Castlegregory GAA
Castlegregory are a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the parish of Castlegregory in Kerry, Ireland. This is a Gaelic football only club, with no hurling played. The club is a member of the West Kerry division of Kerry GAA. They play their home games in the newly renovated surrounds of Pairc An Caislean located just outside the parish's main village of the same name. The club fields teams at all age groups from U-6 through to Senior and has an excellent record at underage level with regular representation on our county teams. History. Football was played  in Castlegregory long before the GAA was founded in 1884. The game of Caid was played in the parish of Castlegregory long before, and even after, the foundation of the GAA in Thurles in 1884. Caid itself seems to have been a combination of rough and tumble football and cross country running - the contestants being teams from neighbouring parishes. One such game took place between Castle and Cloghane in 1886 at Dowling's Big Field in Stradbally with both sides claiming victory. A replay finally took place 2 years later with Cloghane winning. A local balladeer recalled the game in  a song called "The Kickers of Lios na Caol Bhuidhe" which contains the immortal line: " ..they'd kick all before them from here to Tralee" Another line recounts events when the game became a little too robust: "The referee, with his whistle, was up on top a tree".!!! The first official GAA club of the parish was known as Castlegregory Allen - in memory of William Allen, one of the Manchester Martyrs Allen, Larkin and O'Brien. The first recorded meeting of the club took place in October 1889 and Mr Thomas Moore was elected president and the officers elected with him  were Silvester Egan, Hugh O'Flaherty. Michael Kelliher, John Fitzgerald, Eugene Foran and Michael O'Sullivan. John Foran and Thomas McCarthy were elected captain and vice captain respectively. Tom O'Flaherty from Fahamore soon became Honorary Secretary of the Kerry County Board and not long after Castle became a proper affiliated club. The club took part in the first Senior Kerry County Championship played in 1889 reaching the Semi Final eventually losing to the Killarney Crokes ( Dr.Crokes). Competitions. Kerry GAA competitions are divided into two distinct branches - divisional and county. In divisional competitions, teams face off against their neighbours from within their  own geographical area. In Castlegregory's case, this means that they play against other West Kerry clubs such as Dingle, An Gaeltacht, Lispole and fierce rivals Annascaul. County competitions involve matches against opposition from throughout County Kerry and are independent of divisional championships. Castlegregory also send players to form part of the West Kerry divisional team which competes in the Kerry County Championships at Minor, U21 and Senior levels. The club took part in the first Senior Kerry County Championship played in 1889 reaching the Semi Final eventually losing to the Killarney Crokes ( Dr.Crokes). The following year the club  defeated Tralee Red Hughs in Rd.1 before losing out to Castleisland in the QF. In 1891 Castlegregory once again reached the County QF before losing out to the Killarney Crokes once again. The following season the team were drawn against Dingle in the first round but circumstances led to Castle not being in a position to field a team and conceded the game to Dingle, this led to a four-year sabbatical of the club at senior county championship level but a team again in 1896 beat Listowel on route to the county semi finals where they were eventually beaten  by Cahersiveen. The following years in Kerry football took a backseat with crippling economic problems there were no championships held in 1898 & 1899 but with the turn of the century things started to change and Castle were back in the hunt for the Kerry county championship in 1901. After first round defeats in 1901 to Tralee Mitchels and the following year to Desmonds, Castle reached the county semi final in 1903 before losing by three points to Kilcummin. In 1905 after beating Dingle in the first round, the championship was stalled for over 12 months and when recommenced four of  the quarter-finalists including Castle were not in a position to compete. With the bubbling political situation in Ireland with the introduction of Home Rule once again the county championship was not on the radar again until 1912 when Desmonds won in round one but 12 months on Castle were in a county semi final once again after beating Castlemaine and Ballydonoghue before the Killarney Crokes defeated Castle. After beating Ballydonoghue in the first round the following season the Tralee Parnells beat Castel by two points in the second round. The Easter Rising and the resulting civil war decimated orgainsed  competitions within the county and there were often sporadic championships with many not completed and many years no championships played at all. In 1929 a divisional team from West Kerry entered the county championship and competed for a few seasons before clubs were in a position to field again themselves and in 1937 the clubs of Dingle, An Gaeltacht and Castlegregory were back in the senior county championship on their own. The 1937 championship saw the introduction of group stages "( two groups of six)" and although beating St Brendans and An Gaeltacht and two draws against Kerins O'Rahillys the teame  finished outside the top two and did not qualify for the knockout stages. The following season Castle were drawn in a group with Dingle, John Mitchels, An Gaeltacht and Austin Stacks and although defeating the Stacks in Pairc an Caislean once again did not qualify out of the group stages. Club Foundations: Bord na nÓg. All of Castlegregory's underage teams take part in similar county Gaelic football and divisional competitions. Castle have regularly been strong contenders in their county league divisions, winning several titles at all underage brackets over the past 20 years or so, most notably a County  Minor 3-in-a-row side in the mid-1990s. Senior. 2009 Kerry Junior County Champions. 2009 Munster Junior Champions. Castle defeated Mountcollins of Limerick by a score of 1–20 to 0–4 on 13 December 2009. Great celebrations and speech making were seen in the village the night after the match especially by team trainer Ger Callaghan and team captain Adrian 'Sammy' Finn of the Maharees. Castle followed up this fine win in January 2010 by defeating Longwood of Meath in the All Ireland semi-final by a score of 1–16 to 0–8. Another fine win witnessed in Limerick by many  who travelled from West Kerry for the game. Castle went on to meet Kiltimagh of Mayo in the final played on Valentine's Day, 2010. In a tight encounter the game finished level on a score of 0–12 to 1-9 after normal time so a 20-minute period of extra time was played. In extra time Castle came out on top and showed their superior fitness to become the first club from West Kerry to win an All-Ireland club title defeating Kiltimagh 0–15 to 1–14. In 2009 Castle also won promotion from Division 3 of the county league . 2021 Season. After a league campaign that resulted in wins against Beale GAA , Tarbert GAA , Lispole and Waterville GAA ,Whilst our single league defeat to Firies forced us into a promotion play-off with Skellig Rangers GAA resulting in a narrow loss,Castlegregory turned their attentions to Championship Castlegregory under the management of Gavin O'Connor,John Fitzgerald & Liam Goodwin were drawn in Group C of the Junior County Championship along with Tuosist GAA, Scartaglin GAA and Renard GAA A dominant 7-14 to 0–08 win in Tuosist was followed by a 4-11 to 1–09 win over Cromane and top  of the table clash was next v Renard. CASTLE 1-10 Reenard 1-10 A last minute point from Caolán O Connell to get the draw and enough for Castle top the group on score difference and secure a home QF A fair result you might say as a neutral but CASTLE did lead throughout the game only going behind in the last 5 minutes. A few spurned second half chances but the intensity of play for the full 60 minutes was good to see. In the first half Timmy Moriarty hit the opening scores, a goal and a point , Brandon Hoare had 2 first half points, Alan Fitz and Thomas O Donnell one each and Jimmy O Grady knocked a free over. Reenard had 2 frees and a 45 kicked off the ground by their no. 8, 2 further points from play and a goal coming from an intercepted pass. The tempo remained in the second half but scores were harder found. Maurice O Connell won a lot of ball and hit a couple of fine points off his weaker left foot, Brandon's solid sense of positioning had him in the right spot to take a pass and  hit his 3rd point but the visitors never dropped their level of play and stayed level on scores...3 minutes to go they took the lead for the first time...but cool heads and a bit of ball management saw Caolán O Connell claim a forward mark on the 14 yd line and thankfully he popped it over the bar...Final Whistle. A home quarter final was next against Beale GAA A strong breeze blowing in Pairc an Caislean resulted in a very tight first half, Points from Maurice O Connell, Thomas O Donnell and two from Jimmy O Grady ,had Castle in touch at half time with the wind at their backs for the second half HT Castle 0–04 to Beale 1-05 Castle dominated the second 30 minutes with scores from Colm O Mahoney,Jimmy O Grady,Maurice Slattery,Timothy Moriarty and Brandon Hoare results in a 0–15 to 1–07 win. Into the semi final Castle marched and in their way of a county final appearance was Cordal gaa. The following is a match report from The Kerryman "The character and resilience to bounce back from what could have been a game-defining sucker punch, allied to the  superb impact of an impressive substitutes’ bench, were the key factors in Castlegregory advancing to the County JFC Final for the second year in succession, following an enthralling encounter with Cordal at Strand Road on Sunday." "Quite simply, this was a riveting, spellbinding, pulsating hour of football that showcased everything that is great about the club scene in Kerry." "Both sides went at it hammer and tongs from the first whistle to the last, with positive, attacking intentions the order of the day, and the fact that there were 32 scores and only seven wides tells its own story of  the magnificence of this semi-final." "Entering the final ten minutes, the sides were level (for the eleventh time in the game) before Jimmy O’Grady pointed Castlegregory into the lead with a free (0-15 to 1-11)." "However, in the 53rd minute, Cordal struck for their second green flag of the afternoon, to stun the West Kerry side, and appear to take the initiative themselves down the home stretch." "There was an element of controversy around the goal as Philip O’Connor’s raking high delivery into the full-forward line was punched by the towering figure of Donal McCarthy , and when Castlegregory custodian Shane Kenny made an instinctive reflex stop, the rebound was bundled into the net from close range by Cordal centre-forward Eamon Nolan." "Castlegregory were incensed, believing an offence had been committed, but, after consultation with his umpires, referee Maurice Murphy allowed the score to stand, and Cordal now had a precious two-point advantage entering the closing stages of this epic. Was this, finally, the turning point? Could the 2020 beaten finalists get up off the canvas, or were they out for the count?" "By God did we get our answer to those posers! One  Castlegregory replacement, Cian Cronin (making his championship debut), had already notched a point on his introduction when, in the 58th minute, two more substitutes combined for Cian O’Grady to provide the assist for the unmarked Eoin Lyne, marauding down the right wing, to advance and almost slither a low drive under the body of Seán Óg Ó Ciardubháin and into the back of the Cordal net." "That was as emphatic a response as Gavin O’Connor’s charges could have managed to the predicament that they found themselves in, and having fought so determinedly and with huge quality, Cordal were now  rocked to their very core, and with bodies tiring, and with an absence of the strength-in-depth of the opposition, they just could not respond." "Instead, Castlegregory took gigantic momentum from Lyne’s goal, and went totally for the jugular in the concluding stages, as Cordal lost corner-back Gary O’Leary to a black card, with Cian O’Grady firing over two more points from play, and centre-back Timmy Moriarty punching over the insurance score in the fifth minute of added time to seal a four-point victory after a monumental tussle." "The winners led by a point (0 -4 to 0-3) at the first water break, with Patrick O’Donoghue and Cordal’s Seán Brosnan both being denied goals at either end by good goalkeeping, and the protagonists could not be separated at half-time (0-9 to 1-6) with the St Kieran’s district outfit finding the net after a mix-up in the Castlegregory defence led to one livewire corner-forward in Brosnan supplying the other, Seán Walsh, for a simple tap-in." "With the accurate shooting of both teams illuminating the titanic confrontation, keeping the vociferous crowd mightily entertained on a beautiful autumn afternoon , Cordal had sneaked into the ascendancy at the last water break (1-10 to 0-12). Not long after, they would strike for the second goal to seemingly help them towards the winning post, but it just wasn’t to be." "Micheal Cahill and Kevin O’Connor will be gutted at seeing their well-prepared side pipped at the post, but the fact that Castlegregory had 12 different scorers and only hit two wides in the entire 60-plus minutes is testament to their excellent conversion rate." "They say you have to lose one to win one, so the West Kerry  men will be eagerly-awaiting a county final meeting with Firies to try and make amends for their heavy 2020 decider defeat to neighbours Annascaul." CASTLEGREGORY: Shane Kenny; Podge Rohan, John Joe Hussey, Seamus Lyne; Caolan O’Connell 0–1, Timmy Moriarty 0–1, Michael Scanlon; Alan Fitzgerald, Maurice Slattery 0–2; Anton Kelliher 0–1, Thomas O’Donnell 0–1, Patrick O’Donoghue 0–1; Brandon Hoare 0–2, Maurice O’Connell 0–1, Jimmy O’Grady 0-5 (0-3 frees) Subs: Cian O’Grady 0-2 for Scanlon, half-time, Eoin Lyne 1-0 for O’Donoghue, 43, Colm O’Mahony for Kelliher, 43, Cian Cronin 0-1 for M O’Connell, 46 CORDAL : Seán Óg Ó Ciardubhain 0-1 (free); Gary O’Leary, John Brosnan, Jamie Cahill; Padraig Brosnan, Seán O’Connell, Brian Reidy 0-3 (frees); Philip O’Connor 0-2 (0-1 free), Kieran Enright; Kevin Walsh 0–1, Eamon Nolan 1–0, TJ O’Connor; Seán Walsh 1–2, Donal McCarthy, Sean Brosnan 0-2 Sub: Mark O’Donoghue for J Brosnan, 46 REFEREE: Maurice Murphy (St Michael's/Foilmore) MAIN MAN "It’s almost impossible to pick a man-of-the-match, with so many excellent displays on both sides. Just about shading all and sundry was Castlegregory midfielder Maurice Slattery, who worked tirelessly, up and down the  pitch, all afternoon, kicking two superb points to boot. In truth, you could easily pick five or six names from either team who were in contention." KEY MOMENT "Without a doubt, Eoin Lyne’s goal for Castlegregory in the 58th minute, coming as it did, just five minutes after Eamon Nolan’s green flag for Cordal. The fact that the winners got 1-3 from their bench in the second half (Cian O’Grady 0-2, Cian Cronin 0-1) was absolutely pivotal to deciding who advanced to the final, but Lyne’s strike was the biggest catalyst of all." TALKING  POINT "This might be the fourth championship tier of Kerry club football, but you certainly wouldn’t have thought it watching this superlative affair. Both Castlegregory and Cordal deserve the utmost credit for producing such an entertaining spectacle, especially at this time of the year when the ground is not as conducive to free-flowing football as it would be during the summer." The final was met with great anticipation throughout the community with Banners,Flags and Signs all over the area wishing the team the best of luck,Firies who were favourites were the oppostion but what happened next  nobody outside the four walls of the Castlegregory dressing room anticipated. The following was the match report in the Kerryman <nowiki>"</nowiki>"Goals win Games That was the overwhelming message sent out by Castlegregory, who consigned last season’s county JFC final defeat to the memory banks, by storming their way to a magnificent victory over a shell-shocked Firies, in this Kerry Petroleum County JFC decider at a mild Austin Stack Park on Sunday." "Even though it has only been a couple of months since the West Kerry club were well beaten by neighbours Annascaul in the 2020 showpiece, it  was evident from the outset in Tralee that Castlegregory were going to be a totally different kettle of fish on this occasion. They were ferociously determined that they wouldn’t be the bridesmaids again." "However, while the margin of victory at the end was as comprehensive as it was deserved, following a virtuoso attacking performance which is fast becoming the hallmark of this Castlegregory side, it has to be said that Firies, although they could have absolutely no complaints at the outcome, will wonder what might have been if they had been as clinical as the opposition." "The winners led  0-4 to 0-3 at the first water break, but it is fair to say that Firies, on another day, could have had four goals in that opening quarter. Indeed, all of their points, from Aaron Flynn (third minute), Padraig De Brun (ninth minute) and Jack Sherwood (12th minute) were blazed narrowly over the bar, rather than under it, from close range, with the middle effort hammering off the woodwork on its way." "When you then add in the very last move of the quarter, which culminated in Donnacha O’Sullivan’s superb pass finding the aforementioned Flynn clean through  on goal once more, Firies supporters were again left shaking their heads in disbelief, when the corner-forward’s left-footed strike was drilled wide of the near post. If even half of those chances had found the net, who knows what would have happened?" "One sensed right at that moment that the East Kerry side would pay for such squandermania, but nobody guessed how quickly that would turn out to be the case as Castlegregory, always looking the more cohesive unit, and inspired by last year’s Kerry minors, Thomas O’Donnell and Maurice O’Connell, in the central forward positions , soon struck for a two-goal blast in the space of little over a minute.""The first green flag was raised in the 20th minute after a mistake in defence by Firies wing-back Tomas Clifford, but even after Jimmy O’Grady provided the assist for O’Connell, there didn’t appear to be too much danger of the net bulging, but, in an instant, the full-forward’s speculative, daisy-cutting right footed effort evaded the dive of Billy O’Rourke and nestled in the bottom corner." "If that was a serious blow to Firies, things got even worse in the very  next play when good approach work from Brandon Hoare and Colm O’Mahony (who intelligently kept the ball alive when it seemed to be drifting over the endline) ended with a piece of brilliance from O’Donnell, who executed a difficult pick-up, dummied his man, and then slotted home at the near post for Castlegregory’s second goal (2-5 to 0-4)." "Rocked to their very core, Firies were now at sixes and sevens, but this wasn’t the conclusion of the torture before the interval for Tim Foley’s charges. Deep into injury-time, a delicious eye-of-the -needle free from O’Donnell found the unmarked Jimmy O’Grady clean through on goal, and when he attempted to round the advancing goalkeeper, he was unceremoniously dumped to the ground." "Referee Daniel Clifford pointed to the spot, and in a double whammy for Firies, issued a straight red card to goalkeeper O’Rourke. Replaced by his brother John, the substitute goalie’s first task was to pick the ball out of the net from veteran Alan Fitzgerald’s coolly-dispatched spot-kick, sending the vociferous Castlegregory supporters into raptures as their team led 3-7 to 0-7 at half-time ." "Nine  points in arrears, and with a numerical disadvantage facing them for the second period, Firies knew that they were a beaten docket. There wasn’t a hope in hell of pulling this one out of the fire. Instead, the second half quickly degenerated into more shooting practice for the winners’ attackers, with O’Mahony coming to the fore for a spell, and the sparkling Cian O’Grady dominating all and sundry as he fired over six points from play in a wonderful exhibition of finishing." "The damage had been done long before then. When the game was a serious battle, Gavin O’Connor ’s side were ruthless in their quest for redemption, while Firies simply looked too many gift horses in the mouth." "The kings of the Castle’ are sitting on their junior throne. They are the worthiest of champions." CASTLEGREGORY: Shane Kenny; Podge Rohan, John Joe Hussey, Gearoid Fitzgerald; Caolan O’Connell, Timmy Moriarty 0–1, Michael Scanlon; Alan Fitzgerald 1-1 (1-0 pen), Maurice Slattery; Colm O’Mahony 0–2, Thomas O’Donnell 1-1, Cian O’Grady 0–7; Brandon Hoare 0–1, Maurice O’Connell 1-1, Jimmy O’Grady 0-3 (2f). Subs: Eoghan Lyne for Rohan (half-time), Patrick O’Donoghue for J O’Grady (51 mins), Cian  Cronin for O’Mahony (52 mins), Anton Kelliher for M O’Connell (55 mins), Seamus Lyne for C O’Connell (60 mins). It felt like the whole community were out in celebrations that night and the cup went on tour to our local schools the following day giving our younger supporters a chance to meet the previous days heroes. It wasn't long until we were out on the pitch again and faced off with An Ghaeltacht GAA in the West Kerry Senior Football Championship in Pairc an Caislean. A first half goal for Castlegregory's Maurice O’Connell gave Castle a fighting chance  and they carried a lead at the break 1–5 to 0–2. Castle continued to win their individual battles but the winter weather conditions were hampering scoring.Castle were defending a two-point lead coming in to the final minutes when a high ball into the square was finished to the net by An Ghaeltacht GAA full forward Shane Ó Grifín,Castle battled for the equaliser to force extra time but the final whistle sounded just minutes later. "Caisléan Ghriaire: Shane Kenny, Padraig Rohan, John Joe Hussey, Séamus Lyne, Eoghan Lyne, Timothy Moriarty, Michael Scanlon (0-1), Alan Fitzgerald (0-2 , 2fr), Maurice Slattery, Thomas O'Donnell, Patrick O’Donoghue, Cian O'Grady, Brandon Hoare (0-2, 1f), Maurice O'Connell (1-0), Caolan O'Connell Fir Ionaid: Colm O'Mahony (0-1), Gearóid Fitzgerald" "AN GHAELTACHT: Tomás Mac an tSaoir, Fiach Ó Loingsigh, Caoimhín Ó Beaglaoich, Fergal Ó Cuanaigh, Pádraig Ó Sé, Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Gearóid Mac an tSaoir, PJ Mac Láimh, Cian Ó Murchú, Tomás Ó Sé, Seán Ó Bambaire (0-1), Naoise Mac Gearailt, Shane Ó Grifín (1-0), Éanna Ó Conchúir (0-3, 3f), Pádraig Óigí Ó Sé (1-0) Fir Ionaid: Bréanainn Ó Bruic, Cathal Ó Fionnachta, Colm Ó Muircheartaigh" 2021 will  be a season that wont be forgotten by the people of Castlegregory GAA. Parish Leagues. As a large parish - end to end is about 30 miles - comprising many sizeable townlands and villages, early Castle teams suffered from logistical difficulties when it came to the organisation of training sessions. To overcome this, a parish league was formed which pitted the best 15 from each or the larger townlands against each other. The main protagonists included teams from Cloghane, Stradbally, Aughausla, Camp, Maharees and Castlegregory. As the local population declined many townlands had trouble finding 15 players, to the point where  the parish league was disbanded. In its place, we now have an annual once off game between the East of the Parish and the West of the Parish. These clashes take place every December, normally around St Stephen's Day. Often tough affairs, featuring a cameo or two from former greats who just doesn't know when to lie down, the matches usually draw a large crowd. Some things never change though and once the old scores are settled and rivalries renewed, it all ends with a trophy presentation and a pint in one of Castle's well known watering  holes. Notable players. Castlegregory has had some wonderful players through the years, many of whom never made it into a Kerry shirt but may well have been able to lay claim to one. Of those who did, Pat O'Shea and Tom Moriarty are two of the most notable. Both are featured in the book "Princes Of Pigskin", which chronicles the men and women who have made Kerry great. Many Castlegregory players have been honoured at schools level with Tralee CBS , Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí and Meán Scoil Nua an Leith Triúigh & also in third level Sigerson Cup with various third level institutions  Micheál O' Sé (2001) & JB Spillane (2011) with UCC,Seán Mahoney with IT Tralee (1998) Kerry Senior Football Team. Junior Players. 7 Castlegregory players represented Kerry at Junior grade U20/U21 Players. 7 Castlegregory players represented Kerry at U21/U20 grade Minor Players. 10 Castlegregory players represented Kerry at Minor grade