Longford GAA

Longford GAA
Irish: An Longfort
Province: Leinster
Nickname(s): Longford
Ground(s): Pearse Park, Longford
Dominant sport: Gaelic football
Competitions
NFL: Division 4
NHL: Division 3A
Football Championship: Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship: Lory Meagher Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football: Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie: Do not compete at adult level
Standard kit

The Longford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Luúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae an Longfort) or Longford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Longford. The county board is also responsible for the Longford inter-county teams.

History

Despite the small population of the county, Longford emerged to win the 1966 National Football League and 1968 Leinster Senior Football Championship, and have since contributed some outstanding personalities to GAA history.

Green and white hooped jerseys were used by Longford up to 1918 when a royal blue jersey with a gold sash was adopted. Around 1930 the sash disappeared but the gold trim was retained.

Gaelic football

Jackie Devine set up two goals for Longford in the last six minutes of the 1968 Leinster Senior Football Championship final to beat Laois by 3-9 to 1-4, where Sean Donnelly and Jim Hannify were the scorers. It was their only Leinster title, and it came two years after a great victory over Galway by nine points to eight in the National League final. They also won the O'Byrne Cup in 1965, and again in 2000.

When they lost a replayed Leinster semi-final in 1970 it was their fourth semi-final in six years. Victories over Westmeath and Wicklow in 1988 left the county on the verge of a Leinster final after 20 years. The team played well against Dublin and led by three points at half-time. Team manager and sports psychologist Brendan Hackett has cited what happened next as an example of lack of self-belief in extremis: Dublin drew level with 20 minutes remaining and won by 18 points.

Since first getting the taste in 1928, Longford like to beat Meath in the Championship, and shocked them in 1982. They forced Offaly to a replay in 1984, but the promise of the Under-21 teams that reached successive Leinster finals in 1981 and 1982 failed to materialise. In 2002 the county's minor team won the Leinster Minor Football Championship, the following year the county Vocational Schools team won the All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship at A and B level, the only county to do so.

In 2010, 2011 and 2012, Damien Sheridan won the All-Ireland Kick Fada Championship.

Honours

Hurling

Liam Griffin has said the GAA should be ashamed of itself over its failure in the promotion of hurling.

Australia is 24 hours away, yet we can create a new game with the Aussie Rules lads. Longford and Leitrim are right here, yet we largely ignore them and many others too when it comes to promoting hurling. The new D. J. Carey could be living in Longford, Leitrim or Donegal, but we'll never know. We have failed him. [...] If someone can market coloured gripe water, call it Coca Cola and clean up worldwide, we should be able to sell hurling in Longford.[1]

Honours

Ladies' Gaelic football

Honours

Camogie

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion,”[2] new camogie clubs are to be established in Longford and a county board formed by 2015.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Breheny, Martin (27 October 2012). "All Stars bright lights hide darker side of hurling". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Final goal for camogie". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). 29 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  3. ↑ National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page on camogie.ie, pdf download (778k) from Camogie.ie download site

External links