Dr. Crokes

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Dr. Crokes
Founded: 1886
County: Kerry
Nickname: The Crokes
Club Colours: Black & Amber
Grounds: Lewis Road, Killarney
Team colours Team colours Team colours
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Senior Club Championships
All Ireland Munster
champions		 Kerry
champions
Football : 1 3 6


Dr. Crokes is a Gaelic football club based in Killarney in County Kerry. Famous current players include Colm "Gooch" Cooper and Eoin Brosnan.

Dr. Crokes are the most successful GAA team in Killarney and its surrounding environs, with their most notable triumph being the capture of the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 1992 along with the Munster Club Championship in 1991 and 1992. The club has also won the Kerry Senior Football Championship on 5 separate occasions, the last being in 2000.

The Dr Crokes are the only club in Killarney with a Hurling team, this team has had 2 notable successes; winning the Kerry Intermediate Hurling Championship in 1999 and 2001.

Dr. Crokes' Trainer Pat O'Shea has been selected to train the Kerry Senior Football team for the 2007 Season but will also continue to train the Crokes until the end of their Club Championship campaign.

Contents

[edit] 2006/07 Season

Dr. Crokes reached the Kerry County Championship in 2006 after victories against Kenmare, Milltown/Castlemaine and Mid Kerry, but lost by a single point to South Kerry.

Dr. Crokes went on to represent Kerry in the 2006 All Ireland Club Championship due to them being the last club team remaining in the County Championship.

On November 26th they defeated Nemo Rangers of Cork by 2-10 to 10 pts, the first time that a Kerry team had ever defeated Nemo in the Club Championship.

They won the Munster Club Championship title on December 10th courtesy of a narrow 2-05 to 0-08 victory against The Nire of Waterford.

The Crokes defeated Great Britain Champions St. Brendan's of London in Ruislip on January 28th by 2-12 to 0-05 courtesy of two second half penalties by Colm Cooper.

Dr. Crokes defeated Moorefield, the Kildare and Leinster Champions, in the All Ireland Club Semi Final after a closely fought replay in Nenagh in February.

Dr. Crokes played Crossmaglen Rangers in the AIB All Ireland Club Championship final in Croke Park on St. Patricks Day 2007 and the sides played out a competitive and entertaining 1-09 to 1-09 draw. The replay took place in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise, on 1 April and Crossmaglen won on a scoreline of 0-13 to 1-05.

[edit] History

Dr. Crokes was founded in 1886. Many members were involved in politics and a lot of them ended up in English prisons. One of the first notable players was Dick Fitzgerald who was a huge part of the team that brought the first All-Ireland title to the Kingdom in 1903. Another notable club member of that time is Eugene O'Sullivan, a nationalist M.P., who became chairman of the Kerry county board and it was during his rule that Kerry won 4 more of the any All-Ireland titles.

A total of 77 senior All Ireland medals have been won to date by Dr Croke players.

In addition to the Kerry players, Dr. Crokes Dr. Eamon O’Sullivan, coached and trained Kerry All Ireland winning teams, beginning in 1924, and ending in 1962.

Dr. Crokes have owned four playing fields; the first being in The Cricket Field, Flesk Bridge which was used up to the 1930s. In 1936 Fitzgerald Stadium was built by the club members in memory of Dr. Croke and Kerry legend Dick Fitzgerald. The past 20 years two new playing complexes have been acquired and developed by the club at Deerpark and Lewis Rd. to cater for the ever increasing number of members.

Fr. Tom Looney, when writing of the Clubs early years, said that the senior team had played tournaments and challenges before the County Board was formed. He also stated that the Club captain – John Langford – was one of the committee members at the inaugural meeting of the Kerry county board and that the Club lost the first Kerry County final to Laune Rangers, in what all agreed was the finest match ever witnessed.

Another County final was lost in 1900 before the beginning of a glorious spell when their deeds spread far and wide, and they became known as the Clean Air Boys, or Dickeen Fitz’s (Dick Fitzgerald) team. Four county championships in a sixteen –year run including 3- in- a- row 1912,1913 and 1914 followed.

The club did go into decline, having very lean times on the football field in the 1930’s, 40’s and early 50’s, which was surprising because they could still call on some top class players – three county players at any given time, and the administration was well organized.

In the 1950s becoming once again the dominant team in East Kerry, winning ten O’Donoghue Cup’s in another fifteen year spell, but unfortunately failing in the final stages of the Kerry Senior Football Championship. Maybe no great success in winning for a few years after, but this time the standard was held, and entering the 1980’s with a youth policy in place for some years , everyone had hopes for a repeat of the early glory years – this time they were not disappointed.

Everything seemed to come right in the centennial (1986), when the Dr. Crokes were again performing against the best and winning –County Intermediate, County Club Championship, County League, a set back again in two County Finals, but eventually going on to become Kerry County Champions, Munster Club Champions on two occasions, and then the ultimate prize – the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship, won in Croke Park on St. Patrick's Day 1992.

Hurling, which played such an important role within the club in the 1920’s, and 30’s and 40’s, was revived and organized in the centennial year. In a short time they have made a huge impact – winning East Kerry competitions, County League Division 3, and were crowned Intermediate Champions of Kerry for 1999 and again in 2000 .

Camogie was a game which the Dr. Croke ladies were very proficient in during the 1920/1930s. Now the ladies are very much into the football, showing the same expertise and skill and forging a name for themselves in the County and already under age players have gone on to represent Kerry and have won All Ireland medals at under 14’s and 16’s.

Dr. Crokes have three Senior teams – A,B & C, an under 21, minor, under 16’s,14’s,12’s, and coaching every Saturday mornings for under 6,8, &10’s.

[edit] Books

Dr. Crokes clubmen have published 5 Gaelic football related books:

  • Dick Fitzgerald's: How to play Gaelic football (1914)
  • Dr. Eamonn O'Sullivan: The Art and Science of Gaelic football (1958)
  • Club History: Dr. Crokes Gaelic Century (1886-1986)
  • Club History: Decade of Glory 1986-1996
  • Pat O’Shea’s: Gaelic football, Training Drills (1996).

[edit] Notable Players

A few of the notable Dr. Crokes players who got All-Ireland medals with the Kerry GAA team are:

  • Paul Russell
  • Dee O’Connor
  • Tim O’Donnell
  • Bill Landers
  • Murt Kelly
  • Billy Myers
  • Teddy O’Connor
  • Dan Kavanagh
  • Tadhgie Lyne
  • Tom Long
  • Donie Sullivan

[edit] Other notable members

  • Jerry O’Leary, Kerry Selector on many occasions, football historian, very much involved in the purchase of Croke Park
  • Michael O’Connor’s, a man who made a huge contribution to the Fitzgerald Stadium, the playing fields of Kerry, while Chairman of Kerry’s Bord na bPairc, and as treasurer and Chairman of the Munster Council.
  • John Langford
  • Archbishop Dr Croke Patron
  • Maurice Francis O’Leary
  • Jack O'Keeffe - Former Club Patron and winner of All-Ireland Minor medal in 1931 (RIP)
  • Mort O'Shea - Club Patron
  • John Moynihan - Club President
  • Andy Mulcahy
  • Dick Fitzgerald
  • Jer O'Leary
  • Paddy Looney
  • Teddy O'Connor
  • Paddy Sexton
  • Michael O'Connor
  • Nellie Kavanagh - Club Vice-President
  • Bridie O'Shea - Club Vice-President
  • Eddie Barry
  • Colm Cooper

[edit] Roll of Honour

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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