Loughmore–Castleiney GAA 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 in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The club competes in the Mid-Tipperary division of

Tipperary GAA The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Tipperary GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tipperary and the Tipperary county teams. County Tippe ...

, and draws its players and support from the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the same name. The area comprises the villages of Loughmore and Castleiney with their surrounding hinterland.

History

Loughmore–Castleiney has traditionally been 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 ...

club but also has a successful

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

team, making it one of the very few dual clubs at senior level in County Tipperary.

Early Years (1884-1940)

Although Loughmore–Castleiney GAA club didn’t really become an entity until the forties, Gaelic games flourished in the parish since the founding of Cumann Luthchleas Gael in 1884. Because of the parish’s proximity to

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

, it is hardly surprising that clubs in Loughmore and Castleiney were among the first nine clubs formed in Mid Tipperary in 1885, one year after the association’s founding. Teams from both Loughmore and Castleiney were among the seven Mid Tipperary teams involved in the first football county championship in 1887. In the Senior football county final of 1895, Loughmore were defeated by Arravale Rovers. Surprisingly there was no senior football team in the parish again until 1909 when Castleiney were one of three teams to contest the first Mid Football championship, which was won by Thurles. During the next decade teams from both Castleiney and Loughmore fielded in the Senior football championship every year. Castleiney won the 1914 Mid and county Senior football finals. In the same year, they won the first Junior football championship organised by the Mid Tipperary Board. Castleiney–Templetouhy United also won Mid titles in 1915 and 1919. Loughmore were united with Templemore during the second half of this decade. The club provided Jim Ryan and Bill Ryan to the

team that played in

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) 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 headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

on Bloody Sunday against

Dublin GAA The Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Dublin GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin and the Dublin county teams. The teams and their fans a ...

in November 1920 when their playing colleague Michael Hogan of

Grangemockler Grangemockler () is a village, civil parish and townland in southeastern County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located southwest of Ninemilehouse on the N76 national secondary road. As of the 2011 census, Grangemockler townland had a population of ...

was one of 15 people shot and killed by British forces who opened fire from the sidelines. Apart from Ballyduag, in the first decade of the 20th century, very little competitive

appears to have been played in the parish until Castleiney contested the Mid Junior final of 1923. They succeeded in winning the Mid Junior final of 1925. Three years later in 1928 Castleiney– Killea became Mid Senior hurling champions. Denis Mackey played on the Tipperary Junior hurling team that won the Munster final in 1929. Castleiney won the Mid Junior football final of 1938 but lost the county final to

Emly Emly or Emlybeg () is a village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical Barony (Ireland), barony of Clanwilliam (County Tipperary), Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman ...

. Promotion to senior ranks in 1939 resulted in a heavy defeat from Templemore Eire Og. Loughmore won the Mid Junior final of 1939 but suffered a similar fate to Castleiney when they lost to Ballingarry in the County final. United for the first time in 1940, Loughmore–Castleiney made parish history by winning the Mid and county senior football titles.

Separation and Reunification (1941-1969)

Although Castleiney and Loughmore amalgamated on a couple of occasions in the thirties they appear to have been only temporary arrangements. The forties was a much more successful period for the now united Castleiney-Loughmore team. The 1940 success was followed in 1946 with county Senior football honours and five divisional senior football titles were also won. Castleiney and Loughmore went their separate ways during the fifties. Loughmore contested six consecutive county Senior football finals winning in 1955. In 1959 the parish had two senior football teams for the first time since 1887 as a result of Castleiney’s Junior success in 1958. Loughmore came out on top when they met in the Mid final of 1959 and the Mid semi-final of 1960. At the 1961 Mid convention a rule was passed that only allowed one hurling and football club in a rural parish. Loughmore and Castleiney have been united since. The reunification did not bring the instant success enjoyed twenty-one years earlier in 1940. It was 1965 before the first Mid Senior football title was won and not until 1973 was the next Senior football county title brought back to the parish.

Becoming a Dual Club (1970-1999)

The seventies proved very successful for the club with three Senior football county titles and three U-21 football county titles won. Two county minor doubles in 1976 and 1979 were also achieved. The earlier minor/u-21 successes of the fifties and sixties had been diluted somewhat by amalgamation with neighbours Moyne–Templetuohy. Juvenile titles both divisional and county were won for the first time. Having a successful juvenile club since 1970 has been the foundation for the many successes enjoyed at senior level. Sean Kearney and Eddie Webster won

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

football medals with Munster in 1974 and 1975. Eddie’s son, Micheál, became the club’s third Railway Cup medal winner thirty years later, this time in hurling. The eighties were to prove even more successful; winning the 1980 Intermediate hurling county final gave the club dual senior status which has not been relinquished since. Two Senior football titles, 1983 and 1987, and one Senior hurling, 1988, were won. On two occasions, 1983 and 1987, the elusive double was within a score of being achieved. In 1989, Pat McGrath and

John Cormack John Cormack (born 1964) is an Irish retired hurler. His league and championship career with the Tipperary senior team lasted the 1988-89 season. Born in Loughmore, County Tipperary, Cormack came to prominence as a hurler and Gaelic footba ...

added Senior All-Ireland hurling medals to their already considerable under-age collection at national level. Peter Brennan and Jim Maher were also All-Ireland hurling medal winners at minor and U-21. Maher in fact captaining the successful Tipperary 1980 minor side. In the nineties, a Senior football title in 1992 was the highlight.

Ned Ryan Ned Ryan, is a former Irish hurler. He played hurling with his local club Borris–Ileigh in the 1950s and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team that won the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and the All-Ireland in 1950 a ...

brought distinction to the club and parish when he won a Senior hurling All-Ireland medal in 1991.

Inter-County Success (2000-2012)

The new millennium started well with David Kennedy,

Paul Ormond Paul Ormond (born 18 August 1977 near Templemore, County Tipperary) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Loughmore–Castleiney and the Tipperary senior inter-county team. Ormond was the official captain of the Tip ...

and Noel Morris collecting All-Ireland Senior hurling medals in 2001. It was Ormond's second Celtic Cross as he already had a Junior football All-Ireland. The noughties brought two Senior county titles to the parish also; football in 2004 and hurling in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. Club history was made in 2007 when the Munster Club hurling championship was won, before losing to

Portumna Portumna (- meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a Portumna bridge, bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where ...

in the

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...

semi-final. Liam McGrath captained the successful All-Ireland minor football team of

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. John Meagher, John McGrath and Darragh Butler also brought All-Ireland medals to the parish on that great occasion. In 2012, it was

Eddie Connolly Eddie Connolly (29 October 1985 – 17 September 2015) was an Irish hurler. He played for his local club Loughmore–Castleiney and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team. On 13 March 2011, he made his senior debut for Ti ...

’s turn to bring an All-Ireland cup to the parish – Intermediate hurling on this occasion when Evan Sweeney also collected a medal.

County Doubles (2013-present)

In 2013, Loughmore–Castleiney became the first team to win both the football and

Tipperary Senior titles in the same year. Back to back county football titles was another first when the club retained the Senior football county final in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. The McGrath brothers brought great honour to the club in 2016 when Noel and John won Senior hurling All-Ireland medals and

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

captained the successful minor team on the first Sunday of September. It was Noel’s second senior medal and both he and John had enjoyed under-age hurling success with Tipperary already. They have also been recognised for All-Star awards. The Senior football county title was regained in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

after defeating Moyle Rovers in the final. In 2017, following a lapse of 39 years, a Junior A football county final was achieved and the Intermediate footballers won a Mid title. In 2018, the Senior footballers won their fourth Mid title in a row with the Senior hurlers also attaining a Mid title. In 2020, a run of success ended by reaching both county finals, losing both finals to

Clonmel Commercials Clonmel Commercials GFC is a Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football club located in the town of Clonmel in County Tipperary, Ireland. The club is part of the South Division of Tipperary GAA. They have been Tipperary Senior Football champ ...

in the football by a single point and losing the hurling by two points to Kiladangan. In 2021, the first piece of silverware came from our Junior C hurlers who won the Mid final beating Gortnahoe–Glengoole on a score line of 1-14 to 0-08. Senior football and hurling championship was played every weekend with hurling one week and football the next. On the 16th successive week, the Senior footballers took the county tile with a one-point win over

. Week 17, the county Senior hurling final replay saw a 2-14 to 2-13 victory over

Thurles Sarsfields Thurles Sarsfields is a Tipperary GAA club which is located in County Tipperary, Ireland. Both hurling and Gaelic football are played in the "Mid-Tipperary" divisional competitions. The club is centred in the town of Thurles at Semple Stadium. T ...

which secured a second county double for Loughmore Castleiney.

Honours

Gaelic Football

Senior

Tipperary Senior Football Championship The Tipperary Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Tipperary. The winners of the Tipperary Championship qualify to represent their county in the Munster ...

(16) **''(Castleiney)'' 1914 **1940, 1946, 1955, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 2004, 2013, 2014,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Mid-Tipperary Senior Football Championship (63) **''(Castleiney)'' 1914, 1915, 1919 **1940, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951 **''(Loughmore)'' 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 **1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023

Intermediate

*Mid Tipperary Intermediate Football Championship (3) **1978, 1987, 2018

Junior

*Tipperary Premier Junior Football Championship (1) **2024 *Tipperary Junior A Football Championship (2) **1978, 2017 *Mid Tipperary Junior A Football Championship (22) **''(Castleiney)'' 1914, 1938, 1955, 1958, 1959 **''(Loughmore)'' 1934, 1939, 1960, 1961 **1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1962, 1978, 1993, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2014 *Mid Tipperary Junior B Football Championship (2) **1994, 1997

Under-21

*Tipperary Under-21 A Football Championship (10) **1964, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012 *Mid Tipperary Under-21 A Football Championship (28) **1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 *Mid Tipperary Under-21 B Football Championship (2) **1988, 1993

Under-19

*Mid Tipperary Under-19 B Football Championship (1) **2023

Minor

*Tipperary Minor A Football Championship (6) **''(Castleiney)'' 1956 **1964, 1976, 1977, 1979, 2002 *Mid Tipperary Minor A Football Championship (21) **''(Castleiney)'' 1955, 1956, 1957 **1959, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *Mid Tipperary Minor B Football Championship (6) **1985, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2015

Hurling

Senior

Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

(1) **

Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship The Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the FBD Insurance Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary GAA, Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Ath ...

(5) **1988, 2007, 2013,

* Mid Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (15) **''(Killea-Castleiney)'' 1928 **1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2024

Intermediate

Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship The Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1979 for the third-tier hurling teams in the county of Tipperary in Ireland. Th ...

(1) **1980 *Mid Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship (1) **1980

Junior

*Mid Tipperary Junior A Hurling Championship (3) ** ''(Castleiney)'' 1925 **1940, 2011 *Mid Tipperary Junior B Hurling Championship (1) **1993 *Mid Tipperary Junior C Hurling Championship (3) **2021, 2022, 2023

Under-21

*Tipperary Under-21 A Hurling Championship (2) **2011, 2014 *Mid Tipperary Under-21 A Hurling Championship (6) **1979, 1981, 1982, 2004, 2011, 2014 *Tipperary Under-21 B Hurling Championship (1) **1994 *Mid Tipperary Under-21 B Hurling Championship (3) **1988, 1994, 1998

Minor

*Tipperary Minor A Hurling Championship (4) **1976, 1979, 2002, 2009 *Mid Tipperary Minor A Hurling Championship (8) **1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 2002, 2009, 2011 *Tipperary Minor B Hurling Championship (1) **1993 *Mid Tipperary Minor B Hurling Championship (4) **1993, 1999, 2014, 2015

Ladies' Football

The club had a very successful Ladies' football team in the seventies but folded. The club revived its Ladies' football team in 2022. Women from the parish who wish to play

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

tend to play with neighbouring club Drom & Inch.

Honours

Senior

* Munster Senior Club Ladies' Football Championship (1) **1977 *Tipperary Senior Ladies' Football Championship (5) **1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

Junior

*Tipperary Junior A Ladies' Football Championship (1) **2023 *Tipperary Junior B Ladies' Football Championship (1) **2022

Notable players

2012 All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship winning captain. *

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

winner,

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

winner,

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

winner. * Jim Healy

2005 Tommy Murphy Cup The 2005 Tommy Murphy Cup was the 2nd staging of the Tommy Murphy Cup, the Gaelic Athletic Association's secondary inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The draw for the preliminary round fixtures took place on 9 July 2005. The championship beg ...

winner. * David Kennedy 2001 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winner. * Brian McGrath

2016 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The 2016 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship was the 86th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1928. It is the primary inter-county hurling championship for boys under t ...

winning captain.

winner,

winner. * John McGrath

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 ...

winner.

winner. Two time

winner. All-Star winner. * Liam McGrath

2011 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The 2011 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the ESB Group, ESB Minor Football Championship) was the premier "knockout" competition for under-18 competitors of the game of Gaelic football played in Ireland. T ...

winning captain. * Noel McGrath Two

winner,

winner, Three

winner. 2009 GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year. Three time All-Star winner. All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final Man of the Match * Pat McGrath Two time

winner.

winner. * Tom McGrath Tipperary

Dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

. * John Meagher

winner. * Noel Morris

winner.

winner. *

Elias O'Keeffe Elias "Bud" O'Keeffe (born 1886) was an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who played for the Tipperary senior teams. O'Keeffe made his first appearance for the Tipperary hurling team during the 1907 championship and was a regular member o ...

Tipperary

. *

winner. *

Micheál Webster Micheál Webster (born 1 August 1977) is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a full-forward for the Tipperary senior team. Webster made his first appearance for the Tipperary senior football team during the 2003 National Lea ...

References

External links

Loughmore–Castleiney club websiteTipperary GAA siteTipperary GAA archives"Dual ambitions: Loughmore–Castleiney and Ballyboden St Enda's dreaming big"
''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', 2020 Gaelic games clubs in County Tipperary Hurling clubs in County Tipperary Gaelic football clubs in County Tipperary {{DEFAULTSORT:Loughmore-Castleiney GAA