Founded: 1930 Nickname: Eunuchs Grounds: O'Donnell Park | County: Donegal Colours: Amber and Black | |
C.L.G. Naomh Adhamhnáin (St. Eunan's) is a GAA club. Their home ground is O'Donnell Park in Letterkenny.
Contents
- Early days
- 1930 1947
- 1948 1969
- 1970s 1990s
- 21st century
- 2012 season
- Football
- Hurling
- Notable players
- Other
- References
One of the strongholds of Gaelic football in County Donegal, they have won the Donegal Senior Football Championship more times than any other team apart from Gaoth Dobhair (both have won 14). Considered Donegal's most prolific club, they are renowned for their conveyor belt-like consistency in producing players of senior inter-county quality, including numerous All-Ireland winners. Also renowned for their success at minor level, they have toured abroad, particularly the United States in 1969 and 1998, and Glasgow in 1977. In 1980 they received an All-Ireland Club of the Year Award at a ceremony in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
They have a long-running boundary dispute with neighbouring junior club Gaeil Leitir Ceanainn.
Early days
Frank "Steve" Donohoe and Mickey McGovern formed a club called the "Fag a Bailes" in 1917 during a meeting at McGovern's Public House on Letterkenny's Lower Main Street. This club would be important to the proper establishment of Gaelic football in East Donegal. The town's first Gaelic football playing field was located where Scoil Colmcille, Letterkenny currently is. Also in the team of that era were goalkeeper Johnny McClean and Fr. John McMonagle of Glencar, who played at midfield. Then the Black and Tans came along and had destroyed everything by the early 1920s. Letterkenny's next clubs were the Geraldines (established in 1924) and Letterkenny Rovers. Letterkenny Rovers won the town's first Donegal Senior Football Championship in 1927—beating Carrigans in a final uniquely held at Newtowncunningham—with a field selected, goalposts erected and admission fee of 6d.
1930 - 1947
1930 brought the foundation of the current club, with Geraldines and Rovers fading away into nothing. Glencar was the location of the club's first playing pitch. In its first year of existence the club reached the final of the 1930 Donegal Senior Football Championship, losing to Dungloe by a scoreline of 3-2 to 2-3. The club purchased the grounds for O'Donnell Park for £300 in the 1930s. The ground opened on Sunday 2 May 1937, when a hurling match between Donegal and Antrim and a football match between Donegal and Armagh were divided by an address from GAA President R. O'Keeffe, and all were preceded by the Most Rev. Dr. McNeely, Bishop of Raphoe's Blessing of the Park. By the mid-1940s, it was Letterkenny's only GAA club—having also seen off both St. Pat's and St. Columba's—and the team reached the final of the Donegal Senior Football Championship in 1944, 1946 and 1947, losing to the four-in-a-row invincibles from Gaoth Dobhair.
1948 - 1969
The club won their first Donegal Senior Football Championship in 1948, defeating old nemesis and previously invincible Gaoth Dobhair by a scoreline of 1-7 to 2-1. The club made the final again in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952, eventually winning their second title in 1956, beating Ballyshannon by a scoreline of 0-8 to 1-2. In 1960 the club beat Gaoth Dobhair in the final again, this time by a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-3. In 1967 the club beat St. Joseph's by a scoreline of 1-13 to 1-9, and beat the same team again in 1969, by a scoreline of 0-10 to 1-4 on that occasion.
1970s - 1990s
In 1972 the club beat Clan na nGael—a previous incarnation of Four Masters—by a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-8 in the final at MacCumhail Park in Ballybofey.
There followed a lull, broken in 1983, when the club defeated Ard an Rátha in the final by a scoreline of 0-08 to 0-03. There would be no further senior titles until 1999. The club did beat Aodh Ruadh in the 1997 senior final by a scoreline of 1-11 to 2-07, but their title was stripped off them in the boardroom in infamous circumstances. The club roared back against Aodh Ruadh in the 1999 final, with Brendan Devenney broke Martin McHugh's record by scoring 0-14 of his team's 1-19 to their opponents' 1-11.
21st-century
In the 2001 championship final the club defeated Four Masters by a scoreline of 1-10 to 0-08. In the 2006 final Gaoth Dobhair beat them by 1-06 to 0-04. In the 2006 Minor County Championship semi-final, the club were beaten 2-8 to 1-7, that match being played in wet conditions at Tírconaill Park in Donegal Town on Sunday 19 November, Jack Doherty scoring the team's only goal.
In 2007 they beat local rivals Glenswilly by a scoreline of 0-12 to 1-03. In 2008 they beat Termon, their neighbours on the other side of town, by a scoreline of 2-13 to 1-08 and went on to win a match in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship for the first time, defeating Clonoe O'Rahilly's of Tyrone, the county that had just won that year's All-Ireland title, in the quarter-final. However, Crossmaglen Rangers knocked them out in the semi-final. In 2009 the club achieved the three-in-a-row, defeating Naomh Conaill by a scoreline of 0-13 to 0-06. They would baet the same team in the 2012 final. 2011 brought minor football and hurling titles; in the football, they defeated Ardara 3-7 to 0-3, with Sean McBride, Lee McMonagle and Callum Keaveney getting the goals, while, in the hurling, they made history in July by winning their first ever minor hurling title, defeating Burt in a great contest highlighted by a stunning goal from Kevin Meehan. In 2013, a player was rushed to hospital with serious injuries sustained during a game against Naomh Conaill. They beat Glenswilly again in the 2014 final.
2012 season
Eunan's were crowned Donegal Senior Football Champions in 2012. The decisive goal in the final was scored by young Lee McMonagle in the 50th minute of the game, following a layoff from full-forward Ross Wherity, who received the ball via a long pass from Rory Kavanagh. The teams were level on many occasions until Mark McGowan scored the winning point in freak circumstances. Brendan McDyre of opponents Naomh Conaill attempted to backpass to his goalkeeper Stephen McGrath only for the ball to drift out for a '45'. McGowan stepped up to punish. As the game ended he was photographed celebrating—stooped, wild-eyed with open mouth, sweat-soaked, bare thighs tensed, veins throbbing, mud-stained legs apart and clenched fists turned upwards.
2014 Season U16 Hurlers win first u16 championship title defeating Buncrana in a terrific final with wild celebrations from St Eunans as they lifted the Cup.
2015 Season
St Eunans win their first U21 county hurling title defeating Setanta. U14 hurlers and footballers both do the double in league and championship. U14 footballers win Feile all Ireland. U14 Hurlers win Feile Shield all Ireland Title. U14 Camogie team win county title and all Ireland Feile shield
Football
They have won a total of 15 Senior County Championships, the last of which came on 2 November 2014 against Glenswilly at MacCumhail Park, Ballybofey, a 0-09-0-06 win.
The ladies have won a total of thirteen County Championships and four Ulster Championships.