Leitrim GAA

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

The Canaries
The Ridge County[1]

The Green and Gold[2]
County colours:

Emerald Green, Gold

         
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.

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. They have won the Connacht Senior Football Championship on two occasions,the first in 1927 and their second 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 retained 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, Colin McNulty 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 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 took 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 won 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 retained 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 Bernard Flynn Goalkeeper Leitrim Gaels
2 Michael McWeeney Right Corner Back St. Mary's Kiltoghert
3 Ronan Gallagher Full Back Mohill
4 Paddy Maguire Left Corner Back Glencar/Manorhamilton
5 James Rooney Right Half Back Glencar/Manorhamilton
6 Donal Wrynn(c) Centre Back Fenagh
7 Oisin Madden Left Half Back Mohill
8 Shane Moran Midfield Sean O'Heslin's
9 Damien Moran Midfield Bornacoola
10 Jack Heslin Right Half Forward Gortletteragh
11 Brendan Gallagher Centre Forward Lucan Sarsfields
12 Ryan O'Rourke Left Half Forward Fenagh
13 Keith Beirne Right Corner Forward Mohill
14 Keith Beirne Full Forward Mohill
15 Darragh Rooney Left Corner Forward Melvin Gaels
No. Player Position Club
16 Philip Farrelly Substitute Sean O'Heslin's
17 Matthew Murphy Substitute Sean O'Heslin's
18 Noel Plunkett Substitute Aughawillan
19 Alan Armstrong Substitute Mohill
20 Gary Reynolds Substitute St Oliver Plunketts/ER
21 Wayne McKeon Substitute Sean O'Heslin's
22 Gary Plunkett Substitute Aughawillan
23 Ronan Kennedy Substitute Mohill
24 Dean McGovern Substitute Sean O'Heslin's
25 James Mitchell Substitute Mohill
26 Conor Cullen Substitute Aughnasheelin

Squad as per Leitrim vs London, 2017 Connacht Senior Football Championship First Round, 28 May 2017

Hurling

On the 20 May 2017 Leitrim beat Sligo in Round 5 of the Lory Meagher Cup on a scoreline of 3-15 to 3-08 to qualify for the final in Croke Park[8][9]

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,"[10] three new camogie clubs are to be established in Leitrim and a county board assembled by 2015.[11]

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. ↑ "Connacht JFC final: Leitrim stun Mayo in Charlestown thriller". Hogan Stand. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  8. ↑ http://www.leitrimobserver.ie/video/sport/250991/watch-leitrim-hurlers-celebrate-reaching-croke-park-after-victory-over-sligo.html
  9. ↑ https://www.balls.ie/gaa/leitrim-hurlers-366770
  10. ↑ "Final goal for camogie". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  11. ↑ National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page on camogie.ie, pdf download (778k) from Camogie.ie download site
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