Offaly GAA
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Offaly_GAA".

Offaly GAA
Irish:	Uíbh Fhailí
Province:	Leinster
Nickname(s):	The Faithful County
County colours:	White, green and gold
Ground(s):	O'Connor Park, Tullamore St. Brendan's Park, Birr
Dominant sport:	Hurling
NFL:	Division 4
NHL:	Division 1
Football Championship:	Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:	Liam McCarthy Cup
Standard colours

The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Uíbh Fhailí) or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly. Separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly inter-county teams

Hurling

After a scheme developed by the Gaelic Athletic Association in the 1970s to encourage the playing of hurling in non-traditional counties, Offaly was one of the first teams to benefit from such a scheme. As a result the county won six Leinster titles in the 1980s, as well as their first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981.

The county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offaly's most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the "five minute final." Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time, scoring two goals and five points in the last five minutes. They defeated Limerick by 3-16 to 2-13. The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one.

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships: 4
  • 1981, 1985, 1994, 1998

• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championships: None

• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships: 3
  • 1986, 1987, 1989

• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: 2
  • 1923, 1929

• National Hurling Leagues: 1
  • 1991

• Leinster Senior Hurling Championships: 9
  • 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995

• Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championships: 5
  • 1978, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2000

• Leinster Minor Hurling Championships: 4
  • 1986, 1987, 1989, 2000

• Leinster Junior Hurling Championships: 7
  • 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1938, 1953

Offaly Hurling Squad

The following is the team that lined out against Clare on July 8, 2006:

• Off Offaly panel for 2007

|}

Gaelic football

Perhaps the most famous moment in Gaelic football history came in the 1982 All-Ireland Final when Offaly played Kerry. The match was a repeat of the previous year's, however, not only that but a win for Kerry would give them an unprecedented fifth All-Ireland Final victory in a row. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Séamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored one of the most famous goals in Gaelic football of all time. Kerry fumbled the counter attack which allowed Offaly to win by one single point with a score of 1-15 to 0-17. The Offaly Vocational Schools Team have made it to 6 All Ireland finals but lost all 6 includeing the first final when they were beating by the Cork City team in 1961

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 3
  • 1971, 1972, 1982

• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships: 1
  • 1988

• All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 1
  • 1964

• All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: None

• National Football Leagues: 1
  • 1998

• Leinster Senior Football Championships: 10
  • 1960, 1961, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1997

• Leinster Under-21 Football Championships: 8
  • 1968, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1995

• Leinster Minor Football Championships: 6
  • 1947, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1989

• Leinster Junior Football Championships: 4
  • 1935, 1972, 1998, 2001

Bibliography

• Official History Of Offaly GAA by P J Cunningham and Ricey Scully (1984).
• Ballycumber GAA 1890-1984 edited by Eddie Cunningham
• Tullamore GAA Club History by John Clarke (1984)

External links

• Rhode Gaa Website
• Walsh Island Club Website
• The Offaly Express Newspaper
• Offaly on Hoganstand.com
• National and provincial titles won by Offaly teams
• Club championship winners
• Offaly GAA site
• uibh fhaili fan's site
• Ballycumber GAA Club Website
• Tullamore GAA Website
• Ballycommon GAA Website

• Gaelic Survival - Player Profiles Every Inter County Hurler and Footballer, Fantasy GAA Game