Saint Joseph's GAC Craigbane () is a

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club based in Craigbane,

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The club is a member of the

Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland (the GAA refers to the county as ...

and currently cater for both

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 ...

and

Ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football () is an Irish team sport for women. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a round ball toward ...

. Underage teams up to U-12's play in North Derry league and championships, from U-14 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions.

Gaelic football

Craigbane fields Gaelic football teams at U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, Minor, Reserve and

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 ...

levels. The club's biggest success came in 2001 and 2011 when they won the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship. They have also won the

Derry Intermediate Football Championship The Derry Intermediate Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the ''M&L Contracts Derry Intermediate Football Championship'') is an annual competition between the mid-tier Gaelic football clubs affiliated to De ...

on seven occasions. They also won the u15 Feile Na Nog in 2023.

History

The first officially formed Gaelic football club in Craigbane was Lamh Dearg, which was established in 1934. They played in the North Derry League and lost to

Claudy Claudy () is a village and townland (of 1,154 acres) in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the Faughan Valley, southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. It is situated in the civil parish of Cumber ...

in their first game. Lamh Dearg soon folded, but a Craigbane team was reformed in 1959 under the guidance of Philip Crossan. Their first game was a 4–18 to 0–02 victory over

. Like much of rural Ireland, Craigbane suffered greatly in the 1960s from emigration and the club folded in 1962. The present club, St Joseph's GAC Craigbane came into existence in 1972 under the leadership of Gerry Crossan. The side played in Division 4 and their first game was a victory away to

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

. St. Joseph's were runners up to

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

in the 1973 Derry Junior Football Championship and won Division 4 the following year. At the end of the 1975 season, Craigbane were promoted to Senior football for the first time. Their first game in Division 1 was a defeat against

Glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

on a 2–09 to 1–09 scoreline. Craigbane were relegated to Division 2 for the 1977 season and were back playing Intermediate football for the next five years. In 1983 Eddie McElhinney became the first Craigbane player to win an All-Ireland medal went he was Gaelic football and Hurling positions#Center Half Forward on the Derry minor side that won the

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it was replaced by an under ...

against

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. Craigbane first Championship trophy came in 1985 when they beat Claudy in the Derry Intermediate Reserve Championship final. They won the cup again two years later. 1986 was a successful year where they won the

and the Dr Kerlin Cup, beating An Lúb and Faughanvale in the respective finals. They also won the League Division 2. The following year Craigbane became the first ever Derry club to retain the Intermediate Championship when they beat Claudy after a replay. The club finished joint top of Division 2. St Joseph's current pitch, Páirc Gheárod Uí Chrosaín, was officially opened by GAA President Peter Quinn (GAA President) and blessed by Bishop Daly on 13 May 1990. The club won the Intermediate Championship for a third team in 1992 and the team also won the 1994 Dr Kerlin Cup. Craigbane beat

Banagher Banagher ( or ) is a town in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The town had a population of 3,000 at the height of its ...

in the 1995 Intermediate Championship final and in the Bishop's Cup final. 1997 saw Craigbane win five trophies. They defeated Claudy in the Intermediate Championship final at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. The club also won the Dr. Kerlin Cup, the Bishops Cup and Division 2. The Reserves also won the Grade B Championship defeating Drumsurn at

. 2000 saw the club win their sixth Derry Intermediate Championship. They went on to win the 2001 Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship, their greatest success to date, defeating Inniskeen of

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

in the final.

Honours

Senior

* Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship: 2 **2001, 2011 *

: 7 **1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2011 *Derry Intermediate Football League: 3 **1986, 1997, 2011 *Derry Football League Division Four: 1 **1974 *Bishops Cup 2 **1995, 1997 *Dr Kerlin Cup 6 **1986, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2009 *James O'Hagan Cup 1 **2003 *Derry Football League Division Three: 1 **2022 * Derry Junior Football Championship: 1 **2022, 2024

Reserves

*Derry Intermediate Reserve Football Championship: 3 **1985, 1987, 1997 *Derry Junior Reserve Football Championship: 1 **2021 **2024

Minor

*North Derry Minor Football Championship: 1 **1994

References

{{Derry clubs Gaelic games clubs in County Londonderry Gaelic football clubs in County Londonderry