Warrenpoint GAA

Last updated

St Peter's GAA
Naomh Pheadair, Rinn Mhic Giolla Rua
Founded:1888
County: Down
Nickname:The Blues
Colours:Blue and white
Grounds:Páirc Liam Uí hÍr
Coordinates: 54°06′11.68″N6°13′41.08″W / 54.1032444°N 6.2280778°W / 54.1032444; -6.2280778
Playing kits
Kit left arm blue hoops.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm blue hoops.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Standard colours
Senior Club Championships
All IrelandUlster
champions
Down
champions
Football: - - 3

St Peter's GAA (Irish : Cumann Pheadair Naofa) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Contents

Foundation

The GAA in Warrenpoint pre-dates St Peter's by a considerable span of years for it was in 1888 that the original seed was sown with the name of John Martin. The club colours were black and amber strips.[ citation needed ]

Being adopted on a proposal by John Carr and seconded by Thomas Caulifield the Club maintained the name until the mid-1920s until it fell on hard times. In 1931, it revived but because Glenn had registered a new club, John Martin some months before, the name of St Peter's was chosen and blue and white were chosen as the club colours.

It is worth noting[ tone ] that the John Martin's of 1888 won the first competition held in Down by beating Mayobridge at Edenmore. The Warrenpoint flute band paraded the victors through Mayobridge village on the occasion.

There are no records of John Martin's winning many more competitions but once St Peter's found their feet they went on to win the Junior Championship in 1932 when they beat Saul in the final.

For many years the club played at Connolly's field at Moygannon and then at a variety of venues before settling in its current habitat at Moygannon which was purchased in 1972 for £10,000. Dressing rooms and showers were added in the 1980s at a cost of £45,000.

The first phase of a major redevelopment of Moygannon Park has recently[ when? ] been completed incorporating the construction of a new playing pitch surface under the guidance of Club Trustee Gerry Gray. The cost of this development was £130,000. A new electronic scoreboard has also been erected.[ citation needed ]

In the 1960s some derelict houses at Mary Street, Warrenpoint were purchased for £50. These were converted into small clubrooms using the voluntary labour of members and friends. The clubrooms were used for meetings, functions and fundraising. There were two rooms (upstairs and downstairs) each approximately 18 ft x 25 ft. The cost of rebuilding was £2,000 approximately.

An extension was added to the clubrooms in the 1970s giving a ground floor hall of 54 ft x 26 ft with a balcony 18 ft x 25 ft. Later a small kitchen was added. The total cost of this contract was £5,000.

Two dwellings were purchased either side of the clubrooms in Mary Street in the 1980s to facilitate future development of the clubrooms including an upstairs social club and bar. The total cost of this development was £46,000. The second house is still occupied by a tenant and rent is paid to St Peter's GAC.

In the 1970s an activity room 40 ft x 20 ft was also purchased for £10,000 and located at the back of the Clubrooms. This room provided for supervised youth activity seven nights a week for 15 years. This property is no longer utilised. There is also a fully licensed bar on the premises.

The 'golden era' for the Point was in the 1940s and 1950s when they won three senior titles and contributed to a few memorable finals in which they were the losers.[ citation needed ]

The senior team is currently playing in Down Division 2.[ when? ][ citation needed ]

Club teams fielded

The club currently organises the following sides:[ citation needed ][ when? ]

Playing achievements

Football

Hurling

Hurling

The panel entered into the Ulster league for a second year running[ when? ] after reaching the quarter-finals stages of section-3 last season.[ when? ] The Ulster League campaign allowed the senior team finish in mid-table.[ citation needed ]

In 2019, the club won Division 2 and earned promotion to Division 1.[ citation needed ] After narrowly losing out in the 2020 championship final (played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the team won their second ever Junior hurling championship title defeating Castlewellan on a scoreline of 1-15 to 1-14 in Newry.[ citation needed ]

Culture

The club has been at the forefront of the revival of Irish Set Dancing and for over 20 years has organised annual set dancing competitions and workshops.[ citation needed ] In 1993, St Peter's Set Dancers (along with a company of musicians and singers) travelled to Normandy to participate in the annual Normandy Cultural Festival.[ citation needed ]

Since Warrenpoint hosted its first Ceili in 1917, the club has been active in the GAA Scor, cultural competitions and has been successful at All-Ireland level in both Scor and Scor na nÓg competitions.[ citation needed ] In 1978, the Junior team won the All-Ireland Scor na nÓg Ceili Dancing Title. Warrenpoint won the All-Ireland Scor Set Dancing Title in 1982 and after many years of winning County and Ulster titles the club won the Scor All-Ireland quiz title in 1996.[ citation needed ]

Irish language classes are organised for adults and juniors on a regular basis and the Club has also been involved in drama over the years.[ citation needed ]

In addition, two members of the club, Sighle Nic An Ultaigh and Belle O'Loughlin, have held the position of President of the Camogie Association of Ireland. Sighle also held the post of General Secretary of the Camogie Association for 25 years, and is the author of the Down GAA history, "O Shiol go Blath".[ citation needed ]

The club's brass band section, St Peter's Band, has won a number of All-Ireland Awards and has joined with the Warrenpoint silver band on several occasions.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrone GAA</span> Gaelic games governing body

The Tyrone County Board, or Tyrone 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 Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down GAA</span> Gaelic games governing body

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,.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cappagh GAA</span>

Cappagh is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. It was the Kildare club of the year in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kill GAA (County Kildare)</span>

Kill GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. They combined with Ardclough to form area side Wolfe Tones in the 1970s.

St Laurence's GAA [CLG Naomh Lorcán] is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in south County Kildare, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CLG Eoghan Rua</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

CLG Eoghan Rua Cúil Raithin is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Despite some of the club's catchment area being in County Antrim, the club is a member of the Derry GAA. Eoghan Rua currently cater for Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie, and Ladies' Gaelic football and also compete in Scór and Scór n nÓg. The club's name commemorates Eoghan Rua Ó Néill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavey GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Erin's Own GAC Lavey is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Catholic parish of Lavey, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and ladies' Gaelic football.

Michael Davitt's GAC Swatragh is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Swatragh. The club is a member of the Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football, hurling and camogie. The club is named after republican patriot and revolutionary Michael Davitt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desertmartin GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Saint Martin's GAC Desertmartin is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Desertmartin, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football and Ladies' Gaelic football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castledawson GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Saint Malachy's GAC Castledawson is a Gaelic Athletic Club from Castledawson, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently compete in gaelic football, hurling and camogie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slaughtneil GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Robert Emmet's Gaelic Athletic Club Slaughtneil is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based on the townland of Slaughtneil, near Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and competes in Gaelic football, hurling and camogie. The club is named after Irish patriot and revolutionary Robert Emmet and the club plays its home games at Emmet Park.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlough GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Saint Oliver Plunkett's GAC Greenlough is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Clady/Greenlough, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football and camogie, and also competes in Scór. The club is named after Irish martyr Saint Oliver Plunkett.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballerin GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Ballerin Sarfields GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Ballerin, Northern Ireland. They are a member of the Derry GAA and currently cater for Gaelic football, Ladies' Gaelic football and Camogie. The club have also had hurling teams in various stages in their history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faughanvale GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Saint Mary's Faughanvale GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Greysteel, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Derry GAA and currently cater for Gaelic football, Ladies' Gaelic football.

All Saints Gaelic Athletic Club is the only Gaelic Athletic Association club in the town of Ballymena, County Antrim. The club is a member of the South-West Antrim division of Antrim GAA, and competes in Gaelic football, hurling, Ladies Gaelic football and camogie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éire Óg Craigavon GAA</span> Armagh-based Gaelic games club

Éire Óg Craigavon GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club based in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1969 to promote Gaelic games and Irish culture in the then new city of Craigavon. It currently plays Gaelic football in the Armagh leagues, the senior team is currently in the Junior division of the Armagh Senior Leagues and the Armagh Junior Football Championship. Previously the club fielded Senior Camogie and Ladies football teams. The club plays at Pinebank.

Moyle Rovers GAA are a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Tipperary, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liatroim Fontenoys GAC</span>

Liatroim Fontenoys is a Gaelic Athletic Association Club in County Down, Northern Ireland. The club promotes hurling, Gaelic football, and camogie.