Sarsfields GAA (Kildare)

Infobox GAA club
club gaa = Arsfields
crest =
irish = Na Sairséalaigh
county = Kildare
nickname = `"The Sash", colours = Green jersey and white sash
grounds = Richardstown
founded = 1897
honours = 21 Senior Football Championships
pattern_la= |pattern_b=_whiterightsash |pattern_ra=
leftarm=28AE7B |body=28AE7B |rightarm= 28AE7B|shorts= 28AE7B|socks=28AE7B
|

Sarsfields is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Newbridge in County Kildare, Ireland, winner of 21 Kildare Senior Football Championships. The club name is linked to Patrick Sarsfield’s castle in the area and the colours, green with white sash, were based the colours allegedly worn by Sarsfield’s men. Paddy "Boiler" White was a member of the Kildare Gaelic football team of the millennium. Niall Buckley was an All Stars Award winner at midfield in 1997. Dermot Earley was an All Stars Award at left half forward winner in 1998.

History

Newbridge has always had two and sometimes three GAA clubs. Newbridge 'Hare and Hounds' drew with Moorefield in the 1888 championship. RIC records from 1890 show that Hare and Hounds had 47 members with officers listed as James Farrell, Pat Cox, John Quinn and Edward Wallis. An application from a third club based in the CYMS, St. Conleth's, was rejected in January 1891 because membership was confined to Catholics. A St Conleth’s team successfully affiliated in the 1900s.

ons of Sarsfields & Marble Arch

Sons of Sarsfields, originally based in Roseberry near Newbridge College a mile outside the North-Eastern end of the town was founded by W. P. O'Sullivan in 1897. The club is now basaed at Rickardstown, Newbridge. The club was an amalgamation of players from other GAA clubs who decided to group together and form a stronger team to take on the challenge of the 'mighty' Clane who dominated Kildare GAA at the time. Roseberry, Sons of Sarsfields beat Naas in the 1904 county finals and won seven titles in succession, losing just five of their 47 championship ties in that period. St Conleth’s fielded a football team after several Roseberry players defected to them in 1919. Another club, Marble Arch was founded in the 1920s, swept through the Junior Championship and lost the infamous 1932 Intermediate final to Castledermot. In 1933 Marble Arch won the Intermediate and Roseberry, Sons of Sarsfields the Junior championships.

=Gaelic FootballNine Roseberry players played on the Kildare team that reached the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final in 1903, Jack and Mick Fitzgerald, Jim and Mick Murray, Jack Gorman, Matt Donnelly, Jim Scott, Mick Kennedy and Frank ‘Joyce” Conlan. A nephew of the team captain Jack Murray was Mick Geraghty who featured in the emergence of the new Sarsfields club that won five titles in seven years after 1945, including a three-in-a-row 1950-2. Roscommon star Dermot Earley featured on the Sarsfields team that regained the title in 1982, his son Dermot played on the team that won five county titles after 1993. Sarsfields’ closest to a Leinster title came in 2005, when they beat Éire Óg of Carlow and Mattock Rangers of Louth but lost the Leinster final to Kilmacud Crokes 0-9 to 0-10, having trailed 0-8 to 0-3 at half-time and fought back bravely in the second half.

Hurling

St Conleth’s hurling club (sometimes referred to as Newbridge College) won the Kildare senior championship in 1900 and 1901 and the junior championship in 1936 and 1938. After a number of years without a hurling team Sarsfields re-entered the junior league in 2007 and in June 2007 were crowned League champions after defeating Athy by 5-8 to 2-6

Camogie

Newbridge Irish Ropes club affiliated briefly to Kildare camogie board in 1956 with their colours registered as kingfisher (turquoise), blue and white.

Ladies Football

Sarsfields were Kildare junior champions in 2003 and intermediate champions in 2004. They also won the Leinster Intermediate Championship in 2004 and the Ladies U14 league in 2007. They beat Moorefield in the minor Chamionship in 2008 and since 2004 they have one the u14 four times back to back. Currently Sarsfields u12s and u15s are at the top of their leagues having lost no matches. In the last two years the Sash girls have gone on to represent Kildare in the Feile competition.

Honours Sarsfields

*Leinster Club F Finalists 2005.
*Kildare Senior F Champions. 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1915 1945, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1982, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001 2005
*Junior F Champions 1924, 1933.
*Jack Higgins Cup 1985.L.L Cup: League Champions 1945- 46- 47- 52- 54- 81- 83- 84- 86- 88- 89- 92 2007,DIV 2 2000U21FC 1992, 2007MFC.DIV 1: 1942- 58- 62- 70- 76- 78- 79- 81- 82- 85- 86- 88- 89- 92. DIV 4: 1979- 81- 87- 91- 93- 95- 96. MFC.1940- 41- 57- 58- 68- 69- 70 86- 90- 93- 96- 05 07U21FC 1992, 2007U16FC.1948- 54- 55- 62- 66-67-68- 88-2006 . FL: 1984- 88. 'B' 1999 2003
*The Niall Smullen cup 1950,1989

Bibliography

* Sarsfields GFC 86 Golden Years 1897 To 1983 by Tommy O'Hanlon, Sarsfields GAA 1983, 108pp.
* 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.

External links

* [http://www.sarsfieldsgaanewbridge.ie/Sarsfields GAA Club]
* [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]