Login

 

The Club's History

The official history of Clan-na-Gael CLG has never yet been written. The club has been based in the West Lurgan area for almost a century and it has contributed to the activities of Cumann Luthchleas Gael in that area, County Armagh, Ulster and throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. Many famous names and families have been associated with the club and the present generation of players, members and officials carry forward the traditions and memories of those families. 

 


1909 - 1929

Jack_Lavery.JPG (40052 bytes) Jimmy_Murtagh.JPG (44087 bytes) In 1909, twenty-five years after the birth of the G.A.A, the first G.A.A club in Lurgan Co.Armagh was formed and was known as the Lurgan Michael Davitts G.A.C who affiliated with the South Antrim board. The Davitts played most of their football in and around the Silverwood and Francis Street area of the town. From the outset the Davitts were quite successful on the playing fields, winning the South West Antrim Senior League in 1910, 1911 and 1912. They won the league again in 1916 and for well known reasons they failed to field a team in the following two years.
When they did reform again they failed to win any more honours and by 1921 they were playing their home games in Celtic Park (the local soccer ground) in Francis Street, on which now stands St. Pauls R.C. Church. Other teams in the area objected to the tenure of Celtic Park being their pitch, so much that the Davitts grew tired of the constant bickering and decided to disband the team completely.
The Lurgan Davitts G.A.C was formed by Jimmy Murtagh, a former Monaghan Harps player with prominent local business men such as John Hughes and Patrick Filbin taking on the every day running of the club. Players in the first line out in 1909 included Matt Tipping, Tommy Lavery, Harry Murray, Charlie McCorry, James McCorry, George Magee, Jimmy Murtagh, John Green, Joe Kelly, Charlie Magee, Joe Glendinning, Joe Archer, Joe Ferguson, Jack Lavery, Davy Lavery, John Tipping and Joseph Murphy.

There were men however who held dearly to the pride and tradition which the Davitts had instilled in the area during those thirteen years. Jimmy Murtagh, Edmund O'Hara, Frank Tipping, Jack Lavery, Johnny McDonald, Frank O'Hagan and Dan Lynch were all stanch Gaels and in February 1922 they decided to hold a meeting in the Lurgan Catholic Association rooms with the purpose of reforming the team again. This they did but with a difference. The royal blue jerseys and white togs were retained but a new name for the club was decided upon -  Lurgan Clan-na-Gael C.L.G.

Davits1909.gif (107203 bytes) The first line out for the club was Charles Armstrong, Joe McGrath, Tommy Byrne, Joe Lynch, Pat Headley, Harry O'Hagan, Arthur Byrne, Rev.McCartan, Johnny McDonald, John Casey, Harry Sweeney, Jack Lavery and Sammy Patterson.
Clan na Gael won the South West Antrim League in 1923 but records are scarce, and after playing in the Pipe Band Tournament in 1925 they disbanded  to be reformed in 1926 by Mickey O'Reilly -  who had the honour of being the first Clan-na-Gael player to play for the Armagh county. He was joined in this rejuvenation by his father James, Matt McCann, Willie and Stephen Lavery and Gerry'Hovey'Tipping who was a tireless worker for the club.

In 1929 Clan-na-Gael, along with other clubs in the area, threw their lot in with the Armagh Board, and two years later they won their first ever Armagh County Championship beating Bessbrook 2-8 to 3-2 in the Junior Championship Final. By then a couple of young lads. who were to go on to become household names in Armagh and beyond, had joined their ranks.



1930 - 1949

Alf Murray, who was later to become President of the G.A.A, and Eddie McLoughlin played a big part in Clan-na-Gael's title win and they were both on Ulster teams that won the Railway Cup for the first time in 1942, and again in 1943. The lineout for the Armagh Junior Championship in 1931 was Jimmy Morrow, Harry McCann, Davey Lavery, Jimmy Heaney, Mickey O'Reilly, Hugh Leathem, Eddie Mc Loughlin, Joe McCabe, Peter Murray, Barney Haughey, Jimmy O'Hanlon and Alf Murray.
Clans largest representation on the Armagh County team during the thirties was in the Junior All-Ireland semi-final against Sligo in 1935. Henry Morrow goals, Eddie McLoughin centre full back, Alf Murray midfield, Austin Colohan right half forward and on the substitute bench was Dermot Murtagh. Unfortunately by the end of the thirties they were unable to field a team. Although the team had disbanded the club was still in existence thanks to the tireless efforts of Gerry Tipping and a young lad called Harry McGarry who had been elected as Secretary to the club at the tender age of seventeen.
The club was revived again in 1941 but failed to function again. In 1943 Gerry Tipping was still figurehead and he continued to keep the club's name to the fore organizing Ceilis, Concerts, Social Evenings and anything that would swell the coffers of the club.  In 1944 a serious attempt was made to put the Clans in a sound position in Gaelic circles in Lurgan. A committee was formed consisting of :

Chairman

Gerry Tipping
Vice-Chairman Billy Haughey
Secretary Harry McGarry
Treasurer John Doran
Committee Mickey Brady,John Hamill, Davy Findon

In 1949 they became the first club from North Armagh area to win the Armagh Senior Championship title.

Senior1949.gif (98585 bytes)



1950 - 1969

They regained the Armagh Senior Championship title in 1950. Also in 1950 a competition was organized by St.John's of Belfast called the Corrigan Park Gold Medal Tournament. It was a competition similar to that of the present day Ulster Club Championship and at the time was looked upon as such. Clans won the title beating Warrenpoint 0-8 to 0-1, Downpatrick 3-6 to 0-2 and in the final St.Johns 1-5 to 1-4.
GoldMedal.gif (26277 bytes) Players who lined out for the teams during this period were Hugh O'Hanlon, Leo Seeley, Brian Seeley, Dessie McCann, Joe O'Hagan, Ray McGibbon, Gerry McStay, Sammy Coleman, Jack McNally, Jim D.Seeley, Jim McLarnon, Donald Findon, Gerry McCrory, Philip McStay, Tommy McKerr, Paddy McKenna, Dermot Haughey, Jackie King and Mosie McDowell.

In 1951 the club won its first ever Armagh Minor Championship when Clans defeated Armagh Harps by 3-5 to 4-0 in the final played in the Athletic Grounds Armagh. Players on that occasion included Patsey Gallery, Gerald Jordan, Brian Seeley, Hugh Leathem, Harry Hoy, Tom French, Eammon Mc Carron, Joe McCabe, Patsy McKerr, Dessie McKerr, Eamon McMahon, John McMahon, Billy Mackle, Joe French, Frankie McKeown, Noel Hoy, Seamus McCrory, Danny Downey and Gerry Headley.

MINOR CHAMPS 1951.JPG (98769 bytes)In 1953 when Armagh reached the All-Ireland Final against Kerry, three Clans players Eamon McMahon, Brian Seeley and Gerry McStay were all in the panel.

Clans figured prominently at domestic level in the years to follow but it was not until 1965 that they got amongst the championship winners again. The U-16 team won the club's first ever Juvenile Championship played in Armagh, and the Minor team won three Armagh Championship Titles in 1965, 1966 and 1967.
In 1965 the senior team won their first and only Intermediate Championship title and in 1966 the All County League system was formed in Armagh with the Clans lining out in Division Two which they duly won. In the semi-final of the 1968 Senior Championship they beat Crossmaglen Rangers and qualified to meet Clann Eireann who where deemed as favourites. The highlight of the game was an Aidan Patterson solo out of defence evading several tackles and burying the ball in the net. Clans completed the double by also winning the league that year. Then again in 1969 they met Crossmaglen Rangers in the final. The highlight of this game was Jimmy Symth's performance against Armagh and Ulster star Tom McCreesh. Time and time again Smyth took McCreesh on laying it on to better placed colleagues who took the scores with ease, subsequently leading to Cross's downfall.



1970 - 1989

In 1970 the Clans were heading for their third Championship win in a row but a stubborn Crossmaglen Rangers defence proved to much and the Clans lost their crown on a 1-6 to 0-6 scoreline. In '71 they regained the league title and reached the championship final against Carrickcruppen. The South Armagh side refused to field stating an objection the referee and the Clans were awarded the title. In the opening round of the Ulster Club Championship they beat Castleblaney by 4-11 to 1-2, then beat Bryansford 0-13 to 0-6 in Newry. In the final they lost to Bellaghy by 1-11 to 0-5. In 1972 they held on to the league title and reached another Championship final, beating Crossmaglen Rangers. The final score being 0-8 to 0-7. They travelled to Glasgow in the Ulster Club Championship where they won 5-12 to 2-3. In the next round against St. Johns the final score was Clans 2-8 to St,Johns 2-5. It took two attempts to overcome Castleblaney in the semi-final at Newry the first game ended at 1-5 each and the replay produced a 3-1 to 0-6 win for the Clans. The Blues beat Ardboe 0-8 to 1-3 in the Ulster Final. In the the All-Ireland semi-final they were beaten  0-7 to 2-8 by St. Vincents of Dublin.

The Clans completed their second treble in a row in 1973 - League, Championship and Ulster Club Championship. In the Armagh Senior Championship final they met and defeated Wolfe Tones by 3-14 to 0-8. The first round of the Ulster Club Championship against Bryansford ended in a draw Clans 0-9 Bryansford 1-6. In the replay Clans won by 2-7 to 1-5. In the next round the Clans accounted for Belfast Rossa beating them 4-4 to 1-9. In the Ulster Final Clans beat Ballyshannon by 1-10 to 0-3. In the semi-final of the All-Ireland Club Championship Clans took on Cork University and won by 3-7 to 1-10. In the Final, following a draw in the first game, the Clans were beaten 0-14 to 0-7 by U.C.D.

/images/clannagael/Allrelandframe.gif (117051 bytes)

In 1974 the Francis Street men beat Carrickcruppen by 3-13 to 0-7 in the County Championship Final. They travelled again to Glasgow in the first round of the Ulster Club Championship and won by 4-11 to 0-7. They then beat Scotstown by 2-2 to 0-5, and in the Semi-Final they met Bryansford -  narrowly winning by 1-9 to 1-7. They completed the treble of Ulster Club Championships beating Trillick in the final. In the All-Ireland Club semi-final, against Nemo Rangers, the Clans first drew and then were beaten in the replay by 2-6 to 0-6.

In '75 the League title was retained but the Clans lost to Rangers in the first round of the Championship. It was the reverse in '76 when they relinquished the League title but they defeated Maghery in the Championship Final, the final score being 1-8 to 0-7. In the Ulster Club Championship they beat St.Johns by 2-5 to 1-5 and Rostrevor 1-10 to 0-7 but were beaten in the final by Ballerin by 2-9 to 2-3.  In 1977 the Clans went through the League undefeated and met Rangers in the Final of the Championship. It ended in a draw Clans 3-5 Rangers 1-11 but the Clans lost out in the replay by 1-7 to 0-5. Once again in 1978 they made it through to the final of the Championship but lost the League title again along the way. They met Carrickcruppen in the final but were beaten 0-11 to 1-7.

There was no joy in 1979 in either the league or the Championship. Before leaving this decade a special mention must be made about the Clans 'B' team. Whilst the Seniors were collecting their three in a row during 1972, 1973 and 1974, the 'B' team also had their moments lifting the Armagh 'B' Championship three times in succession during the corresponding years.

In 1980 the Clans reached the Championship final by way of wins over Harps 0-15 to 0-7, St.Peters 1-13 to 1-6 and Maghery 1-9 to 2-4. Their opponents in the final were Carrickcruppen and the Clans won 3-7 to 1-8. In the Ulster Club Championship first round against Kingscourt they lost by 1-10 to 1-6. In'81 the Clans met Pearse Og in the Championship and beat them 1-11 to 2-3. The went on to beat Carrickcruppen 0-10 to 0-7 in the Final. In the first round of the Ulster Club Championship they lost by 1-8 to 1-6 to Kingscourt of Cavan.

In the Championship of 1982 the Clans had a 1-12 to 0-5 victory over Middletown and this was followed by a another win over the Sarsfields 1-12 to 2-7. They then lost the Semi-Final to Carrickcruppen by 1-10 to 1-4. In '83 they beat Silverbridge by 0-10 to 1-5 but fell to Pearse Og in the next round by 1-7 to 1-5 after a replay. The Club was voted North Armagh Club of the Year (the club never was recognised by the County in its Club of the Year awards despite having been the first Armagh club team to have won three Ulster Club titles in a row). Eddie McLaughlin was nominated to the 'Hall of Fame' and Jim McKerr added to his collection winning the O'Neills Sport award. In '84 the Clans were beaten in the Semi-Final of the Championship by Armagh Harps by 3-8 to 0-11. In the Scor Clans won the All-Ireland Ballad group section and Rosemary Morrow was the winner of the Ulster Solo Section. In '85 they beat St.Peters 0-9 to 0-7 in the first round of the Senior Championship and but then they lost to Sarsfields 0-11 to 0-8. Rosemary Morrow went one better by lifting the All-Ireland Scor Solo Singing title.

In 1986 the Clans had a 2-8 to 0-8 victory over Maghery in the first round of the Championship and were beaten 1-11 to 3-2 to Crossmaglen after a replay. They beat Carrickcruppen 1-12 to 0-7 in the first round of the 1987 Championship then went on to beat Sarsfields 1-7 to 0-4 and Killeavy 0-10 to 0-9 to reach their first Championship Final since 1981. Harps were the opposition and the Clans won by 2-6 to 0-6. In the Ulster Club Championship the Francis Street men lost to Dungiven in the first round.

In the '88 Championship they beat St.Peters and then lost to Carrickcruppen by 2-7 to 0-9. In the Senior Championship of 1989 they beat Grange by 3-18 to 2-2 in the opening round but lost the next game against St.Peters.



1990 - Present

A new year and a new decade brought hope of better things to come and with eight trophies resting in the cabinet by the end of the year the future looked rosey for the club.In the Championship, ten weeks lapsed between the first round, when the Clans beat Clann Eireann, and the next round against Maghery  which was played on a dull Friday night on a slippery Portadown pitch. Maghery, searching for their first Senior Championship win over Clans, were raring to go and by half time really had the game over, leading by 3-3 to 1-5. The Loughshore men continued to dominate in the second half and ran out easy winners by 4-8 to 2-4. The minor team finally bridged the widening gap when they won the clubs first Minor County Championship title since 1967 by beating St.Patricks in the final. The Minors run to the final was relatively easy beginning with a convincing win over St.Pauls, 5-16 to 1-2 in the first round of North Armagh section. Six weeks later they disposed of Clann Eireann by 5-12 to 0-7, and in an action packed final on Monday the 13th August they saw off the challenge of St.Peters on a 3-12 to 3-5 scoreline. In previous county finals the Clans had relied a lot on the skills of individuals but not on this occasion. They were a well balanced outfit who brought the best out in each other and they were put to the test against a taller and physical side in St.Patricks. The Ulster Minor Club Championship was the Minor team's next objective and it provided a chance to emulate the great Senior team of the seventies. In their opening game against the Tyrone Champions, Moortown they won easily, 3-4 to 0-4, and then eliminated strong favourites St.Johns from Belfast by 2-3 to 1-4. In the semi-final they met a strong Dungiven side. They put up a gallant display against the Derry Champions and won by 2-8 to 1-8.

In 1991 the Senior team's record read, played 18, won 8, lost 8 and drew 2. They finished midway in the league.  In the Championship they were drawn against St.Pauls who took them to a draw, a week later they replayed. It was another hard fought game and again finished in a draw. Next time the Clans produced some vintage football and ran away with it 1-13 to 0-10. In the next round they played a fancied Harps team. The Harps squeezed through scoring a late goal and won by two points,  going on to win the Championship.  The Minors where confident of retaining their title. They beat an Amalgamated side in the preliminary round and reached the final beating sides such as Tir na Og and St.Endas along the way. The final against Mullaghbawn provided a big let down. The Clans were never put to the test, and it was no more than a practice game for them. They ran out convincing winners by 2-17 to 1-4. Their participation in the Ulster Club was short and sweet when they lost to the Antrim Champions by a single point. It was a great season for the U-16 team as they stormed through the North Armagh competitions undefeated. In the North Armagh Championship final they came up against also undefeated Maghery. The match needed a replay, and the Clans eventually won easily 6-18 to 1-5. A play-off was needed to decide the North Armagh League, and the Clans did the double over Maghery beating them 4-17 to 0-2.

Once again in '92 it was the underage teams who carried the flag for the club. The minor team collected their third County championship title in a row and reached the final of the Ulster Club. The U-14 and U-16 teams both lifted the League and Championship doubles in North Armagh. Clans involvement in the All-Ireland finals was carried on when Armagh reached the Minor final with Barry John O'Hagan, Kevin O'Hagan and Diarmaid Marsden representing the club.

In 1993, the year only six weeks old, the sudden death of Harry McGarry plunged the club into a deep state of sadness and mourning. Harry was making his way home to Manor Park when he suffered a heart attack and despite attempts to revive him he passed away on 16th February bringing an end to an era that spanned all of sixty years. The Senior team was poised and ready to regain lost glory in 1993. The Minor stars of the previous few years had now all made the progression to Senior level and after a bad start to the season they recovered well enough to finish third in the league. Seniors1993Col.gif (86274 bytes) There were bigger things on the horizon, namely the McKillop Cup and they gained revenge for that Pearse Og defeat in 1992. The 'Blues' progressed to the final, demolishing teams along the way, and came up against a fine Maghery team in the final. After an evenly contested first half, the Clans were trailing a single point. A Barry McAreavey goal within 25 seconds of the restart changed the whole pattern of the game and the Clans ran out winners 2-15 to 1-6. Three weeks later, they set out on the  Ulster Club Championship trail with a home win against Monaghan Champs Scotstown. The Clans effectively led them a merry dance on many occasions with fine performances from John Campbell, Barry McAreavey, Paul Henderson and Diarmaid Marsden. The pity was that none of this fine from was retained in the next match against Downpatrick, when the Down men won by 3-9 to 1-10. The Minor team's attempt to make it four in a row came unstuck when they met Killeavy, losing by two points. The year also finished on sad note when Seamus Lavelle died suddenly on the 21st November. Seamus gave sterling service to the club, as a player and in an official capacity.

The year  1994 proved to be another successful season with the Seniors retaining the McKillop Cup, the Minors also retaining the North Armagh league. The U-16 team regained the North Armagh league and the U-12 team won both the League and Supplementary League. The first round of the Senior Championship paired them with Clann Eireann, straight from the throw in the Clans turned on the  heat and steamrolled to a comfortable 4-16 to 0-5 victory. In a disappointing second round game against St.Peters at Clann Eireann Park, the Francis Street men cruised to an easy win 1-13 to 0-9 and then disposed of St.Patricks in the next round. They faced Mullaghbawn in the final and made hard work of retaining the title when they lifted the club's fourteenth title on a 2-5 to 0-6 scoreline. Their bid for Ulster Club honours began with a first round game against Antrim Champions St.Pauls. It was not the Clans at their best but they showed enough craft and guile to see them through, winning 2-9 to 1-9. In the semi-final they came up against Clontibret in Newry. The treacherous conditions didn't suit the Clans and Clontibret won 2-10 to 1-10.

In 1995 the Senior team failed to fulfil the promise of a three in a row, going out in the first round of the Championship to Mullaghbawn.

By the Clans standards 1996 was a year to forget. The only enjoyment coming from the U-14 team who played superbly all season to retain both the League and Championship - managed by none other than Seamus Mac Gabhann. The Minor team surprised most  by reaching the County Championship Final. The Senior team also reached the Championship final but both teams were defeated in what proved to be a disapointing day for the club   and its players.  

UlsterSevensChamps1997.gif (78843 bytes)  In 1997 the Senior team finished second to Crossmaglen Rangers  who retained both the League and Championship titles. The Sevens team returned to the Ulster Championship Competition run by Truagh Gaels in Monaghan hoping to improve on their previous year and after a hard day's football finally emerged as winners beating St.Endas in the final.

In the first round of the Senior Championship 1998 the Clans meet St.Peters and they were made to work hard for a 1-15 to 0-12 victory. They played much better in the next round against Rangers who were leading by a single point as the game went into injury time. A late point from Brendan Campbell earned the Clans a replay which was played one week later. Once against the 'Blues' matched Cross kick for kick and led on several occasions but lost out by 2-9 to 1-9. Some consolation was gained in winning the All County  Premier League title. The Clans played 11, won 10 and lost just 1 finishing above Mullaghbawn. The only success at under age level fell to the U-10 team who won the John Tennyson Cup.

In 1999 the Clans first round Championship game against Armagh Harps was disastrous to say the least. During the warm up, Kevin O'Hagan sustained a leg injury and had to retire before the throw in. Diarmaid Marsden, carrying an injury had to leave the field of play ten minutes into the second half as did Neil McStravick and they were soon joined by John Campbell. In the end the Clans were beaten on a 1-11 to 1-6 scoreline. Two of the underage teams collected silverware. Once again the U-10 team won the John Tennyson Memorial Cup and in a pulsating play off for the U-14 league title against Shamrocks at Derrytrasna  the Clans won the title thanks to a last second goal by the captain Chris Brady. 

In the 2000 Championship the seniors defeated Killeavy in the first round but fell to Pearse Og in attrocious conditions in Abbey Park. They won the All-County League Division 1 for the third year in a row. The Senior team also won the Ulster Sevens Competion for the second time and the Pat McMahon Cup (the unofficial North-Armagh Championship). The Minors reached the quarter-finals of the Armagh Championship where they were defeated by Tir na Og. All under-age teams completed their competitions and performed well throughout the year. Barry John O'Hagan and Diarmaid Marsden represented the County Senior team which won the Ulster Senior Championship and lost narrowly to Kerry, after a replay, in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. Diarmaid Marsden(Captain), Phillip Oldham and Mark O' Hagan all played on the Queen's University team which won the Sigerson Cup. Laurence Mc Guiness represented the club on the Armagh County Minor team.           

In 2001 there was disappointment in the senior championship with a win over Killeavey being followed by total disaster against Pearse Og when we literally 'kicked' ourselves out of the game recording twenty-one wides and conceding a goal in the last minutes. However, the team regrouped and strode to a fourth league title in a row. The biggest 'downer', having travelled to Crossmaglen and defeated them, was Cross failing once again to turn up for the reverse fixture in Davitt Park - we should not have been surprised as they had fielded only twice against us at our home venue in eleven years. The B team won the North Armagh League and lost narrowly to Tir na nOg in the Championship. The under-age teams all performed well with the under-12s and the under-16s coming close to winning their leagues. The future still seems bright with a number of young players progressing to senior level and quite a few more coming in behind them.