Celbridge GAA

Celbridge is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. It is primarily a camogie club that also plays a bit of hurling and football. They were winners of senior football league in 1923 and senior hurling and camogie championship honours and 2005. The Club have several honours at underage in all three codes, most recently the u-14 county Féile football final for the first time.

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Gaelic Football

George Magan won an All Ireland medal on the 1919 Kildare All Ireland team. Celbridge won the 1922 Junior F final and came closest to senior football honours was an appearance in the final of the Leinster Leader Cup in 1924. Owen ‘Skipper’ Murphy captained the team which won the Intermediate championship in 1936, highlight of a career that stretched from the 1920s to the 1950s. Martin Byrne was selected for Kildare after that success. Celbridge were senior again in the late 1980s after a victory in the 1987 Intermediate championship. Area side with Celbridge, St Wolstan’s fought a semi-final battle with Ballyteague in 1974 that took three matches to decide and another in 1975 with Clane that took two matches. They also lost the 1976 quarter-final in a replay. Shelbourne's youth international soccer star Vincent McKenna lined out with St. Wolstan's, and scored a dramatic equalizer in that first semi-final against Ballyteague. This year, 2008, saw Celbridge contest The SFL Division One final for the first time in two decades, losing only one game throughout the series, winning twelve and drawing three. Unfortunately for Barney Rock and his charges Celbridge came up against formidable Moorefield who powered their way to a 0-13 to 0-4 victory. Mark Shaw, Brian Donovan, and Mick Wright played for Kildare in recent decades, and interestingly Young stars Mark O Sullivan, Conor Brophy and Hugh McGrillen were part of the Kildare panel which recently contested the All-Ireland u-21 Football Final against Kerry, a game which the lilywhites lost by 7 points to the mighty Kingdom in Thurles.

Camogie

Celbridge was founded b Fr Val Martin in 1953 but lapsed 1072-7 and 1989-95. The club joined with Straffan in 1961 and won the 1962 junior championship. In 1977 the club revived and won the junior league in 1978 and junior championship and league double in 1985. St Wolstan’s play in Dublin colleges competition. Bridget Cushen was selected on the Kildare camogie team of the century. Senior and u-21 championship winners 2005. Celbridge won the 2006 senior championship and narrowly missed out on a "three-in-a-row" after defeat in the 2007 decider to St Laurences. Susan O'Carroll and Deirdre Corcoran have been nominated for national All-Stars while O'Carroll was named on the Ashbourne Cup All-Stars, while playing for the victorious UCD team in 2007. The team hope to retain their senior title in 2008 after losing the prestigious crown to 'Da Larries' in 2007.

Honours

*Kildare Senior Hurling Championship winners 1921, 2005
*Senior H league 2006.
*Minor H 'B' Champions 2000, 2001,2002,2003,2004
*Junior F champions 1923, 1958, 1986,
*Junior H Champions 1991,
*Junior Camogie championship 1962, 2000
**(combined with Straffan GAA), 1985, 2001,
*Junior Camogie League 1985, 2000
*All Ireland U-14 Féile Football Div. 1 finalists 2006

Bibliography

*Celbridge GAA by Darragh MacIntyre (Celbridge GAA 1984)
*Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by Eoghan Corry, CLG Chill Dara, 1984, ISBN 0-9509370-0-2 hb ISBN 0-9509370-1-0 pb
*Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000- in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000
*Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904-2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board.
*Celbridge GAA Yearbook, by Niall 'The Goalie' McGee 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,2006

External links

* [http://www.celbridgegaa.com/ Celbridge GAA site]
* [http://kildare.gaa.ie/ Kildare GAA site]
* [http://www.clubgaa.ie/kildare/ Kildare GAA club sites]
* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Kildare/ Kildare on Hoganstand.com]