Navan O'Mahonys GAA

Navan O'Mahonys GAA

Founded:	1948
County:	Meath
Club colours:	Blue and White
Grounds:	Páirc Tailteann
Playing kits
Standard colours
Senior Club Championships
All Ireland Leinster champions Meath champions Football : 0 0 17 Hurling : 0 0 2

Navan O'Mahonys is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the town of Navan in County Meath, Ireland. The club competes in Meath competitions. With 17 Senior Football wins they are the most successful football club in Meath. The club has also won 2 Senior Hurling Championships placing them in the top 15 most successful hurling sides in the county.

History

The idea of forming a new Gaelic football club in Navan was first mooted during a late evening    discussion at the house of the late Peter Hughes, Rathaldron, Navan,with co-founders, the late Eddie Duignan and Jack Callaghan spearheading  the move. The house  of the late Peter Hughes was  a regular haunt for local neighbours. An impromptu meeting was called for the purpose of forming the new club but just nine men turned up for this meeting. They were : Peter Hughes, Jack Callaghan, Eddie Duignan, Paddy Cahill, Benny Gartland, Tom Duignan, Patsy Reilly, Terry O'Dea and Jackie Carroll.

Inaugural Meeting on the 28th October 1948 Not discouraged by these numbers and refusing to be undaunted, these men called a second meeting for the 28th October 1948. The venue was the local A.O.H. hall at the bottom of Watergate Street in Navan. This hall was subsequently demolished to make way for the present Navan ring road. There was a small attendance at this meeting but those present showed a great desire to form a new Gaelic Football Club and the first officers elected at that meeting were :President James O'Rourke,Chairman Terry O'Dea,vice chairman Jack Callaghan, Secretary Jackie Carroll and Treasurer Thomas Deery. Name of the club  It was agreed that the name of the club should be Navan O'Mahonys after the Navan Pierce Mahonys which was formed in September 1887 and derived its name from Pierce O'Mahony M.P. for north Meath, a Parnellite and advocate of home rule. In choosing the name they were honouring a great club which was one of the most successful in the county and also what Pierce O'Mahony stood for at the time - home rule. The Pierce Mahonys won the Meath Championship in 1894 and 1895. In fact in 1895 Pierce Mahonys carried the banner for Meath and contested the All Ireland Final against Arravale Rovers from Tipperary, only to lose in controversial circumstances. Incidentially this was the first final to be played in what we know today as Croke Park. The first game ended in a draw and in the replay the referee reported Arravale as having won the match but later in a letter to the press he  admitted having recorded the score incorrectly and that Pierce Mahonys should have been declared the winners The press at the time were in full agreement with this statement but the ruling body of the G.A.A. could not see its way to alter the original report of the referee. A special set of medals was struck and presented to Meath as virtual winners of the championship. However the fanmous club subsequently disbanded as a result of the unfair treatment at the hands of the Central Council in 1897 and it was fiftyone years before the name O'Mahonys appeared among the clubs of Meath.

First Team  Showing great courage the committee set about fielding their first team from the small number of players at their disposal. The club colours were to be blue and white - blue jersey with white collar and cuff. The hooped blue/white jerseys followed some years later.. Club finances were naturally low and bicycles were used for transport to local games. Fortunately the fullback Eric Doyle was the owner of a lorry and this was used to convey players to away games. Dressing facilities or showers were unheard of at the time and players had to tog out along the nearest ditch to the playing area. Funds were raised by running concerts, card games, and membership contributions of 2/6d.  The hard work of the founders was soon to be rewarded with the winning of the Meath 1949 Junior Football Championship at the first attempt. The club went senior in 1950 but had little immediate success in the higher grade. They won the Feis Cup in 1951 with a victory over Skryne in the final at Páirc Tailteann. The Feis Cup final was played in conjunction with Feis na Mí.  Irish dancing ,singing story telling and Irish music formed part of the Feis which was organised by the Gaelic League. The "man in the cap" Peter McDermott came to live in Navan and joined O'Mahonys where he made an immense contribution to that victory.                                            First Keegan Cup Winners O'Mahonys made a great break through at senior level when they became the first winners of the Keegan Cup in 1953,defeating Trim 3-7 to 2-4., with Tony McCormack having the honour of accepting the cup for the first timThey won the intermediate football championship against Dunshaughlin in 1956 and after a lapse of four years they regained the Keegan Cup in 1957 and went on to win the famous five in a row 1957 - 1961                                            Seventeen Senior Football Titles .  Since its establishment in 1948 the club heads the roll of honour in Meath with 17 senior football championship titles.                                                            Hurling The club also has a strong hurling tradition and has dominated under age competitions by winning titles at all levels, completing seven in a row under 21 hurling titles in 2003 as well as back to back minor hurling titles in 1999/2000. They reached the final of the Meath Junior Hurling Championship in 1956 but were defeated by Boardsmill Gold was struck in1961 when they won the Intermediate Hurling Championship final against Salesian College, Warrenstown by 5-8 to 4-4.  Intermediate successes were also recorded  in 1970,1979,1993,1997 and senior in 1985/86.

                                                         Camogie and Ladies Football Ther club also organises camogie and ladies football, with much success. In the Club's Golden Jubilee Year (1998) it was honoured with the camogie club of the year award and young camogie player of the year, something the founder members would never have envisaged.

                                                   Nursery for O'Mahonys The Navan De La Salle Juvenile Hurling and Football Club which was originally based at the old De La Salle Brothers  School, was the nursery for Navan O'Mahonys as the majority of their players  progressed to O'Mahonys on reaching minor age to play a major role in many of their successes. The old De La Salle School  which was a military barracks in the early days has since been demolished.The residence attached to the old school is still in situ and can be seen  off the Navan ring road  and opposite the Navan Fire Station. The De La Salle club was unique in that it had no grounds of its own and all training etc. was done in the old jumping enclosure, beside Páirc Tailteann. This is now the O'Mahony's grounds. Following the departure of the De La Salle Brothers from Navan due to the fall in vocations, it was agreed that the De la Salle and O'Mahony clubs should amalgamate .The departure of the Brothers from Navan was a tremendous blow to the club as the Brothers had been most generous  over the years in giving of their time in the promotion of hurling and football in club and school, especially Brothers Brendan,Finbar,Celestine, Anthony,Norbert, Cornelius  and Francis. In fact many of them  also played hurling and football with O'Mahonys. The amalgamation went ahead in 1989 and heralded a new era of unprecedented success at underage level with the winning of a record number of titles in subsequent years.

                                         Contribution at  Intercounty Level        The development of O'Mahonys as a force in hurling and football  coincided with the rise of Meath in making an impact at intercounty level.. Meath's first All Ireland winning team had among  its members, the legendary Peter McDermott who also captained Meath to victory in the  1954 All Ireland Final.. He is now one of the club's Hon. Presidents.     Since then the club has been represented by such outstanding footballers as Joe Cassells,David Beggy,Finian Murtagh,Donal Smyth,Patsy Ratty, Willie McGuirk, John Brady, Séamus Clynch, to mention but a few. Quite a number of O'Mahony hurlers have  also represented Meath at inter-county level such as Ben Tansey,Gerry Kelly,Pádraic Coone,Niall and Shane McKeigue,Trevor Donoghue,Seamus Duignan..

                                                        Club Development The club draws its membership from the greater Navan area and reflects a true community balance in all its activities, especially in the promotion of gaelic games.A major part of the club's success is identified with the strong community links which have been forged over the years  with families, business and community groups making the club a focal point for a range of social and community activity. The stunning success of St.Patricks Classical School in its All Ireland Senior Football Colleges success in 2000 and 2001 under  team Manager Colm O'Rourke highlights another dimension involving O'Mahony players.  The starting lineup at Croke Park in May 2001 against St.Jarlaths of Tuam contained no less than nine O'Mahony players with another five in the support panel.                                                                  Club Grounds The O'Mahony, were formerly owned by the Royal Meath Agricultural Society grounds on which the club house is situated at Brews Hill. They were later acquired by Meath County Board  and subsequently purchased by O'Mahonys. Many local people still refer to these grounds as the "Jumping Enclosure" as they were used by the Agricultural Society for shows which included horse jumping and pony racing. The indoor show events took place in the "Pavilion" which occupied the site where the  O'Mahony's club house now stands. The grounds are in constant use by the club teams in hurling,football,camogie and ladies football as well as by the local schools. State of the art flood lights were installed  in 2003  to facilitate the playing of hurling and football matches  during the winter evenings.. Mr Fintan Ginnity, Chairman, Meath County Committee, performed the official  "switch on" and Seán Boylan , Meath Football Manager, made history  when he refereed the first juvenile football  game to be played there ,under lights. The curtain raiser  was followed by an under age hurling  match and ladies football game.The pitch has also been redeveloped and lights installed at the lower training pitch.

                                                          Officers of Meath County Board Many members of O'Mahonys have given sterling service while serving as officers on the Meath County Board. Liam Creavin a former  secretary and treasurer served as board secretary from 1965 to 2000 .     Peter McDermott,  1954 All-Ireland winning captain also held  the positions of  Meath Delegate  on Central Council and Leinster Council., deputy vice chairman, vice chairman and secretary of Meath County Board during  the years between 1945-1955. Ned Giles a former chairman of the club served as Minor Football Secretary for many years.

Hurling

The club also has a strong hurling tradition. Currently the team plays at Senior and junior levels of the Meath Hurling Championship. The team had its major success in the 1980s beating Killyon in the 1985 final and then coming back in the 1986 final to defeat Clann na nGael. The club has also won tournaments at Junior and intermediate level.

Camogie

The club also organizes camogie and ladies football and competes at Senior Level in the Meath Camogie Championship.

2009 Championship

Navan O'Mahonys finished top of Group A in 2009 but did not win the Senior Football Championship.

Team Pld W L D PF PA PD Pts Navan O'Mahonys 5 3 1 1 67 45 +22 7 Simonstown Gaels 6 3 2 1 96 84 +12 7 St. Patricks 6 2 2 2 75 84 -9 6 Seneschalstown 5 2 2 1 70 63 +7 5 Donaghmore/Ashbourne 5 2 3 0 55 62 -7 4 Duleek/Bellewstown 5 1 3 1 55 80 -25 3 2010 season Main Article: Meath Senior Football Championship 2010 In the 2010 Group C Championship, Navan O'Mahonys won two of four games finishing third in the group with better point difference than Summerhill. Navan O'Mahonys failed to progress to the quarter finals having lost 1-09 to 0-10 against Duleek/Bellewstown. Team Pld W L D PF PA PD Pts Donaghmore/Ashbourne 4 3 1 0 60 48 +12 6 Duleek/Bellewstown 4 2 1 1 49 46 +3 5 Navan O'Mahonys 4 2 2 0 52 44 -8 4 Summerhill 4 2 2 0 49 59 -10 4 Oldcastle 4 0 3 1 42 55 -13 1 Honours Meath Senior Football Championships: 17 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1973, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2008 Meath Senior Hurling Championships: 2 1985, 1986 Notable players A number of players from Navan O'Mahonys have represented Meath at inter-county level in both Hurling and Football. Including Peter McDermott who captained the 1954 Meath All-Ireland winning team. Other notable players include Joe Cassells and Willie McGuirk. There are many player from the club on the current Meath Senior Football Team such as Stephen Bray, Kevin Reilly, Gary O'Brien and Mark Ward. References [1] [2] [3] Preceded by Seneschalstown Meath Senior Football Champions 2008 Succeeded by Seneschalstown Preceded by Navan O'Mahonys Meath Senior Hurling Champions 1986 Succeeded by Trim