Hertfordshire GAA
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| Province: | Britain | ||||||||||||||||
| County Colours: | Green and Yellow | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dominant Sport: | Gaelic Football | ||||||||||||||||
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The Hertfordshire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (Irish: Cummann Luthchleas Gael Coiste ?) or Hertfordshire GAA is responsible for Gaelic Games in Hertfordshire. The county board is also responsible for the London inter-county football, hurling, camogie and ladies football teams.
The County board was created in 1960 when it was deemed that the number of clubs in the region north of London supported a separate league. The area is not in fact just Hertfordshire but encompasses Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Hertfordshire is probably among the weakest of the British county board as a result of the small number of large population centres in the region it serves. It has further been effected by the general trend of reduced emigration from Ireland to the UK since the 1980's. As a result a number of the original clubs have folded - including the Milton Keynes based team Erin Go Bragh in 2005. However a resurgence may be under way. The youth sections of Glen Rovers and St. Colmcille's are very healthy indeed while in 2006 a new Cambridge-based team joined the league.
[edit] Clubs
- Cambridge Parnells
- St. Colmcilles (St. Alban's)
- St. Vincent's (Luton)
- Erin Gaels (Luton)
- St. Dympna's (Luton)
- Erin Gaels (Oxford)
- Glen Rovers (Watford)
- Eoghan Ruadh (Luton) - competes in London GAA region in Hurling
- Luton Shamrocks - underage
Additional there exists two University teams in the region:
- University of Cambridge
- University of Oxford
[edit] History
Through the years the County has been unlucky, in not having any Silver Ware attached to their name, through their presence in the Junior All Ireland’s. The Footballers twice reached the finals, but were beaten by Galwayand Cork. In the late Sixties and early Seventies the Hurlers, played three finals, losing in replays on home turf to Meath and Antrim, but it was our defeat to Wicklow that is most notible. On that occasion the sides were level after extra time. The Clare referee, decided to play on until the first team scored. Herts being successful in doing so celebrated their victory, but victory was short lived. Wicklow appealed, successfully, to [[Central Council, and the game was replayed in Croke Park, where Wicklow won by three points.
Sixteen years later Herts again reached the final but lost to Galway. In 1995 they won the special Junior All Ireland when they beat Tyrone in Luton. In 1996 they again reached the final but this time Tyrone were victors in Omagh.
[edit] County Board
As of January 2006 the following people made up the county board:
- Jim Moss, St Colmcilles, Honarary Uachtaran
- John Gormley, Chairman
- Marty McManamon, Vice-Chairman
- Willie Joyce, Runai
- Bob Canty, Leas Runai
- Jerry Brennan, Treasurer
- Andy McCabe, Registrar
- Shane O'Neill, Development Officer
- Willie Joyce, PRO
- Willie Joyce & Marcus Folan, Provincial Council delegates
- Andy McCabe & Jim Moss, Provincial Council Proxy Delegates.
- Marcus Folan, Eire Og, County Youth Officer.
- Shane O'Neill, St Vincents, County Board Develoment Officer
