History
Press reports show the history of Gaelic football in Clonduff reaching as far back as 1887 when the parish sported two teams: the Hilltown Amateurs and The Red Hands. Gaelic games flourished for a few years but then subsided and it was not until 1910 that the parish again fielded a Gaelic team. During the next ten years the parish fielded teams at Junior and Senior level under names such as The Emeralds, The Harps and The Sarsfields.
1920 can be identified as the founding year of the modern Clonduff Shamrocks. Success on the playing field over the next few years was commonplace and it was in this era that Clonduff's long tradition of providing quality County players began – McPolin, Brannigan, Doyle, Mussen and O’Hanlon were synonymous with both the Clonduff and County teams.
For most of the thirties the club was hardly a force to be reckoned with but re-emerged in the early forties. Their tradition of providing County players was to the fore again and when Down won the 1946 All Ireland, Clonduff provided six of the panel.
In 1955 the club split into two distinct entities – Cabra and Hilltown – the two ends of the parish. Two years later they met in the County Final. The teams amalgamated in 1959 and the following year two of their players won All-Ireland Senior football medals with Kevin Mussen being the first Northerner to bring the Sam Maguire across the border.
The club opened its own grounds in 1968 and became one of the leading clubs in the newly formed Scór competitions.
In Centenary year, Clonduff published its McNamee Award winning history and in 1987 when Down won its second All Ireland Minor Championship, the club provided six of the panel. In the All Ireland wins of 1991 and 1994, Clonduff's Ross Carr played a pivotal role. Cathal Murray was also on the panel in 1991.
Clonduff are one of the few clubs in the county who have senior teams in all 5 codes, (Football, Ladies Football, Hurling, Camogie and Handball), and have the biggest number of club members in Down GAA, outside of Belfast.
In recent times, the clubs Camogie team have been, by far, the most successful in the club. Since winning their first Senior Championship in 2007 they have won numerous more county championships, 3 Ulster Club Intermediate Championships and even landing the biggest of all by winning the All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship in 2018, the very first 15 a side All Ireland win in the clubs history.
Hilltown is a small village within the townland of Carcullion in County Down, Northern Ireland. Hilltown is the main village of the parish of Clonduff which contains the village and the rural areas around it at one end, and the rural enclave of Cabra at the other end of the parish. It had a population of 899 people in the 2001 census. On 27 March 2011, the usually resident population of Hilltown was 1,709.
The Down County Board or Down 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 County Down,.
Two Mile House is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in County Kildare, Ireland. The club grounds are located on The Commons, just off the Dunlavin Road in Two Mile House parish. Eircode is W91 RF84. The parish of Two Mile House is surrounded by the towns of Naas, Newbridge and Kilcullen.
Valley Rovers GAA Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish of Innishannon in County Cork, Ireland. The club was formed in 1919 when two teams in the parish, Innishannon and Knockavilla, came together. The club fields teams in hurling, camogie, Gaelic football and Ladies' football. It participates in the Carrigdhoun division of Cork GAA.
Killeagh GAA club is a hurling and Gaelic football club located in the small village of Killeagh in east County Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated with the East Cork division of Imokilly and the Cork county board.
St Colm's Ballinascreen GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Ballinascreen, which includes the town of Draperstown, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Derry GAA. It currently caters for Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and ladies' Gaelic football and have 25 teams across the four sports.
Ross Carr is a former Senior Gaelic football manager and former inter-county player for Down. Carr had previously managed the Down Minor Football team in 2003 and 2004.
Longstone GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Annalong, County Down, Northern Ireland. Set at the foot of the Mourne Mountains in the Lower Mourne parish, the club caters for Gaelic Football, Camogie, and more recently Ladies' Gaelic Football at underage level.
Bredagh GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Down, Northern Ireland. It fields teams at all levels from U8 to Senior in Men's and Ladies Gaelic football, Hurling and Camogie. It had its previous pitch, Bredagh Park, taken off them in December 1998 but moved next door to Cherryvale Playing Fields, owned by the Belfast City Council.
Trillick St Macartan's is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the parish of Trillick in western County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It competes at Senior level in Tyrone GAA competitions. The club plays Gaelic football, ladies' Gaelic football and camogie.
Seán O'Leary's GAC Newbridge is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Newbridge, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football and camogie. Newbridge has won the Derry Senior Football Championship on ten occasions.
Limavady Wolfhounds GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Limavady, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently caters for both Gaelic football and camogie.
Castlewellan GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association Club in Castlewellan, County Down, Northern Ireland. The club promotes the Gaelic Games of Hurling, Football, Camogie and other cultural and social pursuits.
Ballygarvan GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Ballygarvan, County Cork, Ireland. The club fields teams in hurling, Gaelic football and camogie. The club plays in the Carrigdhoun division of Cork GAA.
Cabra is a large townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the parish of Clonduff and is situated approximately two miles from Hilltown, Rathfriland and Kilcoo. Cabra has a tradition of farming, with the three most common farming methods in Cabra being: sheep farming/breeding, crop growing and cow farming/breeding.
Kevin Mussen was an Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Clonduff and was a member of the Down senior inter-county team from 1951 until 1962. Mussen captained Down to the All-Ireland title in 1960. It was the first time that Down won the title and the first time that the Sam Maguire Cup crossed the border to the North.
An Ríocht GAC is a GAA Club based in County Down, Northern Ireland. The club provides teams from underage level to adult level in both Gaelic football and camogie. The club is one of 47 in Down GAA.
Liatroim Fontenoys is a Gaelic Athletic Association Club in County Down, Northern Ireland. The club promotes hurling, Gaelic football, and camogie.
The Down county football team represents Down GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Kieran Denvir was a Gaelic footballer and hurler from Northern Ireland. He was a member of the Down senior football team from the early 1950s until 1960. At club level he played with numerous teams, including Kilclief, University College Dublin, Ballina Stephenites, and Greencastle.
