Francie Bellew

Last updated

Francie Bellew
Personal information
Sport Gaelic football
Position Full back
Born (1976-03-25) 25 March 1976 (age 48)
Crossmaglen, County Armagh,
Northern Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
NicknameFrancie
JCB
"God"
"Big Francie"
Occupation Hard Bastid
Club(s)
YearsClub
199x-
 Crossmaglen
Club titles
Armagh titles 13
Ulster titles 7
All-Ireland Titles 5
Inter-county(ies)**
YearsCountyApps (scores)
2002-2009
 Armagh 44 (?)
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles 5
All-Irelands 1
NFL 1
All Stars 1
**Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 17:20, 22 April 2017 (UTC)
Championship games only.

Francis "Francie" Bellew (born 25 March 1976) is a Gaelic footballer who played for the Armagh county team. He has won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal, five Ulster Championships and a National League title with the county. He was also awarded an All Star for his performances in 2003.

Contents

Bellew plays club football for Crossmaglen Rangers and has won four All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championships, seven Ulster Senior Club Football Championships and 13 Armagh Senior Football Championships with the club.

Bellew usually plays as full back for both club and county. He is known as a hard-hitting and tough old-fashioned full back and these attributes along with his quiet demeanor and reluctance to talk to the media has resulted in him having a cult following among Armagh and Crossmaglen fans. He features in 24 reasons "Why GAA is better than soccer" under #6: John Terry would run a mile if he came up against Francie Bellew. [1]

Playing career

Inter-county

Bellew made his Senior inter-county debut for Armagh against Louth in early 2002, and subsequently made his Championship debut against Tyrone later that year. That year he helped Armagh win the Ulster Senior Football Championship [2] as well as the county's first ever All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.[ citation needed ]

In 2003 Armagh once again reached the All-Ireland final, but were defeated by neighbours Tyrone. He received an All Star award for his performances that year. 2004 saw Bellew and Armagh again win the Ulster Championship. [3]

In 2005 Bellew helped Armagh win the National League, beating Wexford in the final. [4] Later that year he helped Armagh win another Ulster Championship. [5]

Armagh completed a three-in-a-row of Ulster Championships in 2006. [6] Bellew won another Ulster Championship medal with Armagh in 2008, [7] his fifth in all.

Bellew retired from inter-county football in April 2009. [8]

Club

Bellew is part of the Crossmaglen team that has won 13 Armagh Senior Football Championships in a row between 1996 and 2008. [9] This equals the national record for consecutive county football championships set by Ballina Stephenites of Mayo between 1904 and 1916. He has also won the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship eight times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 and the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship five times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2007 and 2011) with the club. Bellew, along with Paul Hearty, John McEntee, Tony McEntee, Oisín McConville is one of six Cross players to have shared in all these successes since 1996. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossmaglen</span> Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland

Crossmaglen is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ireland base and formerly of an observation tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armagh GAA</span> Governing body of the Gaelic games

The Armagh County Board 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 County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossmaglen Rangers GAC</span> Armagh-based Gaelic games club

Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic Athletic Club is a GAA club in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They cater for Gaelic football and camogie. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett Park, which was opened in 1959. In 1971 the British Army took possession of a portion of the ground despite opposition from the club and the Irish Government, and this led to a controversy regarding the British Army's conduct.

The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county and cross-border competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is played in May but traditionally was usually played on the third Sunday in July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oisín McConville</span> Armagh Gaelic footballer

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Rónán Clarke is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player who represented Armagh. His club football career has been with Armagh city's Pearse Óg GAC.

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.

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Paul Hearty is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played as goalkeeper for the Armagh county team. He was named in goal for the 2006 Irish News Ulster Allstars team for his performances in Armagh's 2006 Uster championship win.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enda Muldoon</span> Gaelic footballer (born 1977)

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Joe Kernan is an Irish former sportsperson who played Gaelic football for his local club Crossmaglen Rangers and at senior level for the Armagh county team. in the 1970s and 1980s. Awarded All Stars in 1977 and 1982, he is the former manager of Armagh's senior football team, and led them to the 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title, their first before retiring in July 2007 after the team lost to Derry. He later managed Ulster and the Ireland international rules team. A biography of his story was published in 2011 called Joe Kernan: Without a Shadow of Doubt.

Damian Cassidy, is a former Gaelic football manager and former player for the Derry county team in the 1980s and 1990s, who was part of the county's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, starting at left half forward. He also won two Ulster Senior Championship medals, three National League titles, and a range of under-age inter-county medals with the county. Cassidy played his club football for Bellaghy Wolfe Tones and won five Derry Championships and the 1994 Ulster Senior Club Football Championships with the club. For both club and county he usually played as a forward. Cassidy was also a talented hurler.

Aaron Kernan is a former Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Crossmaglen Rangers club and for the Armagh county team.

Paul McGrane is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Armagh county team in the 1990s and 2000s. He won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal, seven Ulster Championships and a National League title with the county. He also won two All Star awards.

John McEntee is a former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Armagh county team until 2007. He was part of the 2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship-winning team. McEntee also won six Ulster Senior Football Championships and a National Football League title with the county.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armagh county football team</span> Gaelic football team

The Armagh county football team represents Armagh GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.

The 2012 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship was the 45th instalment of the annual competition organised by Ulster GAA. It was one of the four provincial competitions of the 2012–13 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.

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References

  1. ↑ "Why GAA is better than soccer". Den Haag.
  2. ↑ "Armagh win Ulster final". BBC Sport Online. 7 July 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  3. ↑ "Armagh outclass Donegal". BBC Sport Online. 11 July 2004. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  4. ↑ "Wait is over for Armagh". Newry Democrat. 4 May 2005. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "McConville fires Armagh to glory". BBC Sport Online. 25 July 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  6. ↑ "Donegal 0-09 1-09 Armagh (match report)". BBC Sport Online. 9 July 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Armagh 1-11 0-8 Fermanagh (match report)". BBC Sport Online. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  8. ↑ "Armagh trio call it a day". BBC Sport. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  9. 1 2 Archer, Kenny (21 October 2008). "Thirteen on the trot for six of the best". The Irish News . p. 42. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
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