Russell Rovers 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 ...

and

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 ...

club based in the village of Shanagarry,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

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 draws its support from Churchtown South,

Ballycotton Ballycotton () is a coastal village in County Cork, Ireland, situated about east of Cork city. It is a fishing village that sits on a rocky ledge overlooking Ballycotton Bay and has a sandy beach that stretches for about east to Knockadoon Hea ...

, Garryvoe and Shanagarry itself. It competes in competitions organised by

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 * ...

county board and the

Imokilly Imokilly () is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (whose chief town is ...

divisional board.

History

The club was founded in 1930. It was popularly believed that the club acquired its name from the neighbouring

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Ballyrussell, while other research suggests that it was possibly named after a Fr. John Russell who was Catholic

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town located to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork, Ireland. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic dioce ...

in the 1840s. Fr. Russell was a prominent and sometimes controversial figure, and a prolific letter-writer - as can be seen from correspondence with the ''

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' and ''

Cork Constitution The Cork Constitution (CC) is a rugby union club based in Cork, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. It was founded by staff of the '' Cork Constitution'' newspaper. Since the paper did not publish on Sundays, the staff were lo ...

'' newspapers in October 1848 when he took issue with the local

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

curate of Ballycotton, whom he accused of proselytism; i.e., of bribing hungry children with food to attend Protestant schools. Fr. Russell is also credited with assisting in setting up

National Schools In Ireland, a national school () is a type of primary school that is financed directly by the state, but typically administered jointly by the state, a patron body, and local representatives. In national schools, most major policies, such as the ...

in the area. After winning the club's first Cork Junior A and

Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Junior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and conteste ...

finals in 2019, the club progressed to the 2019–20 All-Ireland Junior Club Hurling Championship final, after beating

Mícheál Breathnach CLG Mícheál Breathnach is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in County Galway, Ireland. The club is a member of the Galway GAA. Underage teams up to U-16's play in the Galway league and championships while further age groups compete in thei ...

of Galway in the semi-final. The club ended their run as runners-up to Conahy Shamrocks in the final. The club also reached the finals of the 2024–25 All-Ireland Junior Club Hurling Championship, having won the Cork Premier Junior and Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship finals in 2024. Having beaten

Ballinascreen Draperstown ()Toner, Gregory. ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', p. 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996; is a village in the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballinascreen an ...

of Derry in the semi-final, Russell Rovers finished as runners-up to St Lachtain's of Kilkenny in the final.

Honours

* All-Ireland Junior Club Hurling Championship (0): (runners-up

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

) *

(2): 2019, 2024 * Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (1): 2019 * Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship (1): 2024 *

East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship The East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Michael O'Connor Motor Factors East Cork Junior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Imokilly Board of the Gaelic Athletic Ass ...

(2): 2018, 2019 * East Cork Junior A Hurling League (2): 2017, 2018 * East Cork Junior B Hurling Championship (5): 1945, 1958, 1963, 1978, 2002 * East Cork Junior C Hurling Championship (1): 2014 * East Cork Junior A Football Championship (1): 1931 * Cork Junior B Inter-Divisional Football Championship (1): 2018 * East Cork Junior B Football Championship (2): 1986, 2018

Notable players

* Brian Hartnett * Kevin Hartnett * Ciarán Sheehan

References

External links

East Cork GAA - Clubs - Russell Rovers GAA
Gaelic games clubs in County Cork Gaelic football clubs in County Cork Hurling clubs in County Cork 1930 establishments in Ireland {{Cork-GAA-club-stub