Offaly GAA

For more details of Offaly GAA see Offaly Senior Football Championship or Offaly Senior Hurling Championship.

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Irish:	Uíbh Fhailí
Nickname(s):	The Faithful County
Province:	Leinster
Dominant sport:	Dual county
Ground(s):	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
County colours:	Green, white, gold
County teams
NFL:	Division 3
NHL:	Division 2A
Football Championship:	Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:	Christy Ring Cup

The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Uíbh Fhailí) or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly. Separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly inter-county teams.

Hurling

After a scheme developed by the Gaelic Athletic Association in the 1970s to encourage the playing of hurling in non-traditional counties, Offaly was one of the first teams to benefit from such a scheme. As a result, the county won six Leinster titles in the 1980s, as well as their first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981.

The county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offaly's most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the "five minute final." Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time, scoring two goals and five points in the last five minutes. They defeated Limerick by 3–16 to 2–13. The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one.

Modern Day Hurling: A poor year in 2019 seen Offaly relegated from League and Championship. Michael fennelly appiontment has renewed optimism in the county. Notable Players: Shane Dooley, son of the great Joe Dooley. Oisin Kelly. Eoghan Cahill. Ben Connelley.

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships: 4
  • 1981, 1985, 1994, 1998
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championships: None
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships: 3
  • 1986, 1987, 1989
• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: 2
  • 1923, 1929
• National Hurling Leagues: 1
  • 1991
• National Hurling League Div 2: 2
  • 2005. 2009
• Leinster Senior Hurling Championships: 9
  • 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995
• Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championships: 5
  • 1978, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2000
• Leinster Minor Hurling Championships: 4
  • 1986, 1987, 1989, 2000
• Walsh Cup: 5
  • 1977, 1981, 1990, 1993, 1994
• Leinster Junior Hurling Championships: 7
  • 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1938, 1953

U16 arrabawn all Ireland hurling division A shield (2016)

U17 Celtic challenge division 1 shield (2016)

Senior team [2019]

1 Eoghan Cahill 2 Tom Spain 3 Niall Houlihan 4 Ben Coneelly 5 David O’Toole Greene 6 Pat Camon 7 Damien egan 8 David king 9 Shane kinsella 10 Oisín Kelly 11 Conor Mahon 12 Colin Egan 13 Shane Dooley 14 Joe Bergin 15 Colm Gath

Gaelic football

Perhaps the most famous moment in Gaelic football history came in the 1982 All-Ireland Final when Offaly played Kerry. The match was a repeat of the previous year's final, however, not only that but a win for Kerry would give them an unprecedented fifth All-Ireland Final victory in a row. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Séamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored one of the most famous goals in Gaelic football of all time. Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one single point with a score of 1–15 to 0–17. The Offaly Vocational Schools Team have made it to six All Ireland finals but lost all six including the first final when they were beaten by the Cork City team in 1961. Currently Offaly football is in a bad place.

Modern Day Football: In 2019 Offaly struggled under expierenced manger John Maughan, winning only 3 of 14 competiitve matches. Notable players: Niall Mcnamee. Nigel Dunne (who is no longer on the panel due to personal issues). Niall darby, from the famous Darby clan in Rhode co. Offaly

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 3
  • 1971, 1972, 1982
• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships: 1
  • 1988
• All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 1
  • 1964
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: None
• National Football Leagues: 1
  • 1998

National Football League Division 4 2015

• Leinster Senior Football Championships: 10
  • 1960, 1961, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1997
• Leinster Under-21 Football Championships: 8
  • 1968, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1995
• Leinster Minor Football Championships: 6
  • 1947, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1989
• Leinster Junior Football Championships: 4
  • 1935, 1972, 1998, 2001
• O'Byrne Cups: 6
  • 1954, 1961, 1981, 1993, 1997, 1998

Current football squad

• Manager: John Maughann

No. Player Position Club 1 Paddy Dunican Goalkeeper Shamrocks GAA 2 Declan Hogan Right Corner Back Rhode 3 Eoin Rigney Full Back Rhode 4 Davey Dempsey Left Corner Back Balycommon 5 Niall Darby Right Half Back Rhode 6 Johnny Maloney Centre Back Tullamore 7 Cian Donohue Left Half Back St Bridgets 8 Eoin Carroll Midfield Cappincur 9 Cathal Mangan Midfield Kilclonfert 10 Shane Horan Right Half Forward Kilmacud Crokes 11 Peter Cunningham Centre Forward Bracknagh 12 Michael Brazil Left Half Forward Tullamore 13 Right Corner Forward Shamrocks 14 Niall McNamee Full Forward Rhode 15 Bernard Allen Left Corner Forward Tubber GAA

Squad as per Offaly v Westmeath, 2017 Leinster Senior Football Championship Quarter Final, 11 June 2017

Camogie

Nine Offaly camogie clubs were organised in the 1930s and Offaly entered the Leinster championships of 1935 and 1936, but the game declined amid the Camogie Association disputes of the 1940s and had to be revived by Clare-born Mary O’Brien in 1973, and a county board re-formed in 1979. Offaly won their first major national titles in 2002 when they won the second division of the National Camogie League and in 2009 when they defeated Waterford in the All Ireland junior final. Drumcullen reached the final of the All Ireland club junior championship in 2003. Kinnity owon the Division 3 shield at Féile na nGael in 1997, Drumcullen won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield in 1997.

Notable players include soaring star award winners Karen Brady, Elaine Dermody, Audrey Kennedy, Michaela Morkan, Fiona Stephens, and Arlene Watkins. Miriam O’Callaghan served as president of the Camogie Association).

Under Camogie’s National Development Plan 2010–2015, “Our Game, Our Passion,” five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015.

See also

• Offaly Senior Football Championship
• Offaly Senior Hurling Championship

Bibliography

• Official History Of Offaly GAA by P J Cunningham and Ricey Scully (1984)
• Ballycumber GAA 1890–1984 edited by Eddie Cunningham
• Tullamore GAA Club History by John Clarke (1984)

External links

• Offaly GAA site