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Graiguecullen GAA club

Graiguecullen G.A.A. Club History The club was founded in 1886 and was known as Graigue Young Ireland’s and competed in Leix, as it was know then, from 1886 to 1904. In 1903, after the County Boundary changed, the Club applied for affiliation in Carlow but was refused permission to play. In 1905 they were accepted into Carlow and competed there until 1926. The first championship won in Carlow was for Hurling in 1906, followed by two more hurling championships in 1907 and 1908. They reached their first Senior Football final in 1905, where they were due to take on Tullow in a match that was never played. No Senior football was played in Carlow in 1906 or 1907. The first Senior Football Championship was achieved on 22nd Nov 1908 at Carlow Commercial Grounds on a scoreline of Carlow-Graigue 1-08, Newtown 1-02. The title was retained through 1909 and 1910. This was followed by a 4 in a row between 1912 and 1915. Further success was accomplished with a 5 in a row from 1921 to 1925. 1920′s The 1920s served as a significant milestone in the history of the club and its future direction. In 1922 the club and village was dealt a huge blow by the death of one of it’s finest players following an accidental clash with one of his own players in the first round Senior Football Championship V Palatine. Denis (Buller) Haughney died on Tuesday night after been injured in Sunday’s Game. The club went on to win the Championship that year. By 1925 the club had won 5 Senior Football Championships in a row and looked like they would continue to dominate in 1926. In 1926 another landmark in the club’s history took place. A number of clubs in Carlow amalgamated with Milford in an effort to dethrone the team referred to as Carlow-Graigue. The 1926 CountyFinal of Graigue V Milford was played on 15th Aug in Rathoe, Co. Carlow. The game was abandoned in the last few minutes when the spectators invaded the pitch after a young member of the Graigue team (John McDarby) had been injured. Local and National papers at the time refereed to the game as ‘The Battle of Rathoe.’ At a County Board meeting the following night the Chairman, Fr. J. Lawlor (P.P. Rathoe), arranged for a further meeting the following Sunday to deal with the matter. The Graigue Club were suspended for 2 years at this meeting. The club appealed the suspension to the Leinster Council but the decision of the Carlow County Board was upheld. However, the Chairman of the Leinster Council, Mr. Bob O’Keefe, stated that if Graigue wished to return to Leix (and this was acceptable to Liex) that the Leinster Council would lift the suspension. Graigue were thus reinstated into Leix. In 1974 the local parish magazine, Fiaccs Folk, researched and published an article by Kathleen Haughney entitled ‘The Battle of Rathoe – What really happened on the day? How Carlow and Graigue parted and the Laois bond began.’ It details the Graiguecullen team that played in that Final on 15th August. Graiguecullen were back in Leix for the 1927 Championship and won it at their first attempt. 1930′s The 1930s saw Graigue grow as a major force in Laois football and the 1931 final between Graigue and Stradbally (three replays) was talked about for years after. Graiguecullen won 4 Senior Championships in the 30s (1931, 1935, 1938 and 1939). The club won its first minor titles in 1933 and 1939. Players from the club helped Laois win Leinster titles in 1936, 37 and 38 with Joe (Rexie) McDonald from Graigue captaining the Laois team against Mayo in the All-Ireland Final in 1936. In 1937 a young boy from the club burst onto the playing fields of Laois, Leinster and Ireland. Tommy Murphy ‘The Boy Wonder’ would become one of the finest footballers ever to play the game. 1940′s The 1940s is remembered as a Golden Era in the club’s Senior Football history in Laois. A County Championship in 1942, followed by a four-in-a-row between 1944 and 1947, and a further title in 1949 firmly established the club as the best in the county. Players from the club were part of the Leinster winning Laois team on 1946 and the club won 5 minor titles in a row between 1945 and 1949. 1950′s The 1950s saw a decline in the clubs performances on the field of play. Two championships were won in this decade – a Junior title and the first ever U14 title in 1955. This decline came about as a result of great players from the 30s and 40s retiring from the game aligned with massive immigration to the U.S. and England. Fr. Paddy Byrne from Baltinglass arrived in the parish as P.P. in 1950. He would become club chairman some years later. The club had a very successful Camogie team that started up in the 1950s and continued into the 1960s. Under the stewardship of Myles Cahill, a Wexford native, who lived on the grounds as caretaker of Fr. Maher Park this team won a number of Laois Championships. Over the years the club had played and trained in many fields around the village, the most famous and best known of which was Fennell’s bog. Around 1953/54 the committee set out to buy its own field. A finance committee headed by Jim (Bummer) Nolan travelled with men and women from the village to the fairs of Ireland selling tickets for a ‘Bullock for a bob’ to raise the necessary finance. Carnivals in the Bank Field in Carlow were regular events every summer and the Whale that he brought from Fethard-On-Sea in Co. Wexford and charged the people to see is still talked about today! There was also a car raffled and pictured below is Fr. Byrne and Jim Nolan presenting the keys to the licky winner! In the mid 50s the club bought land in Graiguecullen from Behan’s of Leinster Lodge, Athy, Co. Kildare. They developed one of the finest playing fields in Leinster. Fr. Maher Park (named after a former P.P.) was officially opened in 1960 with 2 dressing rooms and a walled pitch. 1960′s The 1960s saw a revival of the club’s football fortunes. There was a semi-final appearance in 1963 followed by a final in 1964 and a CountyChampionship in 1965. The minor team reached back to back finals in 1964 and 65, and the club won successive U14 titles in 1967 and 1968. 1970′s In the 1970s the club played in 4 Senior Championship finals (72, 75, 76 and 76 replay) and 2 minor finals (73, 76) but collected no silver ware. The club did win a Junior A Championship in 1975 and the Senior League in 74/75. In 1973 three players from the club (Eddie Harte (R.I.P.), Andy Fennell and Danny Doogue) won All-Ireland Junior medals with Laois. In 1977, the 50th Anniversary of the club coming back to Laois, all the players from the 20s, 30s and 40s had a reunion in Bradleys (The Thatch Pub) with the Leinster Express interviewing everyone and running articles in the paper over the next few weeks. 1980′s The club lost 2 county football finals back to back in 1980 and 81. The strong team of the previous 10 years began to disintegrate without having the county title that should have rewarded their effort, commitment and ability. In 1985 and 1986 the club lost minor finals (both after replays!). The Junior B Team won the Championship in 1985 and two Junior Leagues were won in 1982 and 1986. In 1987 the U14B Championship was taken and that same team went on to claim the clubs first ever U16 title in 1989. In 1985 and 1987 an amalgamated U21 side (Killeshin, Crettyard and Gaiguecullen) playing as St. Fiaccs, claimed the county title. The 1980s saw adult and juvenile hurling revived in the club. The successful Laois side that won the National League in 1986 had Willie Brennan, Christy Maguire, Pascal Doran and Mark Behan as part of the panel. In 1981 a decision was taken to build a Clubhouse. On 16th March 1983 the doors were opened to our members for the very first time. The 1980s also saw the boundary wall built at the side of the pitch and across the OakleyPark end. The Sleaty Road wall and entrance were also completed at this time. 1984 was the Centenary of C.L.G. and it was celebrated in style in the club on the last Saturday in July. The event is still being talked about 25 years later! 1990’s In 1992 the club won its first Minor Title since 1949The Junior Hurlers won the C Championship in 1994. The U14B Football Championship was claimed in 1991 and an U12A Championship in 1998. In 1996 Danny Doogue & Kenny Dunne won All Ireland medals with Laois, the counties first ever minor title. Graiguecullen G.A.A. Club, The Carlow County Board, The River Barrow and The Triangle became one of the most talked about subjects on 1998/99, both in the Carlow/Graiguecullen area and beyond! In 1902 the official County Boundary of Carlow was extended into the Queens County (Leix/Laois) taking in most of the then village of Graiguecullen in the shape of a triangle from the Church on the Ballickmoyler Road back to the River Barrow. The river Barrow still remained the CountyBoundary between Laois and Carlow for G.A.A. purposes and no more was said about it. In 1998 LaoisIntercounty footballer Leo Turley from the O’Dempseys club took up residence inside the Triangle in Graiguecullen. Leo requested an Intercounty transfer form the O’Dempseys (Laois) to Eire-Og (Carlow). O’Dempseys objected to the transfer on the grounds that Mr. Turley was still living in Laois and the transfer was refused. It was pointed out that the residence was in fact inside the Triangle and thus technically in Co. Carlow. Leo put in a new transfer request along with a map of Graiguecullen detailing the Triangle and the county boundary. The Leinster Council granted the transfer. Some time after this episode the Leinster Council contacted Graiguecullen C.L.G. in relation to the problems that the transfer may cause them in the future. Graiguecullen requested that the Leinster Council accept the River Barrow as the boundary, as it had been since 1927 when Graiguecullen had returned to Laois. The Carlow County Board, with the support of a number of clubs from Carlow, refused to accept the Barrow as the G.A.A. boundary. A small World War 3 erupted at local level, with the media having a field day! The boundary issue appeared on the agenda of every Laois and Carlow County Board meeting and Leinster Council meeting in late 1998 and early 1999. On the last Saturday in October 1998 Graiguecullen C.L.G. held a march and rally inside the Triangle looking for support for the Barrow to remain the G.A.A. boundary. Over 1000 people took part with clubs from Laois, Kilkenny and Carlow coming to support the event, even though it was one of the wettest days of the year and the Leinster Council had instructed the club not to hold the rally (see pictures below). ‘Barrow is the Boundary’ was the headline of the Nationalist dated 12th Feb 1999 after Graiguecullen had won a motion at Leinster Council by 14 votes to 13. The Carlow County Board appealed the decision to CrokePark. At the Central Council meeting hearing the matter was handed over to a dispute committee of Mr. Frank Burke of Galway, Mr. Frank Murphy of Cork, Mr. Dan McCartan of Down and Mr. Tommy Barrett of Tipperary. After some meetings in CrokePark this committee visited Graiguecullen to look at the River Barrow and the Triangle. After further meetings and discussions an agreement was finally signed on 7th May 1999 by the Leinster Council, Carlow County Board, Laois County Board, Graiguecullen C.L.G. and the Dispute Committee. There it ended!! Tommy Murphy Tommy Murphy, the greatest player that the club and county have ever produced, passed away in 1985. He continued to bring honour to his club and county by being picked on the Team of the Millennium. To be picked and honoured amongst the greatest 15 players that ever played Gaelic Football is something to behold. When you consider that the remaining 14 players amassed some 50 All-Ireland medals between them and Tommy Murphy never even appeared in an All Ireland Final but was still acclaimed as one of the two best midfielders of all time. In 2005/2006 the club developed a major new building housing 5 dressing rooms, showers, toilets, fully fitted gym for players, meeting room, office, referees and medical rooms. The building was officially opened in 2007 and named the TommyMurphyBuilding. 2000′s The 90s are gone and we are in a new and successful millennium. In 2000 the club won the U14A Championship and the Laois Feile, in 2001 the U16A Championship and Minor B Championship, in 2003 the U14 league and U12B League and Championship, in 2004 and 2005 the U12A Championship, in 2006 the U14A league, Championship and Laois Feile, in 2007 the Intermediate Championship and U14B League, and in 2008 the U16A League and Championship. In 2003 Laois won the Leinster Senior Football Championship for the first tome since 1946. Barry Brennan was part of that team and scored the last point in the final against Kildare. In 2003 the Laois minors won an All-Ireland title with Ian Fleming, Mark Timmons and John Tierney all part of the squad. In 2006 the club lost a Senior Football Relegation replay to St. Manmans. This meant for the first time in the club’s history they would play Intermediate football. Thankfully the club was reinstated to the Senior ranks the following season, claiming the Intermediate title at the first attempt. Finally it would be remiss to talk about the history of the club without mentioning a number of other local places that have close connections such as Corcorans Mineral Waters where many members of the club worked down through the years. Their lorries were the Green and Red of Graiguecullen and it was a well established fact that if the club was playing a big game on Sunday, the next Monday was Bank Holiday in Corcorans!! KnockbegCollege has also many links with the club and it still has a close association with many of our current juvenile members going to school there. To conclude we will mention the Sacred Heart Club. It was the home of our G.A.A. club for many years and is where club meetings were held and many great teams were selected. These teams would then be published in the window on the club providing many talking points for the week ahead! __________________________________________________