Dreadnots GFC 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 ...

(GAA) club that fields

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 ...

teams in competitions organised by

Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. It oversees competitions such as the Louth Senior Fo ...

. It is located in the south Louth seaside village of

Clogherhead Clogherhead () is a fishing village in County Louth, Ireland. Located in a natural bay on the east coast it is bordered by the villages of Annagassan to the north and Termonfeckin to the south. It has a population of 2,145 according to the 2 ...

. The club has a local rivalry with neighbours St Fechin's. As of 2025, the club competes in the Louth Senior Championship and Division 1 of the county football Leagues.

History

The club was founded in 1887, making it one of the oldest active GAA clubs in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

. In 1889, Dreadnots reached the final of the

Louth Senior Football Championship The Louth Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Louth GAA among the top Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. The winning club qualifies to represent the county in the Leinster ...

, losing to

Newtown Blues Newtown Blues are a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. The club fields Gaelic football teams in competitions organised by Louth GAA. They are the most successful club in Louth football, winning the Louth Seni ...

by 1–02 to 0–03. The 2002 arrival of former Louth

inter-county Inter-county, is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) List of Gaelic games terminology, terminology which refers to competitions or matches between County (Gaelic games), counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term c ...

star

Colin Kelly Colin Purdie Kelly Jr. ( ; July 11, 1915 – December 10, 1941) was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as one of the first A ...

from

helped propel Dreadnots to two

Louth Intermediate Football Championship The Louth Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition, organised by Louth GAA, among the intermediate grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. History The competition, introduced as a bridg ...

titles in 2004 and 2008. In 2010, forward Páraic Smith played in the controversial 2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final against

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. In 1928 the club was suspended permanently after an incident during their Second Division Championship match against Glyde Rangers. The suspension was lifted in 1953 by the

County Board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

. 123 years after their first appearance in the Senior final, Dreadnots contested the 2012 decider at the

Gaelic Grounds The Gaelic Grounds, known for sponsorship reasons as the TUS Gaelic Grounds, is the principal GAA stadium in the city of Limerick in Ireland. Home to the Limerick hurling and football teams, it has a capacity of 44,023. History 9 October 192 ...

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

against reigning champions St Patrick's. Once again they were runners-up, as St Patrick's won convincingly by nine points. A third visit to the county final in 2014 - this time under the management of now-retired Colin Kelly - ended in defeat to the same opposition as St Patrick's prevailed by two points, 1–10 to 1–08.

Honours

Cardinal O'Donnell Cup The Cardinal O'Donnell Cup is an annual senior league competition organised by Louth GAA for the Division 1 teams in Gaelic football in County Louth. Format All 12 teams play each other once, with the top four traditionally qualifying for the se ...

(2): 1988, 2016 *

Paddy Sheelan Cup The Paddy Sheelan Cup is an annual subsidiary league competition organised by Louth GAA for Senior and Intermediate grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth. History The competition was launched in 1952 and Dundalk Gaels were the first win ...

(1): 2019 *

(4): 1986, 2000, 2004, 2008 * Louth Intermediate Football League (6): 1979, 1981, 1985, 1995, 2004, 2010 * Dealgan Milk Products/Paddy Sheelan Shield (3): 1979, 1985, 2011 *

Louth Junior Football Championship The Louth Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition, organised by Louth GAA and contested by the junior One/A grade Gaelic football clubs in County Louth, Ireland. The winner qualifies to represent the cou ...

(1): 1999 * Louth Junior A Football League (1): 1976 * Kevin Mullen Shield (1): 1999 *

Louth Junior 2A Football Championship The Louth Junior 2A Football Championship is an annual knockout gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA, contested by the second teams of Senior clubs in County Louth. Formerly known as the Second Division Championship, it was renam ...

(2): 1962, 1974 *

Louth Junior 2A Football League The Louth Junior 2A Football League, or Division 4 of the county football Leagues, is an annual Gaelic football competition that was introduced by Louth GAA in 1941 and contested by the second teams of Senior clubs in County Louth. The captain of ...

(6): 1955, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1973 *

Louth Junior 2B Football Championship The Louth Junior 2B Football Championship is an annual knockout gaelic football competition organised by Louth GAA, contested by the second teams of Intermediate and Junior clubs in County Louth. Prior to 1994, the Louth Junior 2A Championshi ...

(1): 2019 * Louth Junior 2 Football League Division 4B (1): 2011 * Louth Junior 2 Football League Division 4C (1): 2005 *

Louth Under-21 Football Championship The Louth Under-21 Football Championship was an annual competition organised by Louth GAA for Gaelic football teams in County Louth. History First contested in 1972, the inaugural winners were Cooley Kickhams. As is the case nationally, amalgam ...

(3): 1976, 1977, 2008 * Louth Minor B Football Championship (1): 2019 * Louth Minor Football League (1): 2006 ''Shared with St Fechin's''

Inter-county players

Dreadnots players who have represented Louth at senior

level include: * Denis Kelleher * Kevin Dawe * Paddy McGuigan * Derek Shevlin * Pádraig Rath * James Califf * Páraic Smith * Anthony Williams * Liam Shevlin * Dermot Campbell * Jay Hughes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreadnots GFC Gaelic games clubs in County Louth Gaelic football clubs in County Louth