Meelick-Eyrecourt GAA: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 16:19, 24 December 2009
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| Milic Dun an Uchta | |||||||||||||
| County: | Galway | ||||||||||||
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| Colours: | Blue and White sash | ||||||||||||
| Grounds: | Clonfert community sportsfield, Buddelagh, Eyrecourt | ||||||||||||
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Meelick-Eyrecourt is arguably one of the oldest GAA clubs in Ireland.
It is located in the east of County Galway. It borders with Banagher and Lusmagh in County Offaly and Portumna, Kiltormer and Killimor in Galway.
A club which was founded in Meelick in the 1880s contested the first ever all-Ireland hurling final in the 1887.
The present club has players from each of three main areas: the largely rural areas of Clonfert and Meelick, and the small village of Eyrecourt. These three areas also make up the local Roman Catholic parish of Eyrecourt, Clonfert and Meelick, which is a small parish located on the south east corner of the Diocese of Clonfert.
Clonfert is located at the edge of a large state-owned commercial bog and is also the site of an internationally recognised monastic settlement where Saint Brendan constructed a Christian cathederal.
Meelick is located at the edge of the river Shannon, on the opposite bank of the waterway to Lusmagh in County Offaly. A Catholic church in Meelick boasts the distinction of being the most continuously in service in Ireland, with masses held there since 1414 AD.
The small village of Eyrecourt is located several miles to the west of both Meelick and Clonfert. It derived its name from the association the town once had with the Anglo-Irish Eyre family, whose castle domain which is now in ruins was located at the easterly edge of the town.
The population of Eyrecourt was recorded at 345 persons in the national census of 2002 with a further 532 people counted as resident in the town's official environs.
Meelick and Clonfert originally formed separate hurling teams.
The Meelick club was founded in 1884 and it is this part of the existing club which is cited when it is claimed that the existing club is one of the oldest GAA clubs in Ireland, although the original club named Meelick arguably ceased to exist when it was subsumed within the larger Meelick-Eyrecourt club.
Gaelic games in the area was mainly formed around a Hurling tradition.
Meelick competed in the first All Ireland Hurling final of 1887 after defeating Kilbeacanty in the Galway county cup.
The club played opponents Thurles of Tipperary.
Meelick club lost the final and were not selected to represent Galway afterwards. Thurles defeated Meelick 1-1 0 0-0.
The club has never won a county hurling final at senior level.
A number of players from Meelick-Eyrecourt GAA club have won All Ireland medals at senior and underage grades in hurling while playing for County Galway.
A large number of club players have played hurling for County Galway. A small number of Meelick-Eyrecourt club players have played gaelic football for County Galway.
The club contested two Junior Football county finals in the 1960s at a time when Galway football was arguably at its height and at the same time the Galway senior football team won its famous three-in-a-row all-Ireland finals.
A number of players who originally played with the Meelick-Eyrecourt club went on to play hurling for other counties, particularly Dublin, due to emigration in the 1940s and 1950s.
Although the competition does not carry the same prestige as it once did, a number of the club's players who played senior hurling with County Galway were subsequently selected to represent Connacht in the annual Railway Cup interprovincial hurling competition.
Galway has never won a senior hurling all-Ireland without a Meelick-Eyrecourt clubman on the panel.
The former Meelick-Eyrecourt hurler Joe Salmon was named on the 'Galway team of the Millennium' at Mid-Field and was joined by fellow club member Sean Silke who was named at Centre-Back.
Joe Salmon played a large part of his hurling career as a member of the Glen Rovers hurling club in Cork, where he worked and lived.
Sean Silke and Brendan Lynskey are holders of All-Star awards while both won All-Ireland hurling final winners medals with the Galway senior hurling panel in the 1980's. Sean Silke played at centre-half back on the Galway hurling team which won the all-Ireland final in 1980 and Brendan Lynskey was at full-forward and centre-forward respectively when Galway won the all-Ireland final in both 1987 and 1988.
Numerous players from the club have won underage all-Ireland medals at minor (under-18) and under-21 level. Players from the club have also won intermedite hurling all-Ireland medals.
The club last contested a senior county final in 1980, which it lost.
In 1994 the club was relegated to play in the intermedite ranks, which is a division lower than senior and is comparable to senior B grade in other counties.
The club regained senior status on one occassion, when it won the county intermediate championship in 1997, but was later relegated to the intermediate division where it now competes.