Ardclough GAA

Ardclough is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Ardclough, County Kildare, Ireland. The club's biggest achievements include winning the Kildare County Senior Football Championship after a replayed final against the Army in 1949, winning 13 Kildare County Senior Hurling Championships, the latest in 2017 beating Naas in the final, defeating Buffer's Alley in the 1976 Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship and winning the Leinster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship in 2006. History RIC records from 1890 show that Hazlehatch Irish Harpers, based on Lord Concurry's field near Skeagh, had 70 members with officers listed as Ambrose Dwyer, Christy Fitzsimons, Michael Saunders and John Cantwell. John Buggle is listed as an officer with Kilteel King O'Tooles club. Thomas Kenny from Ardclough bore the nickname "The Harper" Kenny all his life. An Ardclough club competed in the 1924–27 championships. The current club was founded at a meeting in Mick Treacy's workshop in 1936, growing out of an under-14 team organised by Fr O'Brien at Ardclough national school, and the hurling club founded by Mick Houlihan in 1949. Gaelic Football Ardclough were the smallest community to win the Kildare Senior Football Championship when Dan Graham's team beat a star-studded Army team in the replay of the 1949 county final, drawing a record attendance of 10,035 to the replay in St Conleth's Park. Goalkeeper Jim Nolan was the star of the drawn match, Christy Burke was the star of the replay, when a Dick McKenna goal before half-time and a series of points from the "Butcher" Graham and Jimmy Butler gave Ardclough a 1-11 to 2–6 victory. They lost the 1953 semi-final by a point and beat both the Army and Sarsfields in Leader Cup finals before being regraded in 1958. Their rivalry with Sarsfields exploded into controversy in the 1950 county semi-final before a record 7,730 attendance. Ardclough's 1968 Jack Higgins Cup winners merged with the survivors of Kills' 1962 semi-final team to create area team Wolfe Tones which went to the 1971 semi-final and a three-point defeat to Carbury. Ardclough won the Junior A and Jack Higgins Cup in championship in 2000. Ardclough forms St Edward's along with Rathcoffey and Straffan for underage purposes and St Edward's fields teams at all levels from Under 9 to Under 21. Hurling Ardclough contested 20 county finals in success between 1963 and 1985, including a notorious battle with Éire Óg in 1973. The club beat Buffer's Alley in the 1976 Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship and was the first from Kildare to win an All Ireland Feile Division 4 in 1993. Ardclough regarded senior for the second time after winning the 1959 Junior championship and a morale-boost by the victory of their minors in 1956, inspired by Tim Gleeson and Kieran O'Malley. The careers of Tommy Christian, Mick Duane, Colm O'Malley and Bobby Burke spanned all twenty years. The 16-year-old Richie Cullen played his first final at centre field in 1966 and afterwards at full-back. Wexford born Ned Walsh came in 1967 and was joined by his brother, free-scoring Johnny Walsh in 1970. Ardclough contested nine successive finals against Éire Óg (1965 to 1974), a record for any grade in football and hurling, including their first title in 1968 when one of their minors, Richie Cullen, captained the team. Der Connor, John Cummins and Mick Duane contributed to the 2–12 total against 3–3 for Éire Óg. Counting semi-finals the sides met for 14 consecutive seasons. Even though it took 19 years to win their next senior title Ardclough played a prominent role in Kildare hurling, losing the 1998 final by a point to Colm Byrne's late free for Coill Dubh. Ardclough returned to beat Coill Dubh 2–12 to 0–11 in the 2004 county final with goals from Andy Whelan and Padraig O'Malley. Ardclough regained the title in 2006 with a four point win over Confey. They then went on to make history winning the Leinster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship beating Ratharney of Westmeath in the final. Camogie Ardclough camogie club was founded in 1962 by Mick Houlihan, Patrick O’Connor and Ann Johnson, the original colours were brown and yellow, now black, red and yellow,. Josie O’Connor captained the team that won the championship in 1968. Honours Kildare GAA Club of the Year 2006. Hurling Kildare Senior Hurling Championship Winners (13): 1968, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2017 Leinster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship Winners (1): 2006 Kildare Senior Hurling League Champions (15): 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 2005, 2013 Centenary Senior Hurling Championship (1): 1984 Kildare Junior Hurling Championship Winners (3):1949, 1954, 1959 Kildare Under-21 Hurling Championship Winners (4): 1964, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2010* (Killard) Kildare Minor Hurling Championship Winners (6): 1956, 1968, 1995, 1996, 2006, 2008 Kildare Minor Hurling B Championship Champions (2): 2004, 2005 Football Kildare Senior Football Championship Winners (1) 1949 Kildare Senior Football League Champions (2): 1949, 1950 Kildare Intermediate Football Championship Winners (1) 1943 Kildare Junior Football Championship: Winners (4) 1941, 1959, 1968, 2000 Kildare Intermediate Football League Champions (1): 1959 Kildare Junior Football League Champions (4):1940, 1943, 1944, 1951 Kildare Senior Football League Division 3 Champions (1): 1976 The Leinster Leader Junior Club Cup 2003. Camogie Kildare Senior Camogie Championship 1968 Kildare Intermediate Camogie Champions 1988 Kildare Junior Camogie Champions 1983, 2000, 2020 Kildare Camogie Senior League Runners-up 1967, 1969, 1971 Kildare Intermediate Camogie League 1988 References Bibliography Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by Eoghan Corry, CLG Chill Dara, 1984, ISBN 0-9509370-0-2 hb ISBN 0-9509370-1-0 pb Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000– in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000 Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904–2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board. External links Ardclough GAA Website