Silverbridge Harps Gaelic Football Club ( ga, Cláirsigh Bhéal Atha an Airgid) is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

club in southern

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. It is based in the parish of Upper Creggan, including the village of Silverbridge and surrounding

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

s. Silverbridge plays at Keeley Park ( ga, Páirc Uí Chaolla), as part of the

Armagh GAA The Armagh County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Ard Mhacha) or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in Cou ...

and is currently in the

Armagh Intermediate Football Championship The Armagh Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Armagh GAA clubs.Armagh GAA, ''Clár Oifigiúil'' (programme), Intermediate Football Championship Final, 14 October 2012 The national me ...

History

The first GAA club in the parish, the Carnally William Orr's, was established in 1887, as one of the earliest in Armagh. This club dissolved after the 1888 Annual Congress and the Parnell split. A revived team, Silverbridge, played for one season in 1906, but although football continued in the locality, it was not until about 1920 that the club reformed. This club reached the semi-final of the

Armagh Senior Football Championship The Armagh Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Armagh GAA clubs. The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1889. Clann Éireann are the title holde ...

in 1924.Club history i
LocalLotto.ie
website A new Silverbridge Harps club was organised in September 1935, and in 1937 reached the county Junior Championship Final. The club then disappeared but was again reformed in 1942. In 1945, a Silverbridge selection including players from two other Junior clubs, Whitecross and Mullaghbawn, reached the Senior Championship Final only to lose to St Malachy's of Armagh city.

, ''Clár Oifigiúil, Craobh Shinsearach Peile'' (SFC final programme), 14 October 2012 In 1953 Silverbridge lost the Junior Championship Final to Mullaghbawn, but the Harps' first county title came in 1959, when they won the

Armagh Junior Football Championship The Armagh Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Armagh GAA clubs. The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1925. The national media covers the com ...

, defeating Ballyhegan.

, ''Clár Oifigiúil, Craobh Peile Sóisearach'' (JFC final programme), 29 September 2012 In 1972 Silverbridge won the

, defeating Oliver Plunkett's by 3-04 to 1-06.Armagh GAA, ''Clár Oifigiúil, Craobh Idirmheánach Peile'' (IFC final programme), 6 October 2012 In the same year the club won Division 2 of the All County League, and did so again in 1984, 1989 and 1991. Promoted to Division One, Silverbridge won that title in 1992 and 1994, but was relegated to Division Two in 2002.

Honours

**runners-up 1945 and 2022 *

(1) **1972; runners-up 1967 *

(1) **1959; runners-up 1937, 1953 *Armagh All-County League Division One (2) **1992, 1994 *Armagh All-County League Division Two (4) **1972, 1984, 1989, 1991, won 2017 *’’’Armagh minor football Championship Division 1 *** 2019

Notable players

* Jarlath Burns, captained Armagh to 1999

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is us ...

title *Jemmy McCreesh, scored the winning goal for Armagh in the 1926 Ulster Senior final

References

Gaelic games clubs in County Armagh Gaelic football clubs in County Armagh {{Ulster-GAA-club-stub