Rathdowney GAA
| Ráth Domhnaigh | |||||||||
| Founded: | 1888 | ||||||||
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| County: | Laois | ||||||||
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| Grounds: | Kelly O'Daly Park | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | 52°51′12.00″N 7°35′11.97″W / 52.8533333°N 7.5866583°W | ||||||||
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| Senior Club Championships | |||||||||
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Rathdowney GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Rathdowney, County Laois, Ireland. The club is solely concerned with the game of Gaelic football, after amalgamating at all levels for hurling with neighbouring club Errill in 2005.
History
[edit]Located in the town of Rathdowney, close to the Laois-Kilkenny border, Rathdowney GAA Club was founded in 1888. The new club won the inaugural Laois SHC in 1888 and became the first team to win consecutive titles when they retained the title the following year.[1] Rathdowney quickly became a dominant force in hurling and regularly appeared in the latter stages of the championship.
The new century saw Rathdowney win seven Laois SHC titles from ten final appearances between 1901 and 1913.[2] This period of success also saw the club become the first to win three consecutive titles. Rathdowney also had their first major Gaelic football success at this time when the club won the Laois IFC title in 1912.[3]
Rathdowney won their 18th and final Laois SHC title in 1941. It was a record which stood for 49 years until it was bested by Camross.[4] The intervening period saw Rathdowney have some title successes in the lower grades; however, the dominance the club once had in the Laois SHC was no more. After a successful underage hurling merger with Errill, both clubs amalgamated at adult level to form Rathdowney–Errill in February 2005.[5][6] Rathdowney continued to exist in its own right and fields teams in Gaelic football.
Honours
[edit]- Laois Senior Hurling Championship: (18): 1888, 1889, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1921, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1936, 1941
- Laois Senior A Hurling Championship: (1): 2000
- Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship: (1): 1960
- Laois Intermediate Football Championship: (1): 1912
- Laois Junior A Hurling Championship: (3): 1938, 1954, 2002
- Laois Junior B Hurling Championship: (2): 1974, 1995
- Laois Junior B Football Championship: (1): 1974
- Laois Junior C Football Championship: (2): 1998, 2022
- Laois Under-21 A Hurling Championship: (3): 1971, 1976, 1998
- Laois Under-21 B Hurling Championship: (1): 1992
- Laois Minor Hurling Championship: (11): 1939, 1957, 1958, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1995, 2000
Notable plyers
[edit]- Jack Daly: All-Ireland SHC–winner (1915)[7]
- Harry Gray: All-Ireland SHC–winner (1938)[8]
- Paddy McCormack: All-Ireland SHC runner-up (1949)[9]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Club titles - Laois". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Laois SHC Roll of Honour 1888 -2025". Laois GAA website. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
- ↑ "Laois Intermediate Football Roll of Honour 1935-2025". Laois GAA website. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
- ↑ "Camross HC". Club Info. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
- ↑ "Rathdowney-Errill go again in a bid to bring Bob back for a seventh time". Laois Today. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ "Moment in Time: Rathdowney-Errill celebrate in style at Dinner Dance in 2009". Laois Today. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ "It's 100-years on since Laois won its only senior all-Ireland title". Leinster Nationalist. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ "New book celebrating 140 years of the GAA names three Laois GAA heroes among all-time greats". Laois Live. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
- ↑ Miller, Steven (28 September 2017). "The last surviving member of the Laois hurling team that reached the 1949 All Ireland final has passed away". Laois Today. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
