Founded: 1941 Colours: Red and White and Blue Football: 0 | County: Louth Grounds: Pairc Baile Fiach | |
About
Hunterstown Rovers is a gaelic football (GAA) club located in Ardee, County Louth, Ireland. The club's pitch is located about 3 kilometres south of Ardee on the main Dublin-Derry Road (N2). Hunterstown has teams at all age levels starting from U5’s through to senior level.
Contents
History
The club was founded in 1941 its founder members were Tommy Quinn, Dick Breagy and Tommy Taaffe.
After challenge matches against the O’Mahony’s and Collon, the club affiliated with the Louth County Board in 1941, playing their first competitive match in March of that season in the Second Div. Championship at Dunleer against St. Colmcille’s, Togher, which they won 2-4 to nil. In their next outing however, Hunterstown went under in Dunleer. But the season wasn’t without its rewarding aspects. Rovers won their section of the Ranafast Cup only to fail to Kilcurry in the competition’s semi-final stages.
Those at the helm of affairs in the 1940/`41 period included: Willie Gillespie (first chairman), Tom Caraher (vice-chairman), Mickey Quinn (secretary), Paddy Bellow (treasurer), Peter Rogers, John Reilly, Matt Sexton, Dick Breagy, Joe Bellow, Tommy Quinn, Tommy Taaffe & Peter Kelly. Tom Caraher took over as chairman in 1942. From 1940 to 1980 Hunterstown played their football in a field owned by the Duffy family, close by the Travellers Rest. Because of its rather restricted size, it became known as the “Cabbage Field”. Many visiting teams failed to come to terms with the pitch’s pronounced slope.
At the club’s 1980 A.G.M. it was decided to investigate the possibility of acquiring a permanent and suitable location. This committee consisted of John Mathews, Richie Davis, Willie Halpenny, Tom Lynch, Louis Martin, Tommy Taaffe and Michael Quinn. Later it was decided that the most desirable property was a spacious field adjoining the already existing clubrooms. This was owned by the Lynch family and within a short period of time negotiations were opened and completed. A price of £16,000 was the agreed price. Early in 1983 the first game on the new grounds was a Ranafast Cup meeting of Rovers and Sean McDermott’s. The homesters getting the better of things 1-4 to 0-1. Dominic Callaghan got the first point on the new playing arena and John Matthew’s got the first goal. The meeting of Monaghan and Louth officially opened the brand new Pairc Baile Fiach in July 1984. The first jerseys in 1941 were navy blue/sky blue vertical stripes. They cost 33/-(shillings). Tommy Taaffe scored the first point for Hunterstown. Hunterstown played in the Cardinal O’Donnell Cup in 1946. The first success at Co. Board level came in 1954 when Hunterstown won both the 2nd Division Championship and Ranafast Cup beating Lannleire in both finals at the Grove, Castlebellingham.
The club has the honour of having been represented by Ollie Reilly on the winning Louth team in the 1957 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.
Rovers achieved senior status for the first time by winning the Louth Intermediate Football Championship in 1993. The club has most recently enjoyed successes in the Louth Junior Football Championship (2013) and the Louth Division 3 League (2012) and has competed in the Leinster Junior Club Football Championship a lot which can be attributed to new hot shot Ryan Burns, who was a part of the successful Louth team that won the Allianz Division 4 league in 2016, defeating Antrim in Croke Park on a scoreline of 3-12 to 1-14, and veteran sharp shooter Paul "The Surgeon" (due to his clinical finishing) Carrie. In November 2016 Jim Matthews was appointed as manager of the Senior football team.