Dublin GAA

Governance

Dublin GAA has jurisdiction over the area that is associated with the traditional county of County Dublin. There are 9 officers on the Board including the Cathaoirleach (Chairperson), Andy Kettle, currently serving his second term of office. For details on the Board's clubs, see Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in County Dublin and List of Gaelic games clubs in Ireland.

The Board is subject to the Leinster GAA Provincial Council.

The teams of Dublin GAA play home games at Parnell Park, Donnycarney on the northside of the city, although Croke Park is used for major matches at the request of the GAA. Parnell Park also hosts all the major games in the Dublin club Football and Hurling championships. The current football manager is Clarke Paul . The current hurling team manager is Ger Cunningham. Dublin claimed five Leinster Senior Football Championships in a row following a one-point victory over Laois in 2005, a nine-point victory over Offaly in 2006, a six-point victory over Laois in 2007, a 23-point victory over Wexford in 2008 and a 3-point victory over Kildare in 2009. Meanwhile, the hurlers retained their status in the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Notable officers

The following members have also held notable positions in the GAA:

Restructuring

The GAA conducted a review of the structure of the Dublin GAA organisation in 2002 because of the huge population inequities, and investigated the feasibility of dividing the County into more population-appropriate structures. Plans to divide Dublin into two teams – North Dublin and South Dublin – were proposed in 2002 but rejected by the Dublin County Board. Currently the Board has only decided to divide its development teams. These teams are not considered to be a move towards dividing the county but are in fact a move designed to identify and develop young talent for the County as a whole. The restructured developments teams are North, South and West.

Supporters

Dublin supporters are commonly known as The Dubs, and in the 1970s as Heffo's army. While songs are still popular with the Dublin fans they tend to be Dublin-centric such as Molly Malone and Dublin in the Rare Old Times or focus on the team itself singing Come on you boys in blue.

The Hill 16 end in Croke Park is an area for which many Dubs hold a special affection and it is not uncommon to see the Hill filled entirely with Dubs. Dublin supporters have been known to chant "Hill 16 is Dublin only" as a humorous jibe at supporters from rival teams.

The Dublin team are sometimes called The Jacks with the ladies called The Jackies. These names came from a shortening of the word Jackeen.

Notable fans include Jim Stynes, golfer Pádraig Harrington, rugby union star Brian O'Driscoll and actor Colm Meaney.

Crest and symbols

In 2003/4, the Dublin County Board tried unsuccessfully to copyright the Dublin crest in use at the time. The crest at the time was declared to be in the public domain by the Irish High Court as it was too similar to other crests in use by Dublin City Council and other Dublin sports bodies. In line with other county boards and in order to prevent further loss of revenue, the county board designed a new crest drawing from the county's historical past which could be copyrighted and registered as a trade mark.

The symbolism of the crest is: three castles in flame which signifies the city of Dublin; a raven which signifies the county of Fingal; a Viking longboat which signifies the county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown; a book which signifies the county of South Dublin. The name Áth Cliath in Irish replaces the previous name "Dublin".

Kit

Till 1918, Dublin wore the colours of the Club Champions as many other counties. In 1918 they adopted the well known sky shirt with the Dublin sheld even if the kit has been for many years different compared to the actual one: collar and shorts were in fact white and the socks hooped, white and blue. The change to the present look, with dark blue details, shorts and socks, was made in 1974.

Sponsorship

The following is a list of sponsors of the Dublin Senior Football team

In October 2013, Dublin signed a new sponsorship deal with insurance firm AIG in excess of €4m over a five-year period. The deal will also incorporate ladies football and camogie for the first time.

History

Dublin first won the All-Ireland in 1891 beating Cork by a 2–1 to 1–1 margin. They won the All-Ireland the following year with victory over Kerry. The Dublin team of the 1970s are considered to be the greatest team of all time. The team of that era won 4 All-Irelands (1974, 1976, 1977 and 1983) and won 7 Leinster titles (6 in-a-row). They were also the first team to play in 6 All-Ireland Football Finals in a row from 1974 to 1979, a feat later matched by Kerry in 2009

Dublin and Meath were involved in one of the most famous of Leinster championship encounters in 1991, the Dublin and Meath 4 in-a-row tie. The teams had to go to three replays in their Leinster Senior Football Championship first round match before a winner could be found. This series of games had the added factor of the Dublin and Meath being long standing fierce rivals, a rivalry that was increased due to Meath winning the 4 out of the last 5 Leinster Championships and 2 All-Irelands over the previous 5 years to replace Dublin as the strongest team in Leinster. Meath eventually won the series thanks to a last minute goal scored by Kevin Foley, and a point scored by David Beggy, in the third replay.

Honours

Dublin have won the Senior All-Ireland Football final on 26 occasions – only Kerry, with 37 All-Ireland titles, have won more. They defeated Mayo by a single point in the 129th All-Ireland Final. This was their fourth championship in six years, having last won the championship against Kerry last year, 2015.

Meanwhile, they have won the Leinster Championship on 55 occasions, and are the current Leinster champions, having beaten Westmeath 2–19 to 0–10 in 2016. This result was their sixth in a row, and saw them become Leinster champions for the tenth time in eleven years. Only Meath have split their wins, winning the Leinster Championship in 2010.

Dublin have won the National Football League on 12 occasions, most recently in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Only Kerry (19) have more league titles.

Current football squad

Squad as per Dublin v Mayo, 2017 National Football League Round 4, 4 March 2017

Dublin Football Championships

The Dublin Senior Football Championship is an annual club competition between the top Dublin clubs. The winners of the Dublin Championship qualify to represent their county in the Leinster Championship and in turn, go on to the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship. The current (2015) Dublin County Champions are Ballyboden St Enda's who claimed their first Dublin Senior Championship title. The first winners of the Dublin football championship were Erins Hope in 1887, who were the student club attached to St Patrick's Teacher Training College, Drumcondra. St Vincent's have won the most titles with a total of 26.

The Dublin Intermediate Football Championship is the second tier football championship. The Intermediate champions go on to play in the Senior football Championship. The 2012 Dublin Intermediate County Champions are Cuala who became champions with a win over Fingallians. St Brigid's are the most successful intermediate club, having won on five occasions.

History

Dublin won the National Hurling League in May 2011 after a 12-point win over Kilkenny, their first national title since they won the All Ireland in 1938. The hurlers have a very fervent following who travel in significant numbers to matches in the provinces. There has been a revival in the fortunes and popularity of Dublin hurling in recent years, and Dublin underage teams have had much success.

In the 2005 league Dublin were relegated to Division Two in the National Hurling League, while the minor side won the Leinster Championship for the first time since 1983. In 2006 Dublin gained promotion to Division One after victory over Kerry in the Division Two final. Following some indifferent displays in the 2006 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, they still managed to save their status in the top flight of hurling counties and again contested the McCarthy Cup in 2007. In the 2007 National Hurling League, meanwhile, despite being favourites to go down in 2007, Dublin managed to avoid relegation by finishing in fourth position. In 2009, former Clare manager, Anthony Daly was appointed manager of Dublin. Under his management, Dublin contested the Leinster Final, but lost by 2 goals to Kilkenny. On 7 July 2013, they won the Leinster Final against Galway on a 2-25 to 2-13 scoreline, scoring 2-21 from play. This was the first time they had won this important competition since 1961. In a nice touch, the Goalkeeper from the 1961 team, presented Dublin Captain, Johnny McCaffrey with the Bob O'Keefe trophy.

Honours

Dublin's hurlers have failed to replicate the success of the county's football side, having won the Senior All-Ireland Hurling final on 6 occasions, most recently in 1938. In terms of All-Ireland titles, they are significantly behind hurling's big three of Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary. Their six titles do however place them fifth in the overall winners list, jointly tied with Wexford.

Dublin have won the Leinster Championship on 24 occasions, the second most Leinster titles of any side, although they remain well behind Kilkenny, who have won the Leinster Championship 70 times.

Dublin have won the National Hurling League three times: in 1929, 1939 and 2011. This places them joint seventh (with Clare) on the overall winners list, having won 16 fewer titles than top-ranked Tipperary.http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/

Current hurling squad

Squad as per Dublin v Waterford, 2017 National Hurling League Round 3, 4 March 2017

Fingal

In 2007, the GAA announced that a hurling team from Fingal (north county Dublin) would compete in parallel to the main Dublin team, to encourage hurling in an area of growing population where the game has not been strong. While players from Fingal are eligible for the main Dublin team, non-Fingal players cannot play for Fingal. The new team competed in the Nicky Rackard Cup in 2008, and the Kehoe Cup in 2009. They will play in Division 3B of the 2010 National Hurling League.

Dublin Hurling Championship

The Dublin Senior Hurling Championship is an annual club competition between the top Dublin clubs. The winners of the Dublin Championship qualify to represent their county in the Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship and in turn, go on to the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship. The 2013 Dublin County Champions were Ballyboden St. Enda's. The first winners of the Dublin hurling championship were Metropolitans in 1888. Faughs have won the most titles with a total of 31.

The (2013) champions of the Dublin Minor Hurling Championship are Ballyboden St Endas. 2014 Champions were Croke's 2015 Champions were Cuala who were runners up in the Leinster Final 2016 Champions are Cuala who won the Leinster Final for the first time since Crumlin 79/80

Hardball Singles winners

Dublin have won the Senior hardball singles All-Ireland title on 15 occasions, two more than their nearest rivals Kilkenny. The 2005 All-Ireland senior hardball singles title was won by Dubliner Eoin Kennedy who plays his club handball for St Brigids. Other former winners for Dublin are T. Soye and A. Clarke.

Softball Singles winners

Dublin have won the Senior softball singles on nine occasions, more than any county other than Kilkenny (who have twenty-five wins to date). The former winners for Dublin include M. Joyce 1925, W. McGuire 1927, L. Rowe 1947, 1949 and 1951, P. Ryan 1980 and E. Kennedy 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Camogie

Dublin are the most successful county in the women's field sport of camogie, During the period from 1932 to 1966 they had nearly one-third of the affiliated clubs in the Association and won all but eight of the championships they contested, winning a ten-in-a-row and an eight-in-a-row in a period interrupted only by a controversial 1956 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Antrim. In a period of revival they won three National Camogie League titles in 1979–1983 and the 1984 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. The total could have been greater had not Dublin County Board disaffiliated during two periods of unrest in the 1940s. Three Dublin clubs have won the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship, Austin Stacks (1971 and 1972), Eoghan Ruadh (1967), and Crumlin (1985).

Structure

The camogie structure in Dublin was arguably the most successful in the country and differed from its provincial counterparts. The league and championship were organised in the winter months, and weekly programmes of Dublin Senior Club Camogie League, Dublin Senior Club Camogie Championship and Isle of Man Cup matches were contested by clubs such as Austin Stacks, Celtic, CIE, Cuchulainns, Eoghan Ruadh, Jacobs, Muiris O'Neills, Naomh Aoife, and Optimists on a dedicated camogie ground in the Phoenix Park (first used 1922, reopened 1933, new pitch opened 1987) although Celtic had a ground in Coolock and CIE had a ground in Inchicore. This left Dublin camogie to concentrate on a summer closed season which contributed to its successes in the but led to difficulties when Dublin clubs began to compete in the provincial and All Ireland club championship in the 1960s. Although Celtic were the first winners of the All Ireland, they did not compete the following year.

Notable players

Notable players include team of the century members Eileen Duffy, Sophie Brack, Kay Mills and Úna O'Connor, player of the year award winners Alice Hussey and Yvonne Redmond, All Star award winners Eimear Brannigan, Ciara Lucey and Louise O'Hara, and stars from the "golden age" such as Sophie Brack, Emmy Delaney, Kathleen Cody, Peggy Griffin, Doreen Rogers and Mary Walsh.

Administrators

Máire Ní Chinnéide, Máire Gill, Eilish Redmond, Nell McCarthy, Úna Uí Phuirséil, Brídín Uí Mhaolagáin and Phyllis Breslin have served as presidents of the Camogie Association).

Expansion

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015.

History

In 2010, Dublin won their first All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship title after reaching the 2003, 2004 and 2009 finals. Suzanne Hughes of Dublin won the ladies' All-Ireland Kick Fada Championship in 2002 and 2009.

Rivalries

In Gaelic football, Dublin's biggest rivalry has been with nearby Meath. Both counties were the strongest sides from Leinster during the 1970s and 1980s. The 1991 four-game tie added to the intensity between the two counties. The Dublin football team also share a rivalry with neighbours Kildare. Lesser local rivalries exist with nearby Wicklow, Laois and Westmeath.

On a national level Dublin's rivalry with Kerry is one of Ireland's most renowned. The rivalry between the two counties intensified in the 1970s and early 1980s. Other smaller footballing rivalries have developed over the decades between Dublin and teams such as Cork, Tyrone, Donegal and Galway, who Dublin played in the 1983 Final known as the Game of Shame.

The Dublin hurling team share lesser rivalries with fellow provincial sides Kilkenny, Offaly and Wexford.