Celbridge GAA

Celbridge GAA
Cill Droichid
Founded:	1885
County:	Kildare
Colours:	Blue & White Alternate: Red & Black
Grounds:	Hazelhatch Road, Celbridge.
Coordinates:	53°19′39″N 6°31′32″W / 53.327413°N 6.525570°W
Playing kits
	Standard colours
	Standard colours
Senior Club Championships

Celbridge is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Celbridge, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. They were awarded Kildare GAA club of the year in 2008, winners of the Kildare senior football championship of 2008, finalists in the senior football league of 1923, 1988 and 2008 and won the Kildare senior hurling and camogie championships in 2005. The Club have several honours at underage in all three codes, qualifying for national finals in football, hurling and camogie at the 2008 Féile and winning the county under-14 football Féile final for the first time.

History

Celbridge GAA club was formed in July 1885, less than a year after the G.A.A. was founded in Thurles in November 1884. Initially an athletics club, Celbridge G.A.A., under its first Chairman, William Gogarty, hosted a sports meeting on 15 August 1885. According to The Leinster Leader the event was "a decided success". Celbridge G.A.A. Club was the third G.A.A. club to be founded in Kildare and, by 1890, two clubs from the district were competing in Championship football. These were Hazelhatch Harpers, based in the vicinity of the railway station and Celbridge Shamrocks, based in Ballygoran. Around the turn of the century, Hazelhatch Harpers moved to the Dublin Championship competitions and a team listed simply as Celbridge were affiliated to the Kildare County Board. In the early years of the 20th century Celbridge fielded both hurling and football tearns. The 1906 hurlers, who defeated Clane in the county final, included many surnames still familiar in club circles - E. King, J.McGrath, P. Donovan.Celbridge Senior hurlers won the 1921 Championship in May 1923 - the time lapse being due to the political unrest of the civil war era. The star of the day was the irrepressible Owen "Skipper" Murphy, an outstanding performer throughout his playing career, which stretched to the early fifties, in both football and hurling. The high point of the club's history in the thirties was the victory of Intermediate Football Championship. - again under "Skipper" Murphy.In the mid forties an attempt to purchase a field, rented by the club, close to the site of the Setanta Hotel failed. A change of ownership of the field eventually led to a court order to the club to quit the pitch. Costs were awarded against a number of club members and bailiffs impounded cattle and hay, the property of one club member, until the costs were paid (by the County Board!).The question of a pitch continued to be a vexed one and, over the years, the club moved from rented pitch to rented pitch, until the pre- sent pitch was purchased in the late eighties. Camogie was introduced to the club in 1953 and blossomed in the fifties and early sixties with the club winning a Championship and a number of members playing on the county team. Over the years Celbridge, like all clubs, won and lost finals and the hurling, football and camogie teams provided a valuable focal point for all in the community. By the mid seventies the village of Celbridge began to expand rapidly. This expansion brought newcomers to the village from literally every county in Ireland. By the mid-eighties the newcomers had become involved in club teams and activities and the under-age section began to thrive. At this time also the club won championship titles at both Junior and Intermediate levels. In the early nineties a new executive committee began the mammoth task of raising funds to build the present club house - and by 1995 the dream had become a reality. [www.celbridgegaa.com] ^[1]

Gaelic Football

Barney Rock managed the Celbridge team when they won their first ever Kildare Senior Football Championship in 2008, defeating Newbridge Sarsfields by 1–10 to 0–11. Celbridge won the 1922 Junior F final and first played in the final of the Leinster Leader Cup of 1923, played in 1924. Owen 'Skipper' Murphy captained the team which won the Intermediate championship in 1936, highlight of a career that stretched from the 1920s to the 1950s. Martin Byrne was selected for Kildare after that success. Celbridge were senior again in the late 1980s after a victory in the 1987 Intermediate championship and reached the 1989 county semi-final by a point to Clane. Area side with Celbridge, St Wolstan's fought a semi-final battle with Ballyteague in 1974 that took three matches to decide and another in 1975 with Clane that took two matches. They also lost the 1976 quarter-final in a replay. Shelbourne's youth international soccer star Vincent McKenna lined out with St. Wolstan's, and scored a dramatic equaliser in that first semi-final against Ballyteague. Celbridge contested the 2008 SFL Division One final for the first time in two decades, losing only one game throughout the series, winning twelve and drawing three.

The football manager is Trevor O'Sullivan.

Current Panel

Shane McNamara
Kevin Flynn
Ollie Lyons
Mick O'Grady
Hugh McGrillen
Fergal Conway (c)
Tony Archbold
Shane Harte
David Hughes
Paddy Brophy
David Byrne

Hurling

Celbridge has won six senior hurling Championships in Kildare. On 2 October 2011, Celbridge completed a famous three in a row of championship titles when they beat local rivals Confey 2–16 to 0–15. In 2009 and 2010 they beat Coill Dubh in both finals. Their previous successes dates back to 1921 and then again in 2005, with Jimmy Doyle as team manager in 05. The team were certainly good enough to claim titles in the interim between 2005 and 2009 however missed out narrowly in three county semi-finals. The current crop of senior players include numerous county players. The club have had three Kildare hurler of the year winners, Donal Moloney (2005), Tony Murphy (2009) and Mark Moloney (2010). In previous years Billy White, Tony Murphy, Mattie O' Dowd and Niall O' Muineachain have won Christy Ring all-star awards. Billy White was nominated for Christy Ring Hurler of the Year in 2007. The senior hurlers were also crowned All-Ireland Intermediate Elevens Champions in 2011. The basis for these successes were numerous underage county titles won throughout the last decade. The club's first minor title in 2000 was the club's first breakthrough and to this day many of that team form the spine of the club's senior team. The current senior team have a bright future with many talented young players coming through. Celbridge were named Kildare Hurling Club of the year 2010. Simon Holmes, a name known nationally for his humanitarian efforts, lines out for the Celbridge hurlers.

Camogie

Celbridge was founded by Fr Val Martin in 1953 but lapsed 1972-7 and 1989–95. The club joined with Straffan in 1961 and won the 1962 junior championship. In 1977 the club revived and won the junior league in 1978 and junior championship and league double in 1985. St Wolstan's play in Dublin colleges competition. Bridget Cushen was selected on the Kildare camogie team of the century. Senior and u-21 championship winners 2005. Celbridge won the 2006 senior championship and narrowly missed out on a "three-in-a-row" after defeat in the 2007 decider to St Laurences. Susan O'Carroll and Deirdre Corcoran have been nominated for national All-Stars while O'Carroll was named on the Ashbourne Cup All-Stars, while playing for the victorious UCD team in 2007 and also in 2008 where she captained the side.

Honours

Kildare Senior Football Championship: (1) 2008
Kildare Senior Hurling Championship: (8) 1921, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011 2013, 2016, 2018
Kildare Senior Football League Division 1: (1) 2014
Kildare Senior Football League Division 2: (1) 2002
Kildare Senior Hurling League 2003, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012
Kildare Intermediate Football Championship: (2) 1987, 2002
Kildare Intermediate Hurling Championship (3) 2007, 2008, 2013
Kildare Intermediate Hurling League (8) 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014
Kildare Senior Football league Div.7 (1) 2008
Kildare Under 21 Football Championship: (3) 2005, 2012, 2014
Kildare U-21 Hurling Championship (5) 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015
Kildare Minor Hurling Champions (7) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012
Kildare Minor Hurling League (1) 2012
Kildare Minor Football Championship (1) 2011
Kildare Minor Football League Div. 1 (3) 2010, 2011 & 2012
Kildare Junior Football Championship (3) 1923, 1958, 1986
Kildare Junior Hurling Championship (2) 1991, 2002
Kildare Junior Camogie championship (4) 1962, 2000 (combined with Straffan), 1985, 2001,
Kildare Junior Camogie League (2) 1985, 2000
Kildare Under-16 Hurling Div 1 League (1) 2015
Kildare Under-16 Hurling Div 1 Championship (1) 2014
All Ireland U-14 Féile Football Div. 1 Finalists 2006, 2008
Hurling U-14 Feile Div 1 Shield Winners & Feile Div 3 Cup Winners (1) 2015
All Ireland U-14 Féile Hurling Final Runner-up 2012
Kildare Senior Camogie League (4) 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014
Kildare Minor Camogie Championship (3) 2012, 2013, 2014
Under 14 All Ireland Camogie Feile (1) 2010
Kildare U-21 Camogie Championship (6) 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013
Kildare Senior Camogie Championship (3) 2005, 2006, 2010

^[2]

Bibliography

Celbridge GAA by Darragh MacIntyre (Celbridge GAA 1984)
Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by Eoghan Corry, CLG Chill Dara, 1984, ISBN 0-9509370-0-2 hb ISBN 0-9509370-1-0 pb
Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000– in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000
Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904–2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board.
Celbridge GAA Millennium Yearbook 2000, by John Moriarity
Celbridge GAA Yearbook, by Niall Lanigan 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009

References

^ http://www.celbridgegaa.com/gaa/index.php/home/history
^ celbridge, gaa club. "honours". celbridge. celbridge gaa club. Retrieved 29 November 2016.

External links

[1] ttp://www.celbridgegaa.com/gaa/index.php/home/history

[2] ridge, gaa club. "honours". celbridge. celbridge gaa club. Retrieved 29 November 2016.

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