CLG Na Cealla Beaga explained

Club Gaa:CLG na Cealla Beaga
Irish:Na Cealla Beaga
Crest:CLG Na Cealla Beaga logo.png
Founded:1924
Province:Ulster
County:Donegal
Nickname:The Fishermen
Colours: Red and White
Grounds:Eamonn Byrne Memorial Park
Coordinates:54.6382°N -8.4848°W
Pattern La:_shoulder_stripes_white_stripes_alt
Pattern B:_shoulder stripes white stripes
Pattern Ra:_shoulder_stripes_white_stripes_alt
Pattern Sh:_adidaswhite
Pattern So:_whitetop
Leftarm:FF0000
Body:FF0000
Rightarm:FF0000
Shorts:FF0000
Socks:FF0000
F3:6

CLG na Cealla Beaga[1] is a GAA club based in Killybegs, County Donegal, Ireland.

They have won the Donegal Senior Football Championship on six occasions, most recently in 1996.[2]

They have an intense rivalry with Cill Chartha.[3]

History

Founded in 1924,[4] the club have had teams break up several times in their history.[4] They play football only, though — in the past — played hurling too.

From 1967, the team played at the coastal venue Fintra Park, subsequently renamed McDevitt Park; that year Donegal and Mayo played a game to mark its opening.[5]

They contested the Donegal SFC decider seven times between 1988 and 1996, winning five of them. The first of the five was the defeat of local rivals Cill Chartha in the 1988 decider. It ended a 36-year wait for the Donegal SFC and was only the second time the club had won the competition. Of that team Manus Boyle, Barry Cunningham, John Cunningham, John Bán Gallagher, Barry McGowan and Conor White had won the 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship the previous year, while Mark Boyle, Stephen Burke, Barry Cunningham Jnr and David Meehan had played for Donegal in the Ulster Minor Football Championship and also the Donegal under-21 football team. Boyle, Barry Cunningham, John Cunningham and McGowan would go on to win the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. John Joe O'Shea, a Kerry native teaching at Killybegs Vocational School, was manager of the senior team in 1988 after a fruitful spell as underage manager.[6] The second final of the seven was a loss to Naomh Columba in 1990, the third a 2–11 to 2–9 victory over Red Hughs in 1991.[6] The fourth of the seven finals occurred in 1992 and involved Naomh Columba again, though this time Naomh Columba lost.[6] The fifth final was in 1993; Cill Chartha defeated them.[6] They then won consecutive Donegal SFCs for a second time in 1995 and 1996.[6] Jimmy White took over as player-manager from O'Shea at the beginning of 1991; he had no selectors and Michael Gallagher trained the team.[6] The 1996 Donegal SFC has been described as "probably the greatest ever championship in Donegal", with the club playing nine games to lift the trophy that year.[7]

In the midst of this successful run, the club reached the final of the 1991 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship.[8] Denis Carberry was team captain that year.[8] However, one third of the team were absent for the Ulster campaign due to employment in fishing in the North Atlantic: these were Carberry, Conor White, David Meehan, Rory McNelis and Mickey Campbell.[8] They were the away side in both the quarter-final and semi-final, defeating Derry champions Dungiven (featuring Joe Brolly) in the former and Down champions Downpatrick in the latter.[8] Ahead of the final in Omagh, John Bán Gallagher got injured.[8] Carberry, Meehan and White were flown back to the mainland to compete in the game.[8] However, the team lost to Castleblayney Faughs by a scoreline of 0–8 to 0–6.[8] Tony Hegarty had a late goal chance that would have won the game but it went inches wide.[6] Declan Boyle and Peter McGinley, who would later play under-21 and senior football for the county, also emerged aged 17 in 1991; Boyle played in all the club's games during the 1991 Donegal and Ulster Club SFC campaign, while McGinley only played in the three Ulster Club SFC matches.[6] Boyle drifted away from the game and ended up involved in association football, eventually making it as far as a reserve team in Scotland and was last heard of overseeing an under-17 team in that sport, but back in Ireland.[9] [10]

Forward Paul "Feet" Murrin was part of the team that won consecutive Donegal SFCs in 1995 and 1996, becoming one of the county's most recognisable sportsmen.[11] [12]

By 2002 the club had no senior representatives on the county team.[13] The club were thrown out of the 2002 Donegal Senior Football Championship at the semi-final stage after breaking the rules.[14]

They came from nowhere to reach the final of the 2010 Donegal Senior Football Championship, with Manus Boyle even coming out of retirement at the age of 44.[15] But Naomh Conaill defeated them, following a series of injuries in advance that made competing in that game all the more difficult for the Peter McGinley-managed team.[16] [17] A further final appearance came in the 2013 Donegal Senior Football Championship; this time they lost to Glenswilly.[18] Benny Boyle captained the club in that game.[19]

Notable players

Jimmy White

Managers

YearsManager
1924–1980s?
1988–1991John Joe O'Shea
Early 1991–199?Jimmy White
1996Pauric McShea (coach?)[22]
1996–200?
?–2008Manus Boyle and Barry McGowan[23]
2008/09–?
2010–?Peter McGinley
201?– 2013Joe McBrearty
2013Martin "Slua" Boyle[24]
201?–201?
201?–202?John Cunningham[25] [26] [27] [28]
2022–Shane Molloy and Antoine O'Hara[29]

Honours

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: killybegsgaa. 2009-05-09.
  2. Web site: Roll of honour. 2009-05-09. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100712073716/http://www.killybegsgaa.com/rollofhonour.htm. 2010-07-12.
  3. News: Frank. Craig. Kilcar host fierce rivals Killybegs. Donegal News. 16 July 2020. 85.
  4. Web site: Club history. 2009-05-09.
  5. News: Incredible photo of old GAA pitch with the most beautiful backdrop. Hogan Stand. 27 May 2020. 27 May 2020.
  6. News: Killybegs 1991, one of the greatest Donegal teams. 14 October 2016. 14 October 2016.
  7. News: Peter. Campbell. Killybegs winners of greatest ever Donegal senior championship in 1996. 5 November 2021. 5 November 2021.
  8. News: Frank. Craig. A Grand Old Team To Play For: When the boys from Killybegs battled to the Ulster decider. Donegal News. 30 April 2020. 52–3. Also published in Gaelic Life.
  9. News: Conan. Doherty. Seamus Coleman: The making of the best right back in the world. JOE.ie. 2016. Declan Boyle came along and made it as far as Celtic. He had a stint with their reserves and he retired seven years ago….
  10. News: Declan Boyle appointed Finn Harps Under-17 manager. Donegal News. 15 February 2015. 15 February 2015.
  11. News: Chris. McNulty. Death mourned of former sporting ace Paul 'Feet' Murrin. 16 February 2020. 16 February 2020.
  12. News: Regretted and untimely death of one of Donegal's best known sportsmen. 16 February 2020. 16 February 2020.
  13. News: Cliona. Foley. John. Harrington. County call: Donegal. Irish Independent. 16 May 2002. 16 May 2002.
  14. News: Cliona. Foley. Furious Killybegs thrown out of championship. Irish Independent. 19 September 2002. 19 September 2002.
  15. News: Donnchadh. Boyle. Boyle looks to defy logic and inspire injury-hit Killybegs to shock title success. Irish Independent. 2 October 2010. 2 October 2010. The 44-year-old started training for a marathon, but the hard road was unforgiving and reignited a few old injuries. The sod of the club's field was more forgiving… Incredibly, he has featured off the bench in recent matches and he's likely to do the same tomorrow..
  16. News: McLoone proves too hot. Irish Independent. 4 October 2010. 4 October 2010.
  17. News: Chris. McNulty. SFC: Jason Noctor and Killybegs aiming to make up for 'wasted chance'. Donegal News. 5 October 2013. 5 October 2013. …Peter McGinley's injury-ravaged side were well beaten by Naomh Conaill… Matthew Smyth is just after a year training with the county squad… Noctor dabbles in soccer and has been on the books of both Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers in recent seasons… He was on the Donegal panel in 2011 himself, but pulled the pin after a season of little gametime..
  18. News: Donegal SFC final: Murphy delivers man-of-the-match display. 21 October 2013. Hogan Stand. 21 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150412175756/http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=203164. 12 April 2015.
  19. News: Chris. McNulty. Home is where the heart is for Killybegs captain Benny Boyle. Donegal News. 18 October 2013. 18 October 2013. 18 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131018171422/http://donegalnews.com/2013/10/home-is-where-the-heart-is-for-killybegs-captain-benny-boyle/. dead.
  20. News: Frank. Craig. Boyle's New York State of Mind. Donegal News. 16 April 2019. 16 April 2019. He was stationed at full-back in 2006 as the Donegal minor side went on to win the Ulster title and reach the All-Ireland semi-finals where they were just about squeezed out by Kerry..
  21. News: Chris. McNulty. Donegal's 1990 Ulster winners will be honoured tomorrow — here is their story. 18 July 2015. 18 July 2015.
  22. News: Sean. Moran. [P. J.] McGowan calls it a day with Donegal]. The Irish Times. 9 July 1997. Speculation as to [McGowan's] successor has already begun… Selectors from '92, Seamus Bonner and Micahel[sic] Lafferty have also been mentioned, as has Padraig[sic] McShea, a close associate and former playing colleague of McEniff's, who impressed when coaching Killybegs to a county title last year..
  23. News: Alan. Foley. The heroes of '92 - Where are they now?. Donegal Democrat. 8 January 2009. 8 January 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151218180946/http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/sport/the-heroes-of-92-where-are-they-now-1-1989654. 18 December 2015. Along with Manus Boyle, McGowan co-managed Killybegs until last year..
  24. News: Chris. McNulty. Manager's view: Martin 'Slua' Boyle and Killybegs took fuel from League hammering by Malin. Donegal News. 19 October 2013. 19 October 2013. Fintra on the evening of May 11, the alarm bells chimed in the head of the manager, Martin 'Slua' Boyle… Boyle was a late call-up to take the managerial reigns at Eamon Byrne Memorial Park. Promoted from Division 2 under Joe McBrearty's watch, the tap kept dripping on Killybegs' playing pool as several players answered emigration's beckon. Boyle says: 'There was a bit of a lull at the AGM and there didn't look to be any sign of a manager stepping forward. I had been there before and had been speaking to Sean Connor, who was free from his time in the League of Ireland, and Shea Murrin, so I decided to put my name forward. Joe done[sic] well to get them promoted, but they got promoted under a low ebb because we knew that we were losing players'… Boyle was a mentor to Peter McGinley that year [2010]..
  25. News: Peter. Campbell. Killybegs manager John Cunningham gives his reaction after his side defeated Naomh Brid. 11 November 2018. 11 November 2018.
  26. News: Breaking Ball: Donegal Club Championships 2019. Donegal News. 6 September 2019. 40.
  27. News: Frank. Craig. Pressure on both sides at Rosses Park. Donegal News. 20 August 2020. 58. For the visiting Fishermen, it's about attempting to pick up the pieces and fast. John Cunningham's team had been looking forward to a return to Division 1 in 2020. But the Covid pandemic put the breaks[sic] on that..
  28. News: Chris. McNulty. Naomh Conaill cruise against Killybegs to secure Division 1 title. 23 July 2021. 23 July 2021. John Cunningham, the Killybegs manager, arrived in Glenties with bodies light; the former Donegal player reckoning his injury count had entered double figures..
  29. News: Tom. Comack. Next up Naomh Conaill for Killybegs' new management team: Shane Molloy and Antoine O'Hara's tenure at their local club got off to a winning start against Glenswilly and this Saturday they welcome the Division 1 champions to Fintra. 6 April 2022. 6 April 2022. Shane Molloy has been one of the clubs[sic] leading players for well over a decade and Anthony Hara has been the clubs[sic] first team goalkeeper for a good number of years. In light of the fact the management team are only a few weeks in the job… Hugh McFadden is also a member of the management team. 'We are only three weeks in the job. There was a lot of toing and froing and there was nothing really happening. So myself [Shane Molloy] and Antoine said we would take it on behalf of the players and do the management end of things. I played last season and please God I'll be playing again before the end of the year… It is great to have Hugh on board as well….
  30. Web site: Donegal SFC final: Murphy delivers man-of-the-match display. 21 October 2013. Hogan Stand. 21 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150412175756/http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=203164. 12 April 2015.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "CLG Na Cealla Beaga".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.