The club was founded by Fr. James Moynihan in 1888 with the original name "Mourneabbey". It was originally an all-hurling club but, 1923, the club began to compete in Gaelic football also. Records show that Mourneabbey contested a Junior Football County against Canovee in 1911. However, on that occasion they lost. Throughout the 1920s 1930s and 1940s, the club played with little success. Mourneabbey GAA Club was renamed Clyda Rovers in 1945 after the River Clyda which flows through the parish of Mourneabbey on its way to join the River Blackwater.
In the mid-1950s, hurling became strongest in the parish and a first North Cork title was won in Novice Grade in 1955. A football title followed in 1956. In the 1960s, the club won a number of novice football Cork titles. This included a title win in 1967.[citation needed]
In 1980, after a number of years of trying, Clyda Rovers won their first ever Junior A Football North Cork when they defeated Ballyclough in the final.[citation needed] Clyda went on to win seven North Cork titles throughout the 1980s. This included five in football and two in hurling. They also contested three County Junior finals - losing two football finals but winning the Junior A Hurling County against Ballinscarthy in 1989.[citation needed]
The 1990s began with Clyda Rovers GAA having 2 Intermediate teams in football and in hurling. The footballers had more success than the hurlers and reached one county final and three semi-finals where they were narrowly defeated each time. However, on 8 September 1996, Clyda finally realised defeated Carrigaline to win the Cork Intermediate Football Championship title. Following the win, Clyda was promoted to the Senior grade in football for the first time.[citation needed]
For the next eight years, the Clyda team beat teams such as Muskerry, Carbery, Naomh Abhan, Bishopstown, Douglas and Duhallow in competition.[citation needed] They reached the semi-final of the Cork Senior Football Championship in 2000 and were beaten by eventual champions Nemo Rangers.
The club regraded to Premier Intermediate Football in 2006. Between the years 2009 and 2011, the club contested three Premier Intermediate finals but lost narrowly on each occasion to Valley Rovers, Newcestown and Newmarket. In 2010, the club won its first ever minor hurling county when they defeated St Marks in the Cork Minor B Hurling Championship final.[citation needed]
In 2013, Clyda finally brought home the Premier Intermediate Football title when they defeated Macroom in the county final by 13 points to 8 to secure a second intermediate county title in football.[citation needed] The team then went on to reach the 2013 Munster Intermediate Football final where they played St Josephs Milltown Malbay and won on a scoreline of 0–10 to 0–07.[citation needed]
Two club players, Ray Carey and Paudie Kissane, were members of the Cork Senior Football team that won the All Ireland Senior Football title in 2010 when Cork defeated Down 16 points to 15. In 2019, Conor Corbett captained the Cork Minor Footballers to All Ireland success when they defeated Galway in the final at Croke Park. In August 2021, the first ever All Ireland hurling medal came to the club where Ben Nyhan was a player on the Cork Minor hurling team that won All Ireland honours.[citation needed]
Its sister club, Mourneabbey Ladies Football, has won 2 All-Ireland club titles in Junior 2005 and Intermediate 2007. The Mourneabbey club also contested 3 Senior club finals in 2014, 2015 and 2017, finally landing the All Ireland Senior title in 2018. The following year, they retained their All Ireland title. The juvenile club was formed in 1967 and won its first ever county title in Under-16 hurling in 2007.[citation needed]
Mourneabbey Complex
In 2000, Clyda Rovers were considering a move away from their base in the community centre – as the facilities were now not able to cater to the growing demands of the club. However, once land alongside the current community centre came up for sale, Clyda Rovers came to an agreement with Mourneabbey Community Council. Between 2001 and 2022, over €1.9 million was spent developing new facilities in Mourneabbey. These included new dressing rooms and the laying of two new pitches – the main one having 400 lux floodlighting.[citation needed] In 2018, a new astroturf pitch was opened.[citation needed]
The club has printed 3 club history books: 1884–1984 Clyda Rovers GAA Club History, 1985–1996 Come on Clyda, and 1997–2013 A Community of Champions.[citation needed]
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