County: Laois Colours: All White Date founded 1962 | Nickname: The Wood Grounds: Kilbracken | |
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Courtwood GAA (Irish: Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coill na Cúirte) is a Gaelic Athletic Association gaelic football club, located in the north east corner of County Laois in Ireland. The club is located in the eastern half of Emo parish with a small catchment area south of the village of Ballybrittas and mainly covered by the local school Rath NS.
Contents
The locality is bordered on one side by County Kildare and by neighbouring clubs in Laois, Annanough, O'Dempseys and Emo.
At adult level, the club is a football club only, although a period in the 2000s saw Courtwood dabble in the small ball game. Courtwood field football teams at intermediate and junior C.
Juvenile football and hurling affairs are catered for by St Pauls Juvenile GAA club, an amalgamation with fellow parishioners, Emo. Courtwood also amalgamate with Emo and The Rock at minor and Under 21 level.
History
Gaelic football has been played in the area since the foundation of the GAA in 1884 with evidence of the first club named Courtwood existing as early as 1888 and competing in the earliest known Laois Senior Football Championships. The 1892 Laois Senior Football Championship final was actually played in Courtwood.
The early 1900s saw the original Courtwood club fade from existence to be replaced in the area by a club named Ballybrittas which in turn was replaced by the Jamestown club.
The current Courtwood club was reformed in 1962. Previous to this, players from the locality played with either the Jamestown or Annanough clubs.
Courtwood has won the Laois Junior Football Championship three times (1970, 1986 and 2014) and the Laois Intermediate Football Championship twice (1971 and 1987) and won one league title Laois All-County Football League Division Three in 2015.
In 2006, Courtwood won the Laois Junior "C" Football Championship. The previous year Courtwood reached the Laois Intermediate Football Championship final where they were narrowly beaten by Crettyard. 2007 saw Courtwood again reach the Laois Intermediate Football Championship final but Graiguecullen were to deny them once again.
At underage level, Courtwood have successfully combined with Emo on a number of occasions to win county titles. Emo won the Laois Minor Football Championship in 1964 and 1965 and the Laois Under 21 Football Championship in 1966 and 1967, with players from Courtwood playing on the winning teams.
The two clubs also combined to win the Under 21 title again in 1989 and 1990 as Courtwood/Emo and returned to win the Under 21 B title again in 2012.
Courtwood as a separate entity won the 2003 Laois Minor "B" Football Championship and Emo/Courtwood returned to the county roll of honour in 2008 winning the Laois Minor "B" Football Championship, having lost out in the 2007 final of the same competition. In 2011 and 2012, an Emo, Courtwood and The Rock minor combination won two Laois Minor "B" Football Championships and two Laois Minor Football League B titles.
In 2016, Emo, Courtwood and The Rock again joined forces at minor level and won the Laois Minor Football Championship.
Famous players and members
Courtwood is the home club of Fergal Byron, the 2003 All-Star goalkeeper who was also instrumental in Laois's 2003 Leinster SFC triumph. He was joined in 2007 on the Laois senior panel by Niall Donoher, a minor and under 21 star with Laois.
George Doyle and John O'Connell both played senior football with Laois in the 1990s while Danny Luttrell and Tommy Dunne were on the Laois team beaten in the Leinster SFC final in 1968.
In 2014, former Courtwood player Eddie Kinsella refereed the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final between Kerry and Donegal, with his four umpires Alan O'Halloran, Pat O'Connell, Arthur O'Connor and Niall Murphy also all club members.