minor, Reserve and Senior levels. The Senior team competes in the Derry Senior Football Championship and Division 2 of the Derry ACFL.Well known players
- Barry GillisBarry GillisBarry Gillis is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Derry, with whom he has won the National League twice. He plays his club football for Magherafelt O'Donovan Rossa.Gillis plays full forward for Magherafelt, but plays as goalkeeper for Derry...
- Current Derry player - Joe Keenan- Current Derry player
- Gerry O'Loughlin - Former Derry & Ulster player.
- Frank Niblock - Former Derry player.
- Mickey NiblockMickey NiblockMickey Niblock is an Irish retired Gaelic footballer who played for Derry between 1966 and 1973. He won an Ulster Senior Football Championship with the county, as well as Ulster Minor, Ulster Under 21, All-Ireland Minor and All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championships.Niblock started his club career...
- Former Derry player.
History
O'Donovan Rossa GAC Magherafelt was established on 15 April 1934. The founding members were Pat McFlynn, Pat Keenan, Gerry Gallagher, Paddy Collins, John Walls, John Kearns and Charlie McFlynn.Having recently read Pádraig Pearse's now famous graveside oration
Ireland unfree shall never be at peace
"Ireland unfree shall never be at peace" were the climactic closing words of the graveside oration of Patrick Pearse at the funeral of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa on 1 August 1915...
at Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa , was an Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. His life as an Irish Fenian is well documented but he is perhaps known best in death for the graveside oration given at his funeral by Pádraig Pearse.-Life in Ireland:He was born at...
's funeral, Pat McFlynn proposed the idea of calling the call after O’Donovan Rossa. His proposal was accepted and it was also decided that the club would play in red and white colours.
Magherafelt moved to their current ground Rossa Park (or The County Grounds) in 1941, having previously played at Bellvue Park and Millbrook Park. The club won their first Derry Senior Football Championship in 1939 and added four more in the 1940s. In 1978 after a gap of 29 years, the team won the Senior Championship for a sixth time.
Rossa Park
The club's home ground is Rossa Park, located on the road between Magherafelt and CastledawsonCastledawson
Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh , about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and close to the market town of Magherafelt...
. In the past it was the main ground for the Derry inter-county
Derry GAA
The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in the GAA county of Derry, which covers virtually the same territory as the former administrative county of Londonderry...
matches, but this ended in the 1970s. Celtic Park
Celtic Park (Derry)
Celtic Park is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the main home of the Derry GAA's hurling and Gaelic football teams. The ground has a capacity of about 22,000....
in Derry City
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"...
is now Derry's main county ground.
Senior
- Derry Senior Football Championship: 6
- 1939, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1978
- Derry Junior Football ChampionshipDerry Junior Football ChampionshipThe Derry Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the Junior Derry clubs...
: 2- 1960, 1963
Minor
- Derry Minor Football Championship: 4
- 1959, 1972, 1992, 2010
- Hughes/McElwee Memorial Cup: 2
- 2009, 2010
U-16
- Derry U-16 Football Championship: 5
- 1958, 1959, 1964, 2004, 2009
- South Derry U-16 Football Championship: 4
- 1958, 1959, 1964, 2004
- Derry U-16 Football League: 2
- 2007, 2008
- South Derry U-16 Football League: 2
- 1990, 2004,
- Derry U-16 Ladies Championship:1
- 2009
U-14
- All-Ireland Féile na nÓg: 1
- 2007
- Derry Féile na nÓg: 4
- 1988, 2002, 2005, 2007
- Derry U-14 Football Championship: 2
- 1987, 2005
- Derry U-14 Football League: 1
- 2007
- South Derry U-14 Football Championship: 4
- 1985, 1987, 1988, 2005
- South Derry U-14 Football League: 3
- 1985, 1987, 1988
Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.
See also
- Derry Senior Football Championship
- List of Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in Derry