Meelick-Eyrecourt GAA

Meelick-Eyrecourt
Milic Dun an Uchta
County:	Galway
Colours:	Blue and White sash
Grounds:	Clonfert Sportsfield, Buddelagh Eyrecourt
Playing kits
	Standard colours
	Standard colours
Senior Club Championships

Meelick-Eyrecourt is arguably one of the oldest GAA clubs in Ireland.

It is located in the east of County Galway and borders with Banagher in County Offaly and Portumna and Killimor in Galway.

A club which was founded in Meelick in the 1880s contested the first ever all-Ireland hurling final in the 1880s.

The present club is comprised of players from each of three main areas: the largely rural areas of Clonfert and Meelick, and the small village of Eyrecourt.

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.

The village of Eyrecourt is located several miles to the west of both Meelick and Clonfert. It derived it's name from the association the town once had with the Protestant Eyre family. It does not have any indigenous industry or commerce.

There is photographic evidence that 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 two oldest clubs in existence.

Gaelic games in the area was mainly formed around a Hurling tradition.

Meelick was selected to compete on behalf of County Galway in the first ever all-Ireland hurling final due to the fact that the club was the most easterly in the county and therefore it was the nearest to the designated venue, Birr in County Offaly.

The club played opponents Thurles of Tipperary.

Meelick club lost the final and were not selected to represent Galway afterwards. The club has also never won a county final at senior level. Thurles defeated Meelick 1-1 0 0-0.

A significant number of players from the Meelick-Eyrecourt GAA club have won All Ireland medals at several age-grades in hurling. Galway has never won a senior hurling All Ireland without a Meelick-Eyrecourt man 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 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.

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 that 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.

Hurling Squad

This is the team that lined out in the 2008 Championship

Number	Player	Position
1	Damien Howe	Goalkeeper
2	Mark Ryan	Right Corner-Back
3	Dermot Dunne	Full-Back
4	Anthony Dunne (Capt.)	Left Corner-Back
5	Martin Larkin	Right Wing-Back
6	Peter Stones	Centre Back
7	Ronan Larkin	Left Wing-Back
8	Declan McEvoy	Midfield
9	Martin Corcoran	Midfield
10	Niall Lynch	Right Wing-Forward
11	Rory McGauran	Centre Forward
12	Brendan Lucas	Left Wing-Forward
13	Sean McCormack	Right Corner-Forward
14	John Larkin	Full Forward
15	Mark Dunne	Left Corner-Forward
Substitutes
	Kevin Moran	Right Corner-Back
	R.Hynes	Left Corner-Forward

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