Founded: 1885 Colours: Blue and White | County: Westmeath | |
Grounds: Pairc Ciaran, Ballymahon Road,Athlone,Westmeath | ||
Athlone GAA is the Gaelic football club in the town of Athlone in County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland. The local Hurling club is called Southern Gaels.
Contents
- Club history
- Club infrastructure
- Senior Championships
- Intermediate Championships
- Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship
- Junior Championships
- Under 21 Championships
- Minor Championships
- U 17 Championships
- U 16 Championships
- U 14 Championships
- U 12 Championships
- Feis Cup Senior
- Senior B Championships
- File na ng
- Ladies U 12
- Proposed US tour and legal dispute
- References
Athlone are the most successful club in Gaelic Football in Westmeath.
Club history
The club was founded in 1885 by Irish National League members, bringing GAA to Athlone. Athlone GAA are Westmeath's most successful club with 20 Senior titles, the last of which was 1998. They achieved an unprecedented 6 in a row between 1955 and 1960. 2011 represents their fifth time to qualify for Feile Peil na nOg following on the heels of last year's appearance in Derry. The club is home to Westmeath's first footballing All-Star Rory O'Connell. Athlone recently won their first ever Intermediate Championship by defeating local rivals Tubberclair.
Club infrastructure
The club caters for both football and hurling with the hurlers playing under the Southern Gaels banner. The club have two full size floodlit pitches with a third pitch currently being developed. The Athlone GAA also has its own bar and ballroom and is used by various local groups (Tae Kwon Do, Irish traditional music, Line Dancing, ...).
Senior Championships
1905, 1929 (Army) 1947, 1949, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1998.
Intermediate Championships
2015
Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship
Runners-Up 2015
Junior Championships
1916, 1921, 1945, 1954, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1977.
Under 21 Championships
1963, 1971, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1996, 2005, 2013
Minor Championships
1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1969, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1993
U-17 Championships
1963, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980.
U-16 Championships
1967, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991.
U-14 Championships
1946, 1947, 1966, 1969, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1989, 2011.
U-12 Championships
1980, 1981, 1999, 2000, 2002.
Feis Cup Senior
1956, 1957, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1993.
Senior 'B' Championships
1985
Féile na nÓg
1985 (Cork) 1997, 1998 (Donegal), 2010, 2011, 2014
Ladies U-12
1999
Proposed US tour and legal dispute
Following Athlone GAA's winning of the Westmeath County Championship in 1984, it was decided to send the team to the United States in 1985. More than £11,000 was collected quickly and put on a bank account set up for the occasion. A dispute over control of the trip's finances between executive committee members and the tour committee led to a lengthy legal dispute. In 1994, the case went to the Supreme Court of Ireland and was still ongoing in 2001.