Garrycastle is a
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
club from the town of
Athlone
Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ire ...
in
County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivi ...
,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
.
The club was founded in 1981 after GAA fans in the area saw the need for a second club in Athlone to cater for the growing population of the town. They won their first Westmeath senior football championship in 2001, and their first Leinster club football title in 2011 after a last-minute free from second-half substitute Conor Cosgrove.
They are the first and only Westmeath club to win the title.
In 2004,
Dessie Dolan was the first player from the club to be awarded an
All Star. Dessie received an award for Westmeath footballer of the year for 2015 after his Man of the Match performance against Meath in the Leinster Championship.
On 17 March 2012, they played in their first
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London.
The current champions are Kilcoo of ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
Crossmaglen Rangers
Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic Athletic Club ( ga, Raonaithe na Croise) is a GAA club in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They cater for Gaelic football and camogie. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett Park, which was op ...
at
Croke Park
Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and hea ...
. The match finished in a draw on a 1-12 to 0-15 scoreline. Crossmaglen went on to win the replay to claim their sixth title. They are the current Westmeath senior football champions, beating St Loman’s 2-13 to 3-06 on 13 October 2019.
Notable players
*
Dessie Dolan
*
James Dolan
*David O'Shaughnessy
*Cathal Mullin
*Michael Monaghan
*Doron Harte
*John Gaffey
*Lynchy
*Andy3451 ( Andrew Monaghan )
*MCurleyGCastle
Honours
*
Westmeath Senior Football Championship:
**Winner (8): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2019
*
Leinster Senior Club Football Championship
The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are Ba ...
:
**Winner (1): 2011
*
Westmeath Intermediate Football Championships: (1)
** 1997
* Westmeath Junior Football Championships: (3)
** 1982, 1993, 2011
* Westmeath Division 1 Leagues (8):
** 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2019
* Westmeath Division 2 League (1):
** 1995
* Westmeath Division 3 League (1):
** 2012
References
External links
Official WebsiteGAA Info Website
Gaelic games clubs in County Westmeath
Sport in Athlone
{{Leinster-GAA-club-stub