Oisin CLG Manchester

Oisin GAA club Manchester (Irish: Oísín Cummann Luthchleas Gael) is a sports club in Manchester which plays gaelic football at senior and junior level, as well as having a growing underage structure. Oisin is a member club of the Lancashire GAA County Board, the British GAA Provincial Council and the Gaelic Athletic Association as a whole.

They play in the Lancashire Senior and Junior Championships, Lancashire Senior League, Peninne League, Wolfe Tone League and when qualifying the All Britain Intermediate and All Ireland Junior Championships.

Oisin GAA

Oísín CLG
Founded:	1904
County:	Lancashire
Nickname:	Oisin
Club colours:	Blue and white
Grounds:	Old Bedians, Didsbury
Playing kits
Standard colours
Senior Club Championships
All Ireland All Britain champions Lancashire champions Football : [[All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship|]] 2 12

History

The club was formed in 1904 from the Craobh Oisin Gaelic League Club which was at that time based in Gaythorn Manchester. The gaelic league club was involved in promoting music, song, and dance at that time. The formation of a gaelic football club was an extension to the promotion of all Irish cultural activities in the city.

The club had its home at No 7 Cheapside Manchester up until 1953/1954,at this point the Gaelic League club ceased to exist and the Oisin GAA club had no official headquarters , this situation was addressed in 1992 when they joined forces with Old Bedians Rugby and Soccer clubs, where a modern up-to-date clubhouse and playing facilities were built.

In 2004 the club celebrated its Centenary Year and published a Book on its history, entitled "An Sceal" Oisin GAA Club. A copy of the book is on display in the GAA Museum in Croke Park. ^{[1] [2]}

Facilities

Old Bedians
Whilst Croke Park has only recently opened its doors to soccer and rugby Oisin have been working with their sporting counterparts for well over a decade.

It began back in 1921 when the Old Bedian Society was established. It consisted of "Old Boys" from St Bedes College, Whalley Range who provided teams in both rugby and soccer.

In 1965 Old Bedians purchased the land and clubhouse in Millgate Lane from Granada TV.

Old Bedians Rebuilt
In April 1991 the clubhouse was destroyed when a stolen car was abandoned and set alight next to it. Several months of dispute with insurers over valuation finally ended in success and the Committee set about rebuilding the clubhouse.

A decision was made to take on board another sport and Oisin GAA accepted the offer. Development moved quickly and land which had previously been unused and other land which was purchased was assigned to Oisin to develop into two playing fields.

The final development is a modern clubhouse with changing rooms for eight teams, shower and referee facilities, a function room for up to 120 people and a small members bar. ^[3]

Former players

Oisin have had many talented individuals who have passed through the club over the years. Eddie Hogan won a Leinster Senior medal with Kildare in 1956 and Padraig Johnson won a Leinster Minor medal with Offaly in 1962. As well as representing Offaly at minor level Padraig was also President of the GAA in Britain between 1994 and 1996, the only Oisin member to hold that position.

Peter Quinn of Fermanagh returned to Ireland and later became President of the GAA in 1991, whilst Cannon Moss O'Connell went on to the pinnacle of the sport with Senior All-Ireland success with his native Kerry.

Other regular intercounty players of the past include Fr Emmett Fullen RIP (Derry), Eamon Boland (Roscommon), Bob Harrison (Kildare), Kevin McNamee (Meath) and P.J.McGowan (Donegal).

Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis played Gaelic football at underage level with Oisin CLG. ^[4]

Honours

Not surprisingly for a club over one hundred years old, a precise list of the club's major successes is not available. The first major recorded success was in 1949 when the Senior team won the League.

All Britain Championship

• 1994

All Britain Canon Stritch Cup

• 2001

Lancashire Senior Championship

• 1951, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1994, 2002, 2006

Lancashire Senior League

• 1949, 1951, 1969, 1986, 1994, 1995, 2001

Lancashire Junior Championship

• 1990, 1991, 1994, 2003

Lancashire Junior League

• 1982, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2003

Wolfe Tone League

• 1982, 1987, 1993, 2001, 2004, 2008

^[5]

Underage

In 1994 Oisin GAA was a major force in British Gaelic football. The senior team won the All Britain Intermediate Championship for the club. A large proportion of that team were home grown players.

Oisin re- established their underage teams in 2006 and now compete at under 10 under 12 and under 14 levels. In 2008 both the under 10's and the under 12's won the Lancashire League.

References

1. ^ MacSeain, Padraig, An Sceal 
2. ^ History, Oisin CLG Official Website - http://www.oisinclg.com/history.php (Copyleft 2009)
3. ^ Facilities, Oisin CLG Official Website - http://www.oisinclg.com/facilities (Copyleft 2009)
4. ^ Former Players, Oisin CLG Official Website - http://www.oisinclg.com/former.php (Copyleft 2009)
5. ^ Honours, Oisin CLG Official Website - http://www.oisinclg.com/honours.php (Copyleft 2009)

External links

• Oisin CLG Official Website
• Lancashire GAA County Board Official Website