Leitrim GAA

Leitrim GAA
Irish: Liatroim
Province: Connacht
Nickname(s):

The Canaries
The Ridge County[1]

The Green and Gold[2]
County colours:          
Ground(s): Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada,
Carrick-on-Shannon
Dominant sport: Gaelic football
Competitions
NFL: Division 4
NHL: Division 3B
Football Championship: Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship: Lory Meagher Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football: Mary Quinn Memorial Cup
Camogie: Do not compete at adult level
Standard kit
Regular kit
Change kit

The Leitrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Liatroma) or Leitrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Leitrim. The county board is also responsible for the Leitrim inter-county teams. Leitrim were a force in the 1920s, winning an impressive haul of one Connacht and zero All-Ireland titles

Considered "Connacht's traditional minnows" and "one of the GAA's Cinderella counties",[3] Leitrim are never considered seriously as likely to win a major title. The county's senior Gaelic football team play in the Connacht Senior Football Championship and compete in Division 4 of the National Football League. Never having appeared in an All-Ireland final, they have won the Connacht Senior Football Championship on two occasions, most recently in 1994.

Leitrim have also been champions of the FBD Insurance League twice. They won the competition for the first time in 2013,[4] and managed to retain the title in 2014.[5]

Gaelic football

History

Leitrim's football history has brought sparse reward. They first competed in the All-Ireland in the 1907 championship. They were beaten by Roscommon on a score of 0-03 to 0-01 in the Connacht semi-final in their first ever match. The county won its first ever match in the 1910 championship, beating Sligo in the Connacht quarter-final by 0-03 to 0-00. They were then beaten by Galway in the semi-final.

Leitrim did not record another win until the 1914 championship. They beat Sligo by 5-07 0-02 to qualify for their first ever Connacht final but were beaten by Roscommon in the decider. In the semi-final of the 1924 Connacht Championship, Leitrim forced Mayo to a draw, then refused to play extra-time. Galway went on to be beaten in the final by Mayo following a replay. In 1927, with training from Sean O'Hehir, father of the veteran radio commentator Micheál and with the help of good fortune when Connacht semi-finalists Roscommon had to line out without five players whose car had broken down, Leitrim won their first ever Connacht title. Leitrim won the Connacht title and held Kerry to two points in the semi-final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

In the days of Cathal Flynn and Packie McGarty, both Connacht Railway Cup players, Leitrim lost four successive Connacht finals to Galway between 1957 and 1960, coming closest in 1958 when they equalised midway through the second half but were defeated by two points (Cathal Flynn scored 1-6). Flynn TOP SCORER ALL TIME LEITRIM 40 GOALS 365 POINTS, retired in 1966 from inter-county football while McGarty was at the end of his career when Leitrim were heavily beaten by a score 4-15 to 0-7 against Mayo in the Connacht final in 1967, scoring only one point from play. Leitrim won the National Football League Division 2 title and contested the 1959 NFL semi-final with a changed fullback line but were beaten by Derry by seven points. A new generation of Leitrim under-21 players hosted and nearly beat the great Kerry team at Carrick-on-Shannon in 1977 before losing by five points, 3-13 to 3-8. The expected breakthrough from Michael Martin and his men never happened.

John O'Mahony was appointed Leitrim manager to build on the success of the Under-21 team that won the 1991 Connacht Championship. He managed to take Leitrim to the final of the 1994 Connacht Championship. Leitrim did not have an easy route to the final, beating Roscommon by a point and only overcoming Galway by a point in a replay. They took on Mayo in the final, overcoming O'Mahony's native county by two points in Hyde Park. O'Mahony's feat in leading the team that is traditionally the weakest in the province to that title is still heralded nationally to this day.[6] Leitrim were ultimately beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final by Dublin at Croke Park. Since losing to Sligo in 1989, Leitrim had suffered a series of near-misses, and might have followed up 1994 against Galway, losing by a single point in 1995 and two points in 1996. The first county to benefit under the parentage rule was also the first to lose their big catch, with the loss of Declan Darcy to Dublin depleting the panel in 1998, bringing Leitrim's most successful era to an end.

Leitrim sprung a massive shock when they managed to win the FBD Insurance League in 2013, defeating their southern neighbours Sligo in the final. This was the county's fourth ever trophy and their first since 1994.[4] As the Irish Independent reported, "There may have been no danger of any cows going unmilked in Leitrim after this game, but winning their first FBD League title – and their first trophy in 19 years – sparked off some understandable early season celebrations for Connacht's traditional minnows".[3] They managed to retain the title in 2014, defeating Roscommon in the final.[5]

The county's Vocational Schools team have made it to two All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship Finals losing to Carlow in 1972 and Donegal in 1995.

Honours

National and provincial titles won by Leitrim teams

Notable players

Current football squad

No. Player Position Club
1 Cathal McCrann Goalkeeper Gortletteragh
2 Matthew Murphy Right Corner Back Sean O'Heslin's
3 Ronan Gallagher Full Back Mohill
4 Niall "Nolly" Woods Left Corner Back Gortletteragh
5 Seán McWeeney (c) Right Half Back Aughnasheelin
6 Gary Reynolds Centre Back Carrigallen
7 Thomas Mulvey Left Half Back Allen Gaels
8 Darren Sweeney Midfield Glencar/Manor
9 Shane Moran Midfield Sean O'Heslin's
10 Danny Beck Right Half Forward Mohill
11 Donal Wrynn Centre Forward Fenagh
12 Kevin Conlon Left Half Forward St. Patrick’s Dromahair
13 Ronan Kennedy Right Corner Forward Mohill
14 James McGrail Full Forward St. Mary's Kiltoghert
15 Fergal Clancy Left Corner Forward Glenfarne Kiltyclogher
No. Player Position Club
16 Diarmaid McKiernan Substitute Allen Gaels
17 Paddy McGowan Substitute St. Patrick's Dromahair
18 Barry Prior Substitute Aughawillan
19 Jonathan Connolly Substitute Melvin Gaels
20 Alan McLoughlin Substitute Mohill
21 Conor Farrell Substitute St.Mary's Kiltoghert
22 Ciarán Gilheany Substitute Aughawillan
23 Shane Quinn Substitute Mohill
24 Cian Clinton Substitute St. Patrick's Dromohair
25 Gary Plunkett Substitute Aughawillan
26 Mark Plunkett Substitute Aughawillan

Squad as per Leitrim vs Galway, 2015 Connacht Senior Football Championship, Quarter Final, 17 May 2015

Hurling

Honours

National and provincial titles won by Leitrim teams

Ladies' football

Manager: Liz Hurley

Honours

Camogie

History

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion,"[7] three new camogie clubs are to be established in Leitrim and a county board assembled by 2015.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Murphy, Cian (29 January 2013). "Barney and friends". Retrieved 29 January 2013. And it is only the Ridge County's fourth ever senior football crown...
  2. ↑ "County Board look to Breen & Dugdale in wake of shock Moran departure". Leitrim Observer. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011. Moran, starting his fourth year with the Green & Gold, had already drawn up a panel for the 2012 Allianz League campaign...
  3. 1 2 Foley, Cliona (28 January 2013). "Leitrim relish rare success". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Connacht League victory 'a huge lift' for Leitrim, says captain Emlyn Mulligan". RTÉ Sport. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Leitrim 2-05 Roscommon 1-07". Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Breheny, Martin (24 November 2012). "The import and export business". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 24 November 2012. the highest 'outside' football achiever in terms of titles is John O'Mahony...Steering Galway to All-Ireland wins in 1998 and 2001, ending a barren spell that extended back to 1966, was a huge achievement for O'Mahony, but, in many ways, leading Leitrim to their first Connacht title for 67 years in 1994 was just as noteworthy...given the small base from which Leitrim operate, winning a Connacht title is always a massive success story. All the more so in 1994 when they had to beat Galway, Roscommon and Mayo to claim the title.
  7. ↑ "Final goal for camogie". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 29 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  8. ↑ National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page on camogie.ie, pdf download (778k) from Camogie.ie download site

External links

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