CLG Réalt na Mara, or, in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

, Star of the Sea GAA, is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

-only

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

club based in

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

County Donegal, Ireland County Donegal ( ; ) is a county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small border with the rest of the Republic. It is ...

. The club fields both men's and ladies' teams at underage and, as far as,

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

level. As of 2022,

Brian McEniff Brian McEniff (born 1 December 1942) is a former Gaelic football player, manager and administrator. McEniff played as a wing-back for the St Joseph's combination of clubs from Bundoran and Ballyshannon. He won seven Donegal Senior Football ...

remained chairman of the club. The club has a local rivalry with Aodh Ruadh, based in nearby

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

History

In the 1920s, the location of Bundoran on the railway line made the Bundoran local ground a convenient venue for many big games. The GAA club grounds were purchased in 1938. The club was reorganised and renamed 'The Star of the Sea'. The football park has undergone many developments throughout the years. The ground was levelled in 1947 and enclosed in 1951. The club changing rooms were constructed in 1972.Geagan, M. (2011). ''Dancing by the sea: A journey through time in the Bundoran area''. Bundoran: Stracomer Press. The juniors were successful in both the 1956 and 1960 Championships. In 1963, "Star of the Sea" joined with

team, Aodh Ruadh to become St Joseph's. That team included many players that contributed to the Donegal county team, including

and the former Donegal County Council Manager Michael McLoone. In 1977, the club was again divided into two clubs, one each for the towns of Bundoran and Ballyshannon. Bundoran won the first even Donegal senior championship title when they defeated Red Hughs of Killygordon in a replayed final in the Brandywell in Derry. It was in fact the 2019 championship but a series of delays ensured the replay was in March 1920. The club were again senior champions in 1934 and along with Ballyshannon were part of the phenomenally successful St Josephs side that dominated Donegal club football in the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s winning eight titles as well as the first, though unofficial, All-Ireland club championship in 1968 defeating Dunmore McHales in the final. St Josephs broke up in the 1976 and in 1977 Réalt na Mara went on to win the first ever Intermediate title following this up with Senior Championship success in 1979, overcoming Seán MacCumhaill's in a nail-biting one-point victory to win the Senior Championship. Local man Brian McEniff led Donegal to their first ever Ulster title in 1972 and won managed the County to four more Ulster successes before managing Donegal to their first ever All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992, in which they defeated Dublin in the final 0–18 to 0–14. Bundoran was the scene of enormous celebrations for almost a month afterwards. In 2010, Réalt na Mara won the Donegal Intermediate Football Championship. They again won the Donegal Intermediate Football Championship in 2015 and advanced the same year to the

Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship The Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Ulster GAA. It is played between the Intermediate championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The competition has a straig ...

final, where they lost to

Loughinisland Loughinisland ( , ) is a small village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is between Downpatrick and Ballynahinch, about south of Belfast. History The village of Loughinisland grew up in the townland of Tievenadarragh, bes ...

. St Naul's — achieving a first win in the 2022 Donegal SFC — defeated Réalt na Mara by 0-13 to 1-6 in the play-off final at Tírconaill Park, thus relegating Réalt na Mara to the 2023 IFC.

Notable players

Jamie Brennan Jamie Brennan (born 1996) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler who plays football for Réalt na Mara and the Donegal county team, and has hurled for Aodh Ruadh. Family and education His mother Jacinta 'Jess' is a native of County Sligo. ...

—

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and 2019 Ulster SFC winner 2024 Ulster Senior Football Championship winner * Paul Brennan — 2018 and 2019 Ulster SFC winner *

Seamie Granaghan Seamie Granaghan is a Gaelic footballer who played with Donegal. He was half-forward during Donegal's 1972 and 1974 Ulster Finals. He was the only player to score in every game during both 1972 and 1974 runs. Handball had a role in his development ...

— played at half-forward during Donegal's 1972 and 1974 Ulster SFC title victories; father-in-law of Paul Brennan *

— 1992 All-Ireland SFC winning

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Managers

Honours

Donegal Senior Football Championship The Donegal Senior Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal SFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA and contested by the highest-level clubs, to determine the best team in County Donegal. Since 2016, it has been know ...

: 1934, 1979 *

Donegal Intermediate Football Championship The Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal IFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA. Termon are the title holders (2024) defeating Naomh Columba in the Final. History The competition has been ...

: 1977, 2010, 2015 *

runner-up: 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Realt Na Mara

Gaelic football clubs in County Donegal Gaelic games clubs in County Donegal