Naomh Feichin An Clochan GAA Club 1912 -2013 The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and International Cultural and Sporting Organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which includes the traditional Irish sport of Hurling, Camogie, Gaelic Football, Handball, and Rounders. The GAA also promotes Irish Music and Dance and the Irish language. The GAA has more than one million members worldwide. The Gaelic Athletic Association was formed in 1884, since its foundation the Association has grown to become a major influence in Irish sporting and cultural life with considerable reach into communities throughout Ireland and among the Irish Diaspora.
Gaelic football was played in west Connemara back in the 1800s, but there were no clubs as we know them today. At that time it was town- land or road versus the next town-land or road. A 'Challenge' was issued to another town-land or road, sometimes in the press of the day and it was usually responded to. Many stories remain of such events, for example , the men from Goulane responding to the Clifden Town 'Challenge' by going into Curvohill and hammering the 'townies' (or as at that time referred to by the country lads as the 'corner-boys') after a hard day's work on the farm or bog.
Similar Stories exist about the men from Inishbofin rowing into Cleggen to face the locals. It is also remembered that a Cleggen man is the only man in Ireland that kicked a point and a goal with one kick of the ball. The Clifden Town GAA Club which was one of the first clubs registered in Connemara, dating back to the early 1900s and perhaps even before, but no documented evidence in relation to this is at hand at the time. The main advantage that the club had in the early years was the train service which was used to transport to and from matches and quantitative records exist of matches in Clifden, for example verse Athenry (another train town) as far back as 1913. The First organised games played in Clifden in the early 1900's. There are statistical records of a match in Clifden between two town teams in 1912. The first official club was formed at the beginning of 1912 under the name of Clifden Shamrocks, the first secretary of the club was Tobias Joyce and the first captain was P.K Joyce. In 1914 the Shamrocks were the only senior team in the west and competed in one of the senior groups in North/East Galway. There are some records also available that the University College Galway travelled to Clifden to Play a game in 1912.
When the GAA rules came in to force, the Parish Rule began to be enforced. The Naomh Feichin Gaa Club is in the Omey Church Parish, areas included in the Omey Parish are Ailebrack, Ballyconneely, Clifden, Cleggen, Claddaghduff, Kingstown, Goulane, Streamstown, Roundstone, and Inishbofin.
The First World War , the War. of Independence and the Civil War would appear to have dramatically curtailed GAA activity in the area from 1914 to the late 1920s.
The Role Of Honour The roll of honour of the club will be based on the following Criteria. The initial club was Clifden shamrocks founded in 1912 and the current club is Naomh Feichin founded in 1950.
Senior Football Championship County Titles: 0
1912 P.K Joyce was captain, beaten county Championship semi- finalists. Lost to Dunmore in group final.
Junior Football Championship County Titles : 7
1950 Micko Collins Captain 1953 Peadar O Toole Captain 1957 Peter Joyce Captain 1960 Sean Bartley Captain 1977 Pat King Captain 1986 Willie McDonagh Captain 2006 Thomas King Captain
The titles of 1950, 1953, 1957, 1960 were equivalent to intermediate titles of today.
Junior Football Championship:
1937 Packie Conneely Captain. Beaten county finalists. 1947 Pairic Joyce Captain. Beaten county semi- finalists. 1948 (Cleggan) Paidin Walsh Captain West Board Junior Championship. 1969 Sean O Toole Captain. Beaten county finalists.
Intermediate Football Championship County Titles: 0
1981 Tom Mannion Captain . Beaten county finalists. 1982 Beaten semi Finalists 1988 Beaten semi finalists. 1992 Willie McDonagh Captain. Beaten semi - finalists. 2001 Ger Burke Captain. Beaten County Finalists.
Intermediate County League Titles: 1
1992 Willie McDonagh Captain.
Under 21 B Football
1986 Gerry King Captain. Beaten county finalists. 1995 Brian Thornton Captain. Beaten county finalists.
Minor A Football
1953 Martin Joyce Captain. Beaten County Finalists. 1957 West Board Winners 1958 West Board Finalists. 1963 West Board Finalists. 1972 Sean O Toole Captain. Beaten county finalists. 1979 Beaten semi finalists 1981 Beaten semi finalists.
Minor B Football
2006 Peter O Toole captain. West Board Finalists 2007 Rory Shannachan captain. Join up with Clonbur this year. 2009 Niall Black Captain. West Board Finalists. 2010 Eoghan Killkenny Captain. West Board winners, Beaten in County Final.
Juvenile Football Under 16 Champoinship.
1995 Brian Cosgrove captain. Defeated St. Gabriel's in C final 2005 Sean Joyce captain.Defeated Glynsk in D Final. 2008 Jack Vaughan captain. Lost to Ballinasloe in B Final. 2009 Ronan O Donnell Captain. Lost to Killanin in C final. 2010 Marty Conneely Captain. Lost to Monivae Abbey in B Final.
Juvenile Football Under 16 County League.
1993 Ger Burke Captain. Defeated Father Griffins in C Final. 1994 Tom King Captain won the C Final. 1995 Brian Cosgrove Captain. Defeated Lettermore in C Final. 2009 Ronan O Donnell Captain. Defeated ST.Gabriel's in C Final.
Players and Members that Represented Galway or other Counties . P.Joyce 1913 Galway A. Glennon 1913 Galway P. Connolly 1913 Galway Francie Mannion 1950s Galway Sean Mannion 1950's Galway Micko Collins 1940's Galway Paddy Davin 1950s Galway Sean Ward Galway Minor Pat Halloran Galway Minor P O' Maille Galway,Cork, and Munster. Connie McGrath Galway, Cork, and Munster. Sean Conneely Galway, Clare , and Munster. Jack Cosgrove played Galway Minor, Under 21s , Junior, and Senior. First All Star Full Back. Andy McGrath 1937 Galway Sean Mannion 1937 Galway Eamon Guy 1937 Galway Jim Smallhorn 1937 Galway Frank Dyer Galway Junior. Coleen King Galway Junior Damien Joyce Galway Junior Tom Mannion Galway Under 21s Ritchie Flaherty Galway Minor Pairic Joyce Galway Minor Tom Vaughan Galway Juvenile, Minor Henry O'Toole Galway Juvenile, Minor Joe Joe Gorham Galway Juvenile, Minor , and Under 21s John Conneely played Junior and Senior with Limerick Laurence Ludden Galway Juvenile, Minor and Under 21's Brian Thornton Galway Juvenile, Minor and Under 21's John O Brien Galway Seniors 2013 Galway Juvenile, Minor and Under 21's Tiernan O'Halloran Galway Juvenile and Minor. Conal Joyce Galway Juvenile and Minor Jack Vaughan Galway Juvenile and Minor David Black Galway Juvenile and Minor Chris Holmes Galway Juvenile Ger Gibbons Galway Juvenile and Minor Vinnie Heffernan Galway Juvenile Frank King Galway Minor Aidan Cosgrove Galway Minor Sean OToole (Matt) Galway Minor MacDara Bermingham Galway Under 21's Sean O Toole Galway Under 21's Michael John Ferron Galway Minor Kevin De Courcey Galway Minor Michael King Galway Minor All Ireland Winner Pat O Malley Galway Minor and Under 21's Connacht Winner Pat King Galway Junior Connacht Winner Ned Keogh Galway Senior, Inter-Provincial Winner when playing for Oughterard Club, also a member of Naomh Feichin. Paddy Griffin Galway and Waterford Senior. Eamon McCann Galway Juvenile and Minor Vincent O Neill Galway Junior and London Paul Joyce Galway Minor and Long standing member of the Naomh Feichin . Dessie Joyce Galway Under 21's Lisa Cohill played for Naomh Feichin up to the grade Under 14's Played Galway Juvenile and Won a Senior All Ireland Medal in Ladies Football 2004. Michael McDonagh Galway Minor Hurling Cathal Molly Galway Juvenile Oisin Heffernan Galway Juvenile Geariod Delaney Galway Juvenile Connor Little Galway Juvenile Bryan Holmes Galway Juvenile Patrick King Galway Juvenile Jack Moran Galway Juvenile Geariod King Galway Juvenile Fechin Mitchell Galway Juvenile Colm Coneys Galway Juvenile Emmet Moran Galway Juvenile Henry O Toole Galway Juvenile