Derry GAA

Within a year of the GAA's foundation in 1884, GAA clubs were established around the county in Derry, Desertmartin and Magherafelt.[2] However, the administration of Gaelic sports in the county took some time to get properly organised. A Derry county board was established in 1888 and paid affiliation fees to the GAA Central Council. By the following year, although 14 clubs were active, the then GAA President Maurice Davin told the national Congress that the county lacked enough clubs to have its own board. South Derry and North Derry regional boards were established in the 1890s. In the early decades (up to the 1930s), the Derry GAA competitions took in a number of clubs from County Donegal and Tyrone. At various times clubs in South Derry played in the Antrim GAA or Tyrone leagues. The local Catholic Church's opposition to playing games on Sundays hampered growth in the 1890s, but there was something of a revival in the 1900s, especially in hurling. The county also competed sporadically in the Ulster Football Championship from 1904. After the disruption caused by political conflict in the 1910s and early '20s, the county board was re-established briefly in 1926, and definitively in 1929, since when it has remained in existence.[2]

Derry home games are played in the county grounds at Celtic Park. Derry and Owenbeg, Dungiven.[3] Home football games are also sometimes held in Watty Graham Park, Glen or Dean McGlinchey Park, Ballinascreen, which are regarded as secondary stadia.[3] Hurling games are also held at Lavey or Fr McNally Park, Banagher. The current senior football manager is Rory Gallagher, while John McEvoy has been appointed Derry senior hurling manager for the incoming season. Mickey Donnelly is in charge of the Under 20 football team. The Minor football manager (U17) is Martin Boyle. The management teams for the U20 and Minor hurlers include Ryan O'Neill, Martin Birt and Kevin Kelly.

The GAA in the county is administered by a County Committee (or County Board) with a representative from each GAA club in the County, a Management Committee and a variable number of sub-committees.[4] The county administrative headquarters and centre of excellence are located at Owenbeg, Dungiven.[4]

For more details on this topic including team line-ups, see here

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: 1

1993

• National Football League Championship: 6

1947, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2008

• Ulster Senior Football Championship: 7

1958, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1987, 1993, 1998

• Dr. McKenna Cup: 11

1947, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1993, 1999, 2011

• Dr. Lagan Cup: 5

1945, 1947, 1950, 1953, 1959,

• Ulster Junior Football Championship: 7

1945, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1964, 1967, 1969

• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship: 2

1968, 1997

• Ulster Under-21 Football Championship: 7

1967, 1968, 1976, 1983, 1986, 1993, 1997

• All-Ireland Minor Football Championship: 4

1965, 1983, 1989, 2002

• Ulster Minor Football Championship: 14

1965, 1969, 1970, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2015, 2017[6]

• All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship: 3

1979, 1980, 1981

• Ulster Vocational Schools Championship: ?

?

Two Derry players have been awarded the Texaco Footballer of the Year award. Ballymaguigan's Jim McKeever won the inaugural award in 1958, while Henry Downey of the Lavey club received player of the year for his performances in helping Derry win the 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Since the 1960s there has been a tradition of annually selecting the best footballer in each position, to create a special team of the year. Between 1963 and 1967 these players received what was known as Cú Chulainn awards. In 1971 these awards were formalised into the annual All Stars Awards. Including Sean O'Connell's Cú Chulainn award in 1967, Derry have received 28 All Stars.

1967: Sean O'Connell^[A]
1973: Anthony McGurk
1975: Peter Stevenson, Anthony McGurk^2nd, Gerry McElhinney
1984: Dermot McNicholl
1987: Tony Scullion, Brian McGilligan
1992: Tony Scullion^2nd, Anthony Tohill, Enda Gormley
1993: Tony Scullion^3rd, Johnny McGurk, Henry Downey, Gary Coleman, Anthony Tohill^2nd, Brian McGilligan^2nd, Enda Gormley^2nd
1995: Tony Scullion^4th, Anthony Tohill^3rd
1996: Joe Brolly
1997: Joe Brolly^2nd
1998: Seán Marty Lockhart
2000: Kieran McKeever, Anthony Tohill^4th
2004: Enda Muldoon
2007: Kevin McCloy, Paddy Bradley

Player	1973	1975	1984	1987	1992	1993	1995	1996	1997	1998	2000	2004	2007
Anthony McGurk	Y	Y
Peter Stevenson		Y
Gerry McElhinney		Y
Dermot McNicholl			Y
Tony Scullion				Y	Y	Y	Y
Brian McGilligan				Y		Y
Anthony Tohill					Y	Y		Y			Y
Enda Gormley					Y	Y
Johnny McGurk						Y
Henry Downey						Y
Gary Coleman						Y
Joe Brolly								Y	Y
Sean Martin Lockhart										Y
Kieran McKeever											Y
Enda Muldoon												Y
Kevin McCloy													Y
Paddy Bradley													Y

Since 2006 the Gaelic Players Association have chosen their own team of the year. 2007: Paddy Bradley

A number of Derry players have been selected to play International rules football for the Ireland team against Australia; both in the test games (1984, 1986, 1987 and 1990) and since the commencement of the International Rules Series in 1998. Note the table is incomplete.

• Manager: Rory Gallagher
• Selectors: Enda Muldoon, Ciaran Meenagh

Squad as per Derry v Tyrone, 2017 Ulster Senior Football Championship 28 May 2017

• End of 2019 Championship
• 100+ Points Total

• End of 2019 Championship
• 50+ Appearances

• End of 2019 Championship
• 10+ Points Total

• End of 2019 Championship
• 30+ Points Total

• End of 2019 National League
• 100+ Points Total

• End of 2019 NFL
• 80+ Appearances

• End of 2019 League
• 10+ Points Total

• End of 2019 National League
• 50+ Points Total

As early as 1934, there were ten Derry camogie clubs.[12] Derry drew with Antrim in the Maguire Cup in 1954, and built on this progress to beat Antrim in that year's Ulster Senior Camogie Championship final by 5–02 to 2-02 - the county's first Ulster Senior Camogie Championship title.[12] They went on to defeat Mayo and London en route to the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship final.[12] However they were beaten by an impressive Dublin side, who had not lost a competitive match since 1947, on a scoreline of 10–04 to 4-02.[12] Theresa Halferty, Carrie Rankin, Patsy McCloskey and Pat O'Brien from this team were chosen on the Ulster team for the inaugural Gael Linn Cup inter-provincial series, but the county's appearance in the 1954 All-Ireland decider did little to further the game in Derry.[12] The county won the Ulster championship and contested the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship final in 1954. They had previously defeated Antrim in the first round of the 1948 championship, but then surprisingly lost to Down.

Derry reached the final of the All Ireland intermediate championship in 2001, and won the All-Ireland Junior Camogie Championship four times, in 1969, 1978, 2000 and 2007. Derry dominated the new under-16 B championship after its introduction in 2006, winning the finals of 2006,[13] 2007[14] 2008[15] and 2010[16] They followed up by winning the Minor B championship in 2010[17]

Derry won further Ulster Senior Camogie Championships in 1989, 1990, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006.[18] The county have also won Ulster Junior Camogie Championships 1960, 1967, 1969, 1978, 1986, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007.[19] The minor camogie side have won the Ulster Minor Championship on nine occasions (1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003).[20]

Swatragh qualified for the final of the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship in 2001. Lavey won the 2009 All Ireland junior club title.[21]

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion,"[22] five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015.[23]

Notable players include All Star award winners[24] Aisling Diamond and Grainne McGoldrick.

Notes: The above list of honours may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

The Camogie All Star Awards were first introduced in 2004[25] and Aisling Diamond of Bellaghy won became the first winner from Derry in 2007.[26]